Peru State College
Peru State College is a public college in Peru, Nebraska. Founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution in Nebraska, it would undergo several name changes before receiving its current name; the college is organized into three schools, each supporting a different set of majors, including a graduate program, plus an extensive online education program, credited with the college's most recent successes. It occupies over twenty buildings on a beautiful 104-acre campus known as the "Campus of a thousand oaks". Peru State College was incorporated under the name Mount Vernon School on December 2, 1865, under the management of the Methodist Episcopal Church, after the need for a local institution was discussed November 11, 1865; the school was named after the community. The town of Mount Vernon was supplanted by a community located at the base of the hill, whose original settlers came from Peru, Illinois; the Nebraska Territorial Legislature chartered the school on February 12, 1866, under the name Peru Seminary and College.
The executive committee of the school deeded the grounds to the State of Nebraska in June 1867, making it the first state-supported college in Nebraska on June 20, 1867, with the first classes held on October 24, 1867. The name was changed to Nebraska State Normal School; this is considered the official date of the school's establishment. The name changed several times in the early to mid 20th century, becoming Nebraska State Teachers College at Peru in 1921, in 1949 Peru State Teachers College, the present name of Peru State College in 1963. During World War II, the Peru campus of the Nebraska State Teachers College hosted a unit of the US Navy V-12 officer training program, which served as an alternative military route for college students who were drafted during the war; the State of Nebraska established the Nebraska State College System by statute in 1978, Peru State College was placed by statute under the control of the new governmental body at the same time. In 1998 the Nebraska State College System evaluated the possibility of closing Peru State College, or moving its campus to another location, among other options, voted unanimously in 1999 to move Peru State to nearby Nebraska City, Nebraska.
However, the legislature concluded that moving the college would have been too costly, lawmakers decided instead to pump millions of dollars into campus renovations with the understanding the college would work to boost growth. In 1999 the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature introduced bill LB631, aimed at merging Chadron State College and Wayne State College into the University of Nebraska system, while turning Peru State College into a community college. A competing bill, LB650, was introduced about the same time but with the intent of funding Peru State College $7 million for renovations. In 2003 rumors spread again about the possibility of closing Peru State College as part of a set of proposals to help save money in the Nebraska education system. Peru State College has been pushing forward, in 2007 celebrated a record 472 graduates, with student enrollment ballooning higher. Credit was given to its online education programs, which it was reported funded about 30 percent of campus initiatives.
This period of growth has been referred to by one college administrator as "the Renaissance". The 104-acre Peru State College campus is a prominent feature of the small city of Peru, located 11 miles northeast of nearby Auburn, NE, 70 miles South of Omaha, NE; the names of several of the buildings reflect the campus's long history in Nebraska. The T. J. Majors Building, which houses the School of Education and School of Professional Studies, is named in honor of Lt. Col. Thomas Jefferson Majors; the A. D. Majors building, which served as a residence hall, is named in honor of his nephew, it was demolished in 2008. These are the only two buildings on campus bearing the name of a person, never employed by the college. T. J. and A. D. Majors served on the state normal board. In more recent years, Peru State College underwent massive renovations; these included renovations on the Eliza Morgan women's-only residence hall, providing for more modern amenities for residents. The buildings that served as the library and gymnasium were renovated and converted into a modernized library and an Academic Resource Center.
The two buildings are connected by a skywalk known as the "Bobcat Walk". The Al Wheeler Activity Center has been renovated. Other renovations are still planned. Three schools comprise Peru State College's academic offerings, providing baccalaureate and graduate degrees and certificates of achievement: School of Education, School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional Studies. Peru State's small campus size provides for a small student-faculty ratio. Arguably the largest academic program at Peru State College, its oldest, is the education department, under the School of Education; the original role of Peru State College was that of a normal school, training individuals to become the teachers in public and private elementary and secondary schools. Until the founding of the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney, now known as the University of Nebraska at Kearney, it was the only normal school in Nebraska. Peru's continued strong commitment to teacher education is reflected in its accreditations and memberships.
