By Deb Cottier, Northwest Nebraska Development Corporation
The 2021-22 Leadership Chadron class took their scheduled overnight trip to Lincoln the first week of February. 10 members of the Chadron class, along with 20 members from Leadership Scottsbluff climbed on a bus early Tuesday morning and stopped at 2 well known Nebraska attractions on the way down. The goals of the trip were to educate the classes about the importance of the Legislature, introduce those who attended to the key Senators working on our behalf, and to give them the chance to get to know one another and network.
Class members each reported on a community along the route. The first stop was Ole’s Big Game Lodge in Paxton, NE. Breakfast awaited the group and they were able to experience the massive wild game collection on display. Next stop was the Great Platte River Road Archway near Kearney, NE which is a museum built over I-80 that features historic interpretations of the development of travel routes (like the Oregon, Mormon and Texas Trails) which played such an important part in our history and economic development.
Upon arrival in Lincoln, there was just enough time to change and load the bus again for a visit to the Governor’s residence. This residence has much history and the group was treated to a tour by the Governor himself. Governor Ricketts spent nearly an hour sharing tidbits of history about the building and chatting with the attendees about issues facing Nebraska. Sen. John Stinner from Scottsbluff joined the group for brief comments.
Wednesday morning started early as well, with comments from Bryan Sloan, Roberta Pinkerton and Kristin Hassebrook from the State Chamber sharing information about the Legislative session and the statewide Leadership Nebraska program. The group then went to the capitol building for a photo in the Governor’s press room, observation of the Legislature in session, where the group was introduced from the floor. They then heard from NDOT Director John Selmer and Deputy Director Khalil Jaber who spoke about the process of building, maintaining and improving roads across the entire state. The Heartland Expressway Association helped sponsor the bus and provided information for the members to read about the effort to pave a 4 lane divided highway from the CO border to the SD border, through Western Nebraska.
Senator Stinner was joined by Senator Tom Brewer (43rd Legislative District which includes Chadron) for lunch with the joint group. The Senators shared a little more personal perspective about working in the fast-paced Legislative session. The final visit was a guided toured of the capitol building before climbing back on the bus for the trip home.
