Economic Development

An Old Concept, A New Need

Scottsbluff • Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Media Arts

 Drive-ins typically conjure up nostalgic images of days gone by; of first dates and family outings to the movies in the car. When the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff closed its doors temporarily due to COVID-19, Executive Director Billy Estes immediately missed the interaction of the theater. It wasn’t long before Estes had the creative idea to implement a drive-in theater, and the SkyView Drive-In Theater was born.   Improvising a screen on a box truck in […]

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Finding Ways to Rewrite Historical Loss

Omaha • Access, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Education, Government, History, Humanities

The Durham Museum is a staple of Nebraska’s core cultural fabric. Like many other important institutions, the Durham relies on a mix of philanthropy and earned revenues, which have been significantly strained since March. Fortunately, many of the educational programs offered by The Durham Museum were already offered in a digital learning format, so transitioning […]

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Nebraska Cultural Endowment Grants $300,000 in Additional Funding

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Humanities, Statewide

Special fund distribution to help sustain Nebraska arts and cultural programs The Board of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment announced the distribution of $300,000 in grant funding to support Nebraska’s cultural infrastructure. The special distribution is in addition to NCE’s normal annual distribution, most recently $460,000 in April 2020. “The decision to make this unprecedented distribution […]

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Not Your Typical License Plate

Nebraska • Arts, Culture, Economic Development, Government, Statewide, Visual Arts

The Nebraska Arts Council is currently seeking designs for the new “Support the Arts” license plate. Nebraska Legislative Bill 942, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, was passed on July 31. This bill allows Nebraska Arts Council to create a new specialty license plate that will provide funding for the newly defined Creative Districts in Nebraska. […]

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Humanities Nebraska and Nebraska Arts Council CARES Act Grants Announced

Nebraska • Access, Arts, Community Vitality, Culture, Economic Development, Education, Government, Humanities, Statewide

Humanities Nebraska and Nebraska Arts Council have made distributions of CARES Act dollars to Nebraska nonprofit cultural organizations. Funding has been provided by the National Endowment for Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts as part of  the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan.  These grants will give financial relief […]

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Humanities Impact Local Economies

Red Cloud, Nebraska • Culture, Economic Development, Education, History, Humanities

Upon completion of the National Willa Cather Center, tourism spending in Webster County showed an increase of 12.5%. This equated to a total of $4.6 million dollars with both state and local tax revenue increases of 8.6%, for a total of $422,000. Tourism related jobs in Webster county total 48, and the staff at Willa […]

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