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Nebraska Furniture Mart is the largest home furnishing store in North America selling furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics. NFM was founded in 1937 by Mrs B. (Rose Blumkin) in Omaha, Nebraska. The Russian-born immigrant turned a $500 borrowed investment into a popular retail destination with hard work, a keen business sense and by sticking to her credo "sell cheap and tell the truth." She worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs B. sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway with the famous handshake deal with Warren Buffett.

Presently, Nebraska Furniture Mart has three stores. The Omaha, Nebraska store is over 420,000 square feet (39,000 m²) of retail space and is on 77 acres (310,000 m²) of land. The store is located in a single collective campus on South 72nd street in West Omaha, Nebraska. In 1994, the store added a massive electronics and appliance store selling computers, software, music, movies and personal electronic items as well as TVs and appliances. The campus also includes Mr. B's Clearance Center and Factory Outlet. Both the Omaha and Kansas City locations house over 85,000 furniture items, 185,000 appliance and electronics items and over 1 million square yards of carpet.

The Kansas City store opened in 2003 in the Village West development in Kansas City, Kansas across from the Kansas Speedway and Livestrong Sporting Park, 12 miles west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It encompasses a total of 1.1 million sq. ft. of retail and warehouse space and is on 88 acres (360,000 m²) of land. It draws visitors all over the United States and has become a popular tourist attraction.

The third satellite store is located in Clive, Iowa. Within its 24,000 square feet (2,200 m²) it sells a wide selection of appliances, flooring and televisions. Nebraska Furniture Mart also owns Homemakers, a furniture store in Urbandale, Iowa a suburb of Des Moines.

On November 9, 2011 Nebraska Furniture Mart announced a plan to expand its retail operation to North Texas. The anticipated, initial opening date is Spring 2015.

"Mrs B."[link]

Born outside of Minsk, Russia, (modern day Belarus) in 1893, Rose Gorelick followed her husband, Isadore Blumkin to America in 1917 to take on the American dream. By 1922, the young couple had scraped together enough money to have her family flee Russia and join them in America.

In addition to raising their four children, Mrs. B helped with her husband's business ventures, including a second-hand clothing shop. Finding deals on men's suits and accessories, she printed 10,000 circulars that offered to outfit a man from head to toe for five dollars - an amazingly fair deal for the times. It worked nicely, and she made a respectable profit.

In 1937, the Nebraska Furniture Mart was founded in the basement of her husband's shop. Her belief in selling at tiny margins created rough going early on with the manufacturers boycotting Mrs. B at the urging of local competition, who generally operated on higher markups. Traveling by train to Kansas City, Chicago and New York, she became a proficient furniture bargain hunter by buying from large furniture stores at 5% over their cost, and still making a profit using her low markup sales strategy.

An American legend, Rose Blumkin (Mrs. B), knew early in life that honesty and integrity would serve her well. Those beliefs laid the foundation for Nebraska Furniture Mart's rise to its status as a Midwestern retailing legend. Still, battling reluctant suppliers and a depressed Korean War economy in 1951, Mrs. B filled Omaha's old city auditorium with the store's inventory for an all-out, three-day sale. In three chaotic days, she took in $250,000 and eliminated her debt forever.

The growing success led to moves to various downtown locations, and the flagship store at 2205 Farnam eventually expanded to 120,000 square feet and operated in tandem with the present 72nd street location from 1970 to 1980. Joining his mother in the business in post-war 1946, son Louie contributed immeasurably to the growth and success of the business.

A devastating tornado in 1975 caused only a minor blip on the business record of the business. With millions of dollars in damage to the 72nd street store, Mrs. B and her son simply rebuilt bigger and better.

Impressed with the success, business savvy and honest dealings of the Blumkins, investor Warren Buffett and Mrs. B used a simple handshake to seal the purchase of 90% of the business for Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio in 1983. The 'Historic Omaha Handshake' plus a simple two-page written agreement were all that were required - no audit of the store's books, no inventory of its merchandise.