Peru State College receives accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and is a member of the National Council for Teacher Education and
Nebraska's 3rd congressional district
Nebraska's 3rd congressional district seat encompasses the western three-fourths of the state. It includes Grand Island, Hastings, North Platte and Scottsbluff. Additionally, it encompasses a large majority of the Platte River. Nebraska has had at least three congressional districts since 1883; the district's current configuration dates from 1963, when Nebraska lost a seat as a result of the 1960 United States Census. At that time, most of the old 3rd and 4th districts were merged to form the new 3rd District; the district is one of the most Republican districts in the nation. Democrats have only come close to winning this district three times as drawn, in 1974, 1990, 2006, all years where the incumbent was not running for reelection. Republican presidential and gubernatorial candidates carry the district with margins of 40 percent or more, while Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win a plurality within the current district boundaries. Excepting Democratic Saline County on the district’s eastern boundary and Dakota County which has only been within this district since 2013, the last Democrat to carry any county within the district at a presidential level was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Although Nebraska's state legislature is elected on a nonpartisan basis, all but two state senators representing significant portions of the district are known to be Republicans. With a Cook PVI of R+27, it is the most Republican Congressional District in the country outside the South, it is held by Republican Adrian Smith. The previous congressman, Tom Osborne, did not seek reelection in order to wage an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for governor of Nebraska. Nebraska's congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state that lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north, it is the only triply landlocked U. S. state. Nebraska's area is just over 77,220 square miles with a population of 1.9 million people. Its state capital is Lincoln, its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River. Indigenous peoples, including Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee and various branches of the Lakota tribes, lived in the region for thousands of years before European exploration; the state is crossed including that of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Nebraska was admitted as the 37th state of the United States in 1867, it is the only state in the United States whose legislature is unicameral and nonpartisan. Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the Great Plains; the Dissected Till Plains region consist of rolling hills and contains the state's largest cities and Lincoln. The Great Plains region, occupying most of western Nebraska, is characterized by treeless prairie, suitable for cattle-grazing.
Nebraska has two major climatic zones. The eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate; the western half of the state has a semi-arid climate. The state has wide variations between winter and summer temperatures, variations that decrease moving south in the state. Violent thunderstorms and tornadoes occur during spring and summer and sometimes in autumn. Chinook winds tend to warm the state in the winter and early spring. Nebraska's name is derived from transliteration of the archaic Otoe words Ñí Brásge, pronounced, or the Omaha Ní Btháska, meaning "flat water", after the Platte River that flows through the state. Indigenous peoples lived in the region of present-day Nebraska for thousands of years before European exploration; the historic tribes in the state included the Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee and various branches of the Lakota, some of which migrated from eastern areas into this region. When European exploration and settlement began, both Spain and France sought to control the region.
In the 1690s, Spain established trade connections with the Apaches, whose territory included western Nebraska. By 1703, France had developed a regular trade with the native peoples along the Missouri River in Nebraska, by 1719 had signed treaties with several of these peoples. After war broke out between the two countries, Spain dispatched an armed expedition to Nebraska under Lieutenant General Pedro de Villasur in 1720; the party was attacked and destroyed near present-day Columbus by a large force of Pawnees and Otoes, both allied to the French. The massacre ended Spanish exploration of the area for the remainder of the 18th century. In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain; this left Spain competing for dominance along the Mississippi. In response, Spain dispatched two trading expeditions up the Missouri in 1794 and 1795; that year, Mackay's party built a trading post, dubbed Fort Carlos IV, near present-day Homer. In 1819, the United States established Fort Atkinson as the first U.
S. Army post west of the Missouri River, just east of present-day Fort Calhoun; the army abandoned the fort in 1827. European-American settlement was scarce until 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; the Nebraska Territory included parts of the current states of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The territorial capital of Nebraska was Omaha. In the 1860s, after the U. S. 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 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 Native Americans such as the Omaha. The first wave of settlement gave the territory a sufficient population to apply for statehood.
Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, the capital was moved from Omaha to the center at Lancaster renamed Lincoln after the assassinated President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The battle of Massacre Canyon on August 5, 1873, was the last major battle between the Pawnee and the Sioux. During the 1870s to the 1880s, Nebraska experienced a large growth in population. Several factors contributed to attracting new residents; the first was. 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, the steel plow, combined with good weather, enabled settlers to use of Nebraska as prime farming land. By the 1880s, Nebraska's population
Missouri River
The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri; the river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles, which includes parts of ten U. S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system. For over 12,000 years, people have depended on the Missouri River and its tributaries as a source of sustenance and transportation. More than ten major groups of Native Americans populated the watershed, most leading a nomadic lifestyle and dependent on enormous bison herds that roamed through the Great Plains; the first Europeans encountered the river in the late seventeenth century, the region passed through Spanish and French hands before becoming part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.
The Missouri River was one of the main routes for the westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century. The growth of the fur trade in the early 19th century laid much of the groundwork as trappers explored the region and blazed trails. Pioneers headed west en masse beginning in the 1830s, first by covered wagon by the growing numbers of steamboats that entered service on the river. Settlers took over former Native American lands in the watershed, leading to some of the most longstanding and violent wars against indigenous peoples in American history. During the 20th century, the Missouri River basin was extensively developed for irrigation, flood control and the generation of hydroelectric power. Fifteen dams impound the main stem of the river, with hundreds more on tributaries. Meanders have been cut and the river channelized to improve navigation, reducing its length by 200 miles from pre-development times. Although the lower Missouri valley is now a populous and productive agricultural and industrial region, heavy development has taken its toll on wildlife and fish populations as well as water quality.
From the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, three streams rise to form the headwaters of the Missouri River: the longest begins near Brower's Spring, 9,100 feet above sea level on the southeastern slopes of Mount Jefferson in the Centennial Mountains. From there it flows west north, it passes through Canyon Ferry Lake, a reservoir west of the Big Belt Mountains. Issuing from the mountains near Cascade, the river flows northeast to the city of Great Falls, where it drops over the Great Falls of the Missouri, a series of five substantial waterfalls, it winds east through a scenic region of canyons and badlands known as the Missouri Breaks, receiving the Marias River from the west widening into the Fort Peck Lake reservoir a few miles above the confluence with the Musselshell River. Farther on, the river passes through the Fort Peck Dam, downstream, the Milk River joins from the north. Flowing eastward through the plains of eastern Montana, the Missouri receives the Poplar River from the north before crossing into North Dakota where the Yellowstone River, its greatest tributary by volume, joins from the southwest.
At the confluence, the Yellowstone is the larger river. The Missouri meanders east past Williston and into Lake Sakakawea, the reservoir formed by Garrison Dam. Below the dam the Missouri receives the Knife River from the west and flows south to Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, where the Heart River joins from the west, it slows into the Lake Oahe reservoir just before the Cannonball River confluence. While it continues south reaching Oahe Dam in South Dakota, the Grand and Cheyenne Rivers all join the Missouri from the west; the Missouri makes a bend to the southeast as it winds through the Great Plains, receiving the Niobrara River and many smaller tributaries from the southwest. It proceeds to form the boundary of South Dakota and Nebraska after being joined by the James River from the north, forms the Iowa–Nebraska boundary. At Sioux City the Big Sioux River comes in from the north; the Missouri flows south to the city of Omaha where it receives its longest tributary, the Platte River, from the west.
