Encyclopedia
Nebraska is a
Great Plains state of the
United States. Nebraska gets its name from a
Native American word meaning "flat water", after the
Platte River that flows through the state. Once considered part of the Great American Desert, it is now a leading
farming state. Nebraskans have practiced scientific farming to turn the Nebraska
prairie into a land of ranches and farms. Much of the history of the state is the story of the impact of the Nebraska farmer. Nebraskans are sometimes colloquially referred to as "Cornhuskers" .
Geography
Nebraska is bordered by
South Dakota to the north;
Iowa and
Missouri to the east, across the
Missouri River;
Kansas to the south;
Colorado to the southwest; and
Wyoming to the west. Nebraska has
93 counties; it also occupies the central portion of the Frontier Strip.
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 located within this region.
The Great Plains occupy the majority of western Nebraska. The Great Plains itself is comprised 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 , is the highest point in Nebraska; despite its name and elevation, it is merely a low rise near the Colorado and Wyoming borders.
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 , the
100th meridian, and
Chimney Rock.
Areas under the management of the
National Park Service include:
Climate
Two major
climates are represented in Nebraska: the eastern two-thirds of the state has a hot summer continental climate, and the western third of the state has a semiarid
steppe climate. The entire state experiences wide seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. Average temperatures are fairly uniform across Nebraska, while average annual precipitation decreases from about 31.5
inches in the southeast corner of the state to about 13.8 inches in the
Panhandle. Snowfall across the state is fairly even, with most of Nebraska receiving between 25 and 35 inches of snow annually.
Nebraska is located in
Tornado Alley;
thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer months. The
chinook winds from the
Rocky Mountains provide a temporary moderating effect on temperatures in western Nebraska during the winter months. ,
The National Wildlife Federation has found that
global warming could have a harmful effect on the Nebraska's ecology and economy, promoting the kinds of
drought that led to the
Dust Bowl conditions of the 1930s and increasing the population and active season of disease-carrying
mosquitos.
History
The
Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 28, 1854; it established the
U.S. territories of Nebraska and
Kansas. The territorial capital of Nebraska was
Omaha.
In the 1860s, the first great wave of homesteaders poured into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government.
Many of the first farm settlers built their homes out of
sod because they found so few trees on the grassy land.
Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, shortly after the
American Civil War. At that time, the capital was moved from
Omaha to Lancaster, later renamed
Lincoln after the recently assassinated
President of the United States Abraham Lincoln.
Arbor Day began in Nebraska, and the National Arbor Day Foundation is still headquartered in
Nebraska City.
Prohibition in the U.S. was adopted in 1918, with Nebraska as the thirty-sixth state necessary to make the
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution .
Demographics
As of 2005, Nebraska has an estimated population of 1,758,787, which is an increase of 11,083, or 0.6%, from the prior year and an increase of 47,522, or 2.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 52,104 people and a decrease due to net migration of 4,007 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 22,199 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 26,206 people.
As of 2004, the population of Nebraska included about 84,000 foreign-born residents .
The five largest ancestry groups in Nebraska are
German ,
Irish , English ,
Swedish , and
Czech .
Nebraska has the largest Czech-American population in the nation. German-Americans are the largest ancestry group in most of the state, particularly in the eastern counties. Thurston County has a
Native American majority, and Butler County is one of only two counties in the nation with a Czech-American plurality.
Rural flight
Nebraska, in common with five other Midwest states , Eighty-nine percent of the cities in those states have fewer than 3000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1000.
While many areas of the state continue to suffer ,others have experienced substantial growth. The city of Omaha in 2000 had a population of 390,007 while is estimated today to contain 409,416 people, a change of +5% over only four years. The city of Lincoln had a population of 225,581 during 2000 and had a 2004 estimated population of 236,146, a +4.7% change. Indeed, the population of the state of Nebraska has increased by an estimated 35,951 persons from 2000 to 2004.
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Nebraska are:
- Christian – 90%
- Protestant – 61%
- Roman Catholic – 28%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Other religions – 1%
- Non-religious – 9%
Economy
The estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2004 was $68 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was $31,339, 25th in the nation.