Daily dealings with her customers over the years, long work days and later in life, her motorized cart buzzing around her store, she was always bringing a smile to a customer's face with a great deal.

Throughout the years Mrs. B supported many causes and various community events, many times behind the scenes. The most notable is the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and the renovation of the Astro theater into 'The Rose', - the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center - the home of the Emmy Gifford Children's Theater.

Until her death in 1998 at 104, Rose Blumkin rode the crest of a simple business tenet: "Sell cheap and tell the truth." The store, now under the leadership of her son Louie, and three grandsons, still adheres to this advice as Mrs. B's philosophy continues to help them meet each new challenge.

See also[link]

• Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center

References[link]

• Lowenstein, Roger. Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Random House, 1995, (pp. 246-256), ISBN 0-679-41584-X

External links[link]

• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Mrs. B's Story at Nebraska Furniture Mart website

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State of Nebraska
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Cornhusker State
Motto(s): Equality Before the Law
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	Nebraskan
Capital	Lincoln
Largest city	Omaha
Largest metro area	Omaha-Council Bluffs
Area	Ranked 16th in the U.S.
- Total	77,354 sq mi (200,520 km2)
- Width	210 miles (340 km)
- Length	430 miles (690 km)
- % water	0.7
- Latitude	40° N to 43° N
- Longitude	95° 19' W to 104° 03' W
Population	Ranked 38th in the U.S.
- Total	1,842,641 (2011 est)[1]
- Density	24.0/sq mi  (9.25/km2) Ranked 43rd in the U.S.
- Median household income	$44,623 (20th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Panorama Point[2][3] 5,427 ft (1654 m)
- Mean	2,600 ft  (790 m)
- Lowest point	Missouri River at Kansas border[2][3] 840 ft (256 m)
Before statehood	Nebraska Territory
Admission to Union	March 1, 1867 (37th)
Governor	Dave Heineman (R)
Lieutenant Governor	Rick Sheehy (R)
Legislature	Nebraska Legislature
- Upper house	None (unicameral)
- Lower house	None (unicameral)
U.S. Senators	Ben Nelson (D) Mike Johanns (R)
U.S. House delegation	Jeff Fortenberry (R) Lee Terry (R) Adrian M. Smith (R) (list)
Time zones
- most of state	Central: UTC-6/-5
- panhandle	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Abbreviations	NE US-NE
Website	www.nebraska.gov

Nebraska (ⁱ/nəˈbræskə/) is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. Its state capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River.

The state is crossed by many historic trails, but it was the California Gold Rush that first brought large numbers here, and it became a state in 1867. Certain landmarks still compete for the notional distinction 'Where the West Begins'.

There are wide variations between winter and summer temperatures, and violent thunderstorms and tornadoes are common. The state is characterized by treeless prairie, ideal for cattle-grazing, and it is a major producer of beef, as well as pork, maize and soybeans. Nebraska is overwhelmingly rural, as the 8th least-densely populated state of the United States.

Ethnically, the largest group are German-Americans, and the state has the biggest Czech-American population per head. During the Great Migration, many African Americans came to Omaha, and they continue to campaign for improved conditions. More recently, Native American activism has increased, with a drive for self-determination in a climate of co-operation with state officials on regional issues. It is traditionally a Republican-voting state.

Nebraska is identified with notables as varied as Fred Astaire, Malcolm X, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, Montgomery Clift, Henry Fonda, Buffalo Bill Cody, Warren Buffett, L. Ron Hubbard, Willa Cather, Marlon Brando and Alexander Payne. Kool-Aid was first formulated in Nebraska in 1927.

