In the News

Eight students studying for future careers in agriculture, nursing, diesel technology and other high-demand careers received generous scholarships because they plan to return to Phelps County to work after graduation. The high-demand jobs scholarships are part of the Phelps County Development Corporation’s efforts to create a quality local workforce. This year...Continue Reading

Several recent Phelps County graduates have returned to the area to begin their careers and finished college nearly debt-free thanks in part to PCDC’s high-demand scholarships. Many of these college graduates connected with their career paths in high school. In addition to high-demand jobs scholarships, some also benefitted from employer-reimbursed trainin...Continue Reading

The Phelps County Development Corporation has added a “sales tax rebate” for residential construction materials to its GO! HOME incentives and has updated its GO! DREAM program. The changes are intended to encourage the construction of new homes in the county and to increase the vitality and culture of the downtow...Continue Reading

Workforce shortages are top of mind for many industries and businesses. Forbes reports that the Great Resