Labor & Growth
JBS, Tyson Foods invest in smartwatch app that monitors workers
Two of America’s largest meat companies — JBS and Tyson Foods — have invested in a smartwatch application that allows managers to monitor workers’ movements. The startup behind the application, Mentore, claims to improve worker productivity while reducing injuries. The repetitive, fast and taxing work of cutting and packing protein makes meat processing plants some of the […]
Construction resumes on Red Cloud’s new hotel
LINCOLN — A recent groundbreaking ceremony celebrated the renewal of construction on the Potter Block building in downtown Red Cloud, Nebraska. The Potter Block building will undergo rehabilitation and be transformed into a 22,500-square-foot facility, which will become Hotel Garber. Renovations began in early 2018 with excavating and underpinning the basement so the hotel could […]
Subway car takes the win in “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” contest
OMAHA — The winner, announced Tuesday, of the first-ever “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” competition by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a new technology subway car made in the Lincoln plant of Kawasaki Motors. The R211 subway car, which can be found running on tracks in New York City, emerged on top […]
‘Greenlining’ fund aims to counter ill effects of redlining in Omaha
OMAHA — The nonprofit Front Porch Investments is preparing to launch a “Greenlining Fund” to help reverse the historic and ill effects of local redlining. The organization, supported by major philanthropic foundations and the City of Omaha, describes the new program as a way to help low- to moderate-income families and individuals build wealth and […]
Contest seeks to learn: What’s the coolest thing made in Nebraska?
OMAHA — More than 20,000 votes so far have chimed in on a contest that next week will reveal the “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska.” Designed as a fun image-booster for the state’s manufacturing industry, the bracket-style knockout competition was organized by the Nebraska Manufacturing Alliance and Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry. People with […]
Regional survey shows slumping economic confidence, foresees ‘flat’ holiday activity
OMAHA — Confidence in the economy slumped again in September, fueling the worst string of optimism readings since the 2008-09 recession, according to the author of Creighton University’s Mid-America Business Conditions Index. The monthly index report, led by Creighton economist Ernie Goss, is based on a survey of supply managers that helps forecast economic conditions […]
Unique Sandhills winery amid ‘ocean of grass’ plans expansion
LINCOLN — With only 20 residents or so, Nenzel, Nebraska, easily qualifies as a tiny Sandhills village. And, with the only community of size, Valentine, 30 miles down U.S. Highway 20, the description “remote” works, too. One of Nenzel’s main calling cards is the lack of city lights to interfere with the starry nights. The […]
Shipping container houses traveling ‘Say It Loud’ Nebraska exhibit
OMAHA — Visitors entering a 20-foot converted shipping container that’s traveling to spots in Lincoln and Omaha will see the work and hear the stories of 45 Nebraskans who represent diversity in design fields. The Say It Loud exhibit, open to the public, is a collaboration with Beyond the Built Environment and others that features […]
NU Board of Regents gives green light to innovation hub at UNMC campus
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Friday approved the plan to build an innovation hub on a tract that extends the University of Nebraska Medical Center west of Saddle Creek Road in Omaha. UNMC owns the land and also will own part of the private-public venture, called the Catalyst, that will rise on […]
Omaha Creighton University names new student dorm Graves Hall, after alumnus
OMAHA — Creighton University’s new $37 million student housing project, set to open in fall of 2023, is the first built exclusively for first-year students since the 1960s and the first on campus since 2006. Creighton officials on Friday announced the name of the 400-student project: Graves Hall. The namesake is Lee C. Graves, undergraduate […]
Lincoln plans new youth baseball, softball complex with Nebraska Wesleyan worth up to $27 million
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s Capitol City joined the regional arms race in youth sports Wednesday, announcing plans for a new venue with eight turf fields for baseball and softball. The new Lincoln Youth Complex is set to be built just north of the University of Nebraska’s Haymarket Park and Bowlin Stadium, near North 1st Street and […]
Months in the making, Omaha’s housing affordability plan is ready for scrutiny
OMAHA — Private developers seeking the sometimes controversial public subsidy called tax-increment financing soon could be required to replace each affordable housing unit destroyed while building their new project. They also might see a new mandate that TIF residential projects include a certain percentage of affordable housing units. Those TIF-related changes are among numerous policy […]