Etymology[link]

Nebraska gets its name from the archaic Otoe words Ñí Brásge, pronounced [ɲĩbɾasꜜkɛ] (contemporary Otoe Ñí Bráhge), or the Omaha Ní Btháska, pronounced [nĩbɫᶞasꜜka], meaning "flat water", after the Platte River that flows through the state.^[4]

History[link]

Nebraska in 1718, Guillaume de L'Isle map, with the approximate area of the future state highlighted

Varying cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the region along the rivers for thousands of years before European exploration. Historical Native American tribes living in Nebraska have included the Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Otoe, and various branches of the Lakota (Sioux).

Long before the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806, French-Canadian explorers (including the Mallet brothers in 1739) traversed the territory of Nebraska on their way to trade in Santa Fe, then claimed by Spain.^[5]

In 1819, the United States established Fort Atkinson as the first US Army post west of the Missouri River, just east of present-day Fort Calhoun. The army abandoned the fort in 1827 as migration moved further west.

European-American settlement did not begin in any numbers until after 1848 and the California Gold Rush. On May 30, 1854, the US Congress created the Kansas and the Nebraska territories, divided by the Parallel 40° North, under the Kansas-Nebraska Act.^[6] The Nebraska Territory included parts of the current states of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.^[7] The territorial capital of Nebraska was Omaha.

In the 1860s, after the US government forced many of the Native American tribes to cede their lands and settle on reservations, it opened large tracts of land to agricultural development by Europeans and Americans. Under the Homestead Act, thousands of new settlers migrated into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government. Because so few trees grew on the prairies, many of the first farming settlers built their homes of sod, as had the Native Americans such as the Omaha. The first wave of settlement gave the territory a sufficient population to apply for statehood.^[8]

Homesteaders in central Nebraska in 1886

Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, and the capital was moved from Omaha to the center at Lancaster, later renamed Lincoln after the recently assassinated President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

During the 1870s to the 1880s, Nebraska experienced a large growth in population. Several factors contributed to attracting new residents. The first was that the vast prairie land was perfect for cattle grazing. This helped settlers to learn the unfamiliar geography of the area. The second factor was the invention of several farming technologies. Agricultural inventions such as barbed wire, wind mills, and the steel plow, combined with good weather, enabled settlers to make use of Nebraska as prime farming land. By the 1880s, Nebraska's population had soared to more than 450,000 people.^[9]

The Arbor Day holiday was founded in Nebraska. The National Arbor Day Foundation is still headquartered in Nebraska City, with some offices in Lincoln.

In the late nineteenth century, many African Americans migrated from the South to Nebraska as part of the Great Migration, primarily to Omaha which offered working class jobs in meatpacking, the railroads and other industries. Omaha has a long history of civil rights activism. Blacks encountered discrimination from other Americans in Omaha and especially from recent European immigrants, ethnic whites who were competing for the same jobs. In 1912 African Americans founded the Omaha chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to work for improved conditions in the city and state. Activism has continued.

Since the 1960s, Native American activism in the state has increased, both through open protest, activities to build alliances with state and local governments, and in the slower, more extensive work of building tribal institutions and infrastructure. Native Americans in federally recognized tribes have pressed for self-determination, sovereignty and recognition. They have created community schools to preserve their cultures, as well as tribal colleges and universities. Tribal politicians have also collaborated with state and county officials on regional issues.

Geography[link]

The state is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. The state has 93 counties; it occupies the central portion of the Frontier Strip. Nebraska is split into two time zones. The Central Time zone comprises the eastern half of the state, while the western half observes Mountain Time. Three rivers cross the state from west to east. The Platte River, formed by the confluence of the North Platte and the South Platte, runs through the central portion of the state, the Niobrara River flows through the northern part, and the Republican River runs across the southern part.

Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the Dissected Till Plains and the Great Plains. The easternmost portion of the state was scoured by Ice Age glaciers; the Dissected Till Plains were left behind after the glaciers retreated. The Dissected Till Plains is a region of gently rolling hills; Omaha and Lincoln are in this region.

The Great Plains occupy the majority of western Nebraska. The Great Plains region consists of several smaller, diverse land regions, including the Sandhills, the Pine Ridge, the Rainwater Basin, the High Plains and the Wildcat Hills. Panorama Point, at 5,424 feet (1,653 m), is the highest point in Nebraska; despite its name and elevation, it is a relatively low rise near the Colorado and Wyoming borders.

Nebraska state welcome sign on Interstate 76 at the Colorado border

A past Nebraska tourism slogan was "Where the West Begins"; locations given for the beginning of the "West" include the Missouri River, the intersection of 13th and O Streets in Lincoln (where it is marked by a red brick star), the 100th meridian, and Chimney Rock. Nebraska is a triply landlocked state, as it does not border the ocean, nor do any of the states it borders, nor any that they border.^[10]

Federal land management[link]

Areas under the management of the National Park Service include:

• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison
• California National Historic Trail
• Chimney Rock National Historic Site near Bayard
• Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice
• Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
• Missouri National Recreational River near Ponca
• Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
• Niobrara National Scenic River near Valentine
• Oregon National Historic Trail
• Pony Express National Historic Trail
• Scotts Bluff National Monument at Gering

Areas under the management of the National Forest Service include:

• Nebraska National Forest
• Oglala National Grassland
• Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest

Climate[link]

Clouds over a country road in Cass County, Nebraska

Two major climatic zones are represented in Nebraska: the eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa), and the western half, a semi-arid climate (Koppen BSk). The entire state experiences wide seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. Average temperatures are fairly uniform across Nebraska, with hot summers and generally cold winters, while average annual precipitation decreases east to west from about 31.5 inches (800 mm) in the southeast corner of the state to about 13.8 inches (350 mm) in the Panhandle. Humidity also decreases significantly from east to west. Snowfall across the state is fairly even, with most of Nebraska receiving between 25 and 35 inches (65 to 90 cm) of snow annually.^[11] Nebraska's highest recorded temperature is 118 °F (48 °C) at Minden on July 24, 1936 and the lowest recorded temperature is −47 °F (−44 °C) at Camp Clarke on February 12, 1899.

Map of Nebraska

Nebraska is in Tornado Alley; thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer months, and violent thunderstorms and tornadoes happen primarily during the spring and summer, though they can also occur in the autumn. The chinook winds from the Rocky Mountains provide a temporary moderating effect on temperatures in western Nebraska during the winter months.^[12][13]

Demographics[link]

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Nebraska was 1,842,641 on July 1, 2011, a 0.89% increase since the 2010 United States Census.^[1] The center of population of Nebraska is in Polk County, in the city of Shelby.^[15]

According to the 2010 Census, 86.1% of the population was White (82.1% non-Hispanic white), 4.5% was Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 2.2% from two or more races. 9.2% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race).^[16]

As of 2004, the population of Nebraska included about 84,000 foreign-born residents (4.8% of the population).

The five largest ancestry groups in Nebraska are German (38.6%), Irish (12.4%), English (9.6%), Czech (5.5%), and Swedish (4.9%).

Nebraska has the largest Czech-American and non-Mormon Danish-American population (as a percentage of the total population) in the nation. German Americans are the largest ancestry group in most of the state, particularly in the eastern counties. Thurston County (made up entirely of the Omaha and Winnebago reservations) has an American Indian majority, and Butler County is one of only two counties in the nation with a Czech-American plurality.

Rural flight[link]

Population density of Nebraska

Eighty-nine percent of the cities in Nebraska have fewer than 3,000 people. Nebraska shares this characteristic with five other Midwestern states: Kansas, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and Iowa. Hundreds of towns have a population of fewer than 1,000. Regional population declines have forced many rural schools to consolidate.

Fifty-three of Nebraska's 93 counties reported declining populations between 1990 and 2000, ranging from a 0.06% loss (Frontier County) to a 17.04% loss (Hitchcock County).