Downstream, it begins to define the Nebraska–Missouri border flows between Missouri and Kansas. The Missouri swings east at Kansas City, where the Kansas River enters from the west, so on into north-central Missouri. To the east of Kansas City, the Missouri receives, on the left side, the Grand River, it passes south of Columbia and receives the Osage and Gasconade Rivers from the south downstream of Jefferson City. The river rounds the northern side of St. Louis to join the Mississippi River on the border between Missouri and Illinois. With a drainage basin spanning 529,350 square miles, the Missouri River's catchment encompasses nearly one-sixth of the area of the United States or just over five percent of the continent of North America. Comparable to the size of the Canadian province of Quebec, the watershed encompasses most of the central Great Plains, stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the
Indian Cave State Park
Indian Cave State Park is a public recreation and historic preservation area bordering the Missouri River in Nebraska that preserves a cave with prehistoric petroglyphs and the reconstructed village of St. Deroin established in 1853 and part of the former Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation; the state park lies eight miles east of Shubert. The park's 3,052 acres straddle the county line between Nemaha and Richardson counties in the southeast corner of the state; some of the carvings within Indian Cave are believed to be several thousand years old, but their exact period and cultural affiliations are undetermined. The park offers horseback riding, hiking trails and picnic facilities, fishing areas and winter skiing. Indian Cave State Park Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Indian Cave State Park Map Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy; the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States; the Census Bureau's primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, which allocates the seats of the U. S. House of Representatives to the states based on their population; the Bureau's various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and it helps states, local communities, businesses make informed decisions. The information provided by the census informs decisions on where to build and maintain schools, transportation infrastructure, police and fire departments. In addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, the Current Population Survey.
Furthermore and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government contain data produced by the Census Bureau. Article One of the United States Constitution directs the population be enumerated at least once every ten years and the resulting counts used to set the number of members from each state in the House of Representatives and, by extension, in the Electoral College; the Census Bureau now conducts a full population count every 10 years in years ending with a zero and uses the term "decennial" to describe the operation. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population projections. In addition, Census data directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education and more; the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations: the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, economy. The Census Bureau's legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code.
The Census Bureau conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, health, consumer expenditures, housing. Within the bureau, these are known as "demographic surveys" and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts; the Census Bureau conducts economic surveys of manufacturing, retail and other establishments and of domestic governments. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts; the Census Act of 1840 established a central office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses at the 10-year intervals. In 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor; the department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their subordinate role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every two years and agriculture censuses every 10 years.
In 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code. By law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year; the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are "widely used...for data collection and analysis". The Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Regional divisions used by the United States Census Bureau: Region 1: Northeast Division 1: New England Division 2: Mid-Atlantic Region 2: Midwest Division 3: East North Central Division 4: West North Central Region 3: South Division 5: South Atlantic Division 6: East South Central Division 7: West South Central Region 4: West Division 8: Mountain Division 9: Pacific Many federal, state and tribal governments use census data to: Decide the location of new housing and public facilities, Examine the demographic characteristics of communities and the US, Plan transportation systems and roadways, Determine quotas and creation of police and fire precincts, Create localized areas for elections, utilities, etc.
Gathers population information every 10 years The United States Census Bureau is committed to confidentiality, guarantees non-disclosure of any addresses or personal information related to individuals or establishments. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information. All Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment; the Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government
Otoe County, Nebraska
Otoe County is a county in the U. S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 15,740, its county seat is Nebraska City. The county was formed in 1854, was named tor the Otoe Indian tribe. In the Nebraska license plate system, Otoe County is represented by the prefix 11. Otoe County lies on the east side of Nebraska, its east boundary line abuts the west boundary lines of the states of Missouri. The terrain of Otoe County consists of rolling hills which drop down to the river basin, rich soil; the area is devoted to agriculture. The county has a total area of 619 square miles, of which 616 square miles is land and 3.4 square miles is water. Otoe County derives its name from the Otoe Indians; as of the 2000 United States Census there were 15,396 people, 6,060 households, 4,229 families in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile. There were 6,567 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 97.42% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, 0.65% from two or more races.
2.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,060 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.20% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.10% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01. The county population contained 26.30% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, 18.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,302, the median income for a family was $45,295. Males had a median income of $30,682 versus $21,520 for females; the per capita income for the county was $17,752. About 5.90% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.30% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.
Nebraska City Syracuse Woodland Hills Otoe County voters are reliably Republican. In no national election since 1932 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. National Register of Historic Places listings in Otoe County, Nebraska Nebraska City News-Press
Nemaha County, Nebraska