Once considered part of the Great American Desert, it is now a leading
farming state. Nebraskans have practiced scientific farming to turn the Nebraska
prairie into a land of ranches and farms. Much of the history of the state is the story of the impact of the Nebraska farmer.
Nebraska has a large
agriculture sector, and is a national leader in the production of
beef,
pork,
corn , and
soybeans. Other important economic sectors include freight
transport , manufacturing,
telecommunications,
information technology, and insurance.
Nebraska has 4 personal
income tax brackets, ranging from 2.56 percent to 6.84 percent. Nebraska has a state sales tax of 5.5 percent. In addition to the state tax, some Nebraska cities assess a city sales and use tax, up to a maximum of 1.5 percent. All real property located 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.
Transportation
Railroads
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. The route of the
original transcontinental railroad runs through the state.
Other major railroads with operations in the state are:
Amtrak;
BNSF Railway;
Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad; and Iowa Interstate Railroad.
Roads and highways
The
Interstate Highways in Nebraska are:
The
U.S. Routes in Nebraska are:
map=US 6 map.png|
...
,
20,
26,
30,
34,
73,
75,
77,
81,
83,
136,
138, 159,
183,
275, 281,
283, 385
Law and government
Nebraska's government operates under the framework of the Nebraska Constitution, adopted in 1875 and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
The head of the executive branch is the Governor
Dave Heineman. Other elected officials in the executive branch are the
Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy , Attorney General
Jon Bruning, Secretary of State John A. Gale, State Treasurer Ron Ross, and State Auditor Kate Witek. All elected officials in the executive branch serve four-year terms.
Nebraska is the only state in the
United States with a
unicameral legislature; that is, a legislature with only one house. Although this house is officially known simply as the "
Legislature", and more commonly called the "Unicameral", its members still 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.
For years,
United States 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.
Finally, in 1934, due in part to the budgetary pressure of the
Great Depression, Nebraska's unicameral legislature was put in place by a state initiative. In effect, the Assembly was abolished; as noted, today's Nebraska state legislators are commonly referred to as "Senators."
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, which are grouped into 12 districts ; above those are 12 district courts. 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.
Nebraska allows for
capital punishment; the sole method of execution is the
electric chair, making Nebraska the only place in the world to only have this mode of execution. However, executions in Nebraska have been infrequent; none have been carried out in the 21st century, and the state has strongly flirted with the idea of a moratorium on, or complete abolition of, capital punishment.
Federal government representation
Nebraska's two
U.S. senators are
Chuck Hagel and
Ben Nelson . Nebraska has three representatives in the
House are:
Jeff Fortenberry ;
Lee Terry ; and Tom Osborne .
Nebraska is one of two states that allow for a split in the electoral vote. Since 1991, two of Nebraska's five
electoral votes are awarded based on the winner of the statewide election while the other three go to the highest vote-getter in each of the state's three congressional districts. Although possible, a split in the electoral vote has not occurred in any election.
Nebraska politics
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 Johnson. In the
2004 presidential election,
George W. Bush won the state's five electoral votes by a 33% margin of with 65.9% of the overall vote; only
Thurston County, which includes two American
Indian reservations, voted for
John Kerry.
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 ,
J. James Exon, and
Bob Kerrey. This tradition is illustrated by Nebraska's current U. S. senators:
Chuck Hagel is considered a maverick within his party, while
Ben Nelson is the most conservative member of his party in the Senate.
Important cities and towns
All population figures are 2004
Census Bureau estimates.
Largest cities
| 100,000+ population | 10,000+ population |
|---|
| Bellevue - 47,347Grand Island - 44,287Kearney - 28,640Fremont - 25,272Norfolk - 24,072North Platte - 23,944Hastings - 23,404 | Columbus - 20,881Papillion - 19,497Scottsbluff - 14,767La Vista - 14,685Beatrice - 12,963South Sioux City - 12,142Lexington - 10,056
|