More urbanized areas of the state have experienced substantial growth. In 2000, the city of Omaha had a population of 390,007; in 2005, the city's estimated population was 414,521 (427,872 including the recently annexed city of Elkhorn), a 6.3% increase over five years. The 2010 census showed that Omaha has a population of 408,958. The city of Lincoln had a 2000 population of 225,581 and a 2010 population of 258,379, a 14.5% increase.

Religion[link]

The religious affiliations of the people of Nebraska are:

• Christian – 90%
  • Catholic – 28%
  • Lutheran – 16%
  • Methodist – 11%
  • Baptist – 9%
  • Presbyterian – 4%
    • Other Protestant – 21%
  • Other Christian – 1%
• Non-religious – 9%
• Other religions – 1%

The largest single denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Catholic Church (372,791), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (128,570), the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (117,419) and the United Methodist Church (117,277).^[17]

Taxation[link]

Nebraska has a progressive income tax. The portion of income from $0 to $2,400 is taxed at 2.56%; from $2,400 to $17,500, at 3.57%; from $17,500 to $27,000, at 5.12%; and income over $27,000, at 6.84%. The standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $5,700; the personal exemption is $118.^[18]

Nebraska has a state sales tax of 5.5%. In addition to the state tax, some Nebraska cities assess a city sales and use tax, up to a maximum of 1.5%. One county in Nebraska, Dakota County, levies a sales tax.^[19] All real property within the state of Nebraska is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. Since 1992, only depreciable personal property is subject to tax and all other personal property is exempt from tax. Inheritance tax is collected at the county level.

Economy[link]

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2010 was $89.8 billion.^[20] Per capita personal income in 2004 was $31,339, 25th in the nation. Nebraska has a large agriculture sector, and is an important producer of beef, pork, corn (maize), soybeans, and sorghum. ^[21] Other important economic sectors include freight transport (by rail and truck), manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, and insurance.

As of January 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 4.6%.^[22]

Industry[link]

Kool-Aid was created in 1927 by Edwin Perkins in the city of Hastings, which celebrates the event the second weekend of every August with Kool-Aid Days. Kool-Aid is the official soft drink of Nebraska.^[23] CliffsNotes were developed by Clifton Hillegass of Rising City. He adapted his pamphlets from the Canadian publications, Coles Notes.

Omaha is home to Berkshire Hathaway, whose CEO Warren Buffett was ranked in March 2009 by Forbes magazine as the second richest person in the world. The city is also home to ConAgra, Mutual of Omaha, InfoUSA, TD Ameritrade, West Corporation, Valmont Industries, Woodmen of the World, Kiewit Corporation, and the Union Pacific Railroad. UNIFI Companies, Sandhills Publishing Company, and Duncan Aviation are based in Lincoln; The Buckle is based in Kearney. Sidney is the national headquarters for Cabela's, a specialty retailer of outdoor goods.

The world's largest train yard, Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, is in North Platte. The Vise-Grip was invented by William Petersen in 1924, and was manufactured in De Witt until the plant was closed and moved to China in late 2008.^[24]

Lincoln's Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing is the only Kawasaki plant in the world to produce the Jet-Ski, ATV, and Mule lines of product. The facility employs more than 1200 people.

The Spade Ranch, in the Sand Hills, is one of Nebraska's oldest and largest beef cattle operations.

Transportation[link]

Railroads[link]

Nebraska has a rich railroad history. The Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, was incorporated on July 1, 1862, in the wake of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. Bailey Yard, in North Platte, is the largest railroad classification yard in the world. The route of the original transcontinental railroad runs through the state.

Other major railroads with operations in the state are: Amtrak; Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway; Canadian Pacific Railway; and Iowa Interstate Railroad.

Roads and highways[link]

Law and government[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Nebraska Constitution

Nebraska's government operates under the framework of the Nebraska Constitution, adopted in 1875,^[25] and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Executive branch[link]

The head of the executive branch is the Governor Dave Heineman. Other elected officials in the executive branch are the Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy (elected on the same ticket as the Governor), Attorney General Jon Bruning, Secretary of State John A. Gale, State Treasurer Don Stenberg, and State Auditor Mike Foley. All elected officials in the executive branch serve four-year terms.

Legislative branch[link]

Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature. Although this house is officially known simply as the "Legislature", and more commonly called the "Unicameral", its members call themselves "senators". Nebraska's Legislature is also the only state legislature in the United States that is nonpartisan. The senators are elected with no party affiliation next to their names on the ballot, and the speaker and committee chairs are chosen at large, so that members of any party can be chosen for these positions. The Nebraska Legislature can also override a governor's veto with a three-fifths majority, in contrast to the two-thirds majority required in some other states.

The Nebraska Legislature meets in the third Nebraska State Capitol building, built between 1922 and 1932. It was designed by Bertram G. Goodhue. Built from Indiana limestone, the Capitol's base is a cross within a square. A 400-foot domed tower rises from this base. The Golden Sower, a 19-foot bronze statue representing agriculture, crowns the Capitol. The state Capitol is considered an architectural achievement and has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects.

Nebraska state insignia
Motto	Equality Before the Law
Slogan	Nebraska, possibilities...endless
Bird	Western meadowlark
Animal	White-tailed deer
Fish	Channel catfish
Insect	European honey bee
Flower	Goldenrod
Tree	Cottonwood
Song	"Beautiful Nebraska"
Quarter	Released April 7, 2006
Grass	Little bluestem
Beverage	Milk
Dance	Square dance
Fossil	Mammoth
Gemstone	Blue agate
Rock	Prairie agate
Soil	Holdrege series

For years, US Senator George Norris and other Nebraskans encouraged the idea of a unicameral legislature, and demanded the issue be decided in a referendum. Norris argued:

Unicameral supporters also argued that a bicameral legislature had a significant undemocratic feature in the committees that reconciled Assembly and Senate legislation. Votes in these committees were secretive, and would sometimes add provisions to bills that neither house had approved. Nebraska's unicameral legislature today has rules that bills can contain only one subject, and must be given at least five days of consideration.

In 1934, due in part to the budgetary pressure of the Great Depression, Nebraska citizens ran a state initiative to vote on a unicameral legislature, which was approved. In effect, the Assembly (the house) was abolished; as noted, today's Nebraska state legislators are commonly referred to as "Senators".

Judicial branch[link]

The judicial system in Nebraska is unified, with the Nebraska Supreme Court having administrative authority over all Nebraska courts. Nebraska uses the Missouri Plan for the selection of judges at all levels. The lowest courts in Nebraska are the county courts, above that are twelve district courts (containing one or more counties). The Court of Appeals hears appeals from the district courts, juvenile courts, and workers' compensation courts. The Nebraska Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.

In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the state's only method of execution, electrocution, was in conflict with the state's constitution. For the next year, Nebraska had no active death-penalty law. (Prior to that ruling, Nebraska was the only place in the world that used electrocution as the sole method of execution.) In May 2009, the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that changed the method of execution in Nebraska to lethal injection, enabling capital punishment.^[26] Executions in Nebraska have been infrequent; none have been carried out in the 21st century. During the last few decades, residents have considered a moratorium on, or complete abolition of, capital punishment.

Federal government representation[link]

The Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska

Nebraska's U.S. senators are Mike Johanns (R), the junior senator, and Ben Nelson (D), the senior senator.

Nebraska has three representatives in the House of Representatives: Jeff Fortenberry (R) of the 1st district; Lee Terry (R) of the 2nd district; and Adrian M. Smith (R) of the 3rd district.

Nebraska is one of two states (with Maine) that allow for a split in the state's allocation of electoral votes in presidential elections. Under a 1991 law, two of Nebraska's five votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while the other three go to the highest vote-getter in each of the state's three congressional districts.

Politics[link]

For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly Republican state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since 1940: the 1964 landslide election of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 33 percentage points (making Nebraska's the fourth-strongest Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only Thurston County, which is majority-Native American, voted for his Democratic challenger John Kerry. In 2008, the state split its electoral votes for the first time: Republican John McCain won the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole and two of its three congressional districts; the second district, which includes the city of Omaha, went for Democrat Barack Obama.

Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing centrist members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include George Norris (who served few years in the Senate as an independent), J. James Exon, and Bob Kerrey. Voters have tilted to the right in recent years with the election of conservative Mike Johanns to the US Senate and the re-election of Ben Nelson, who is currently considered the most conservative Democrat in the US Senate.

Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican and Michigan resident, was born in Nebraska. Illinois native William Jennings Bryan represented Nebraska in Congress and unsuccessfully ran for President as a Democrat from Nebraska three times.

Important cities and towns[link]

As of the 2010 Census, there are 530 cities and villages in the state of Nebraska. There are five classifications of cities and villages in Nebraska, which is based upon population. All population figures are 2010 Census Bureau estimates.

Largest cities[link]

Downtown Lincoln

Metropolitan Class City (300,000 or more)

• Omaha – 408,958

Primary Class City (100,000 - 299,999)

• Lincoln – 258,379

First Class City (5,000 - 99,999)

Second Class Cities (800 - 4,999) and Villages (100 - 800) make up the rest of the communities in Nebraska. There are 116 second class cities and 382 villages in the state.

Urban areas[link]

Other areas

• Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney comprise the "Tri-Cities" area, with a combined population of 163,399.
• The northeast corner of Nebraska is part of the Siouxland region.

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

Culture[link]

• Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton; the National Arbor Day Foundation has its headquarters near his home in Nebraska City.
• The swing in the Hebron, Nebraska city park at 5th and Jefferson streets is claimed to be the world's largest porch swing, long enough to fit 18 adults or 26 children.
• Nebraska Huskers football influences many of Nebraska's residents. During home football games, Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, with a capacity of 85,500, becomes larger than Nebraska's third-largest city.^[27]
• Job's Daughters was founded in Omaha in 1920 by Ethel T. Wead Mick. There are now bethels in Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Philippines.

Sports[link]

Football game at the University of Nebraska on September 6, 2008

• Professional sports
  • Lincoln Saltdogs – American Association (independent minor league baseball)
  • Nebraska Danger – Indoor Football League
  • Omaha Beef – Indoor Football League
  • Omaha Storm Chasers – Pacific Coast League (AAA minor league baseball; affiliate of the Kansas City Royals)
  • Omaha Nighthawks – United Football League
  • Omaha Vipers – Major Indoor Soccer League
• NCAA Division I college sports
  • Creighton Bluejays
  • Nebraska Cornhuskers
  • University of Nebraska at Omaha (currently ice hockey only; all other sports moving to Division I in fall 2012)
• NCAA Division II college sports^[28]
  • University of Nebraska at Kearney Antelopes (Lopers)
  • University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks
  • Wayne State College Wildcats
  • Chadron State College Eagles
• Junior-level sports: United States Hockey League
  • Lincoln Stars
  • Omaha Lancers
  • Tri-City Storm

See also[link]

	Book: United States
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Outline of history
• Outline of geography
  • Outline of North America
    • Outline of the United States
      • Outline of Nebraska
        • Index of Nebraska-related articles
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Nebraska

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Surveys[link]

Scholarly special studies[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Nebraska on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Nebraska state government
• Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism
• Energy Profile for Nebraska
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Nebraska
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Nebraska State Facts
• Nebraska Frequently Asked Questions
• Nebraska State Publications Online
• Nebraska city-data
• Nebraska at the Open Directory Project
• nebraskastudies.org – History of Nebraska from Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska State Historical Society, and NET
• Nebraska State Databases – Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Nebraska state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
• Geographic data related to Nebraska at OpenStreetMap

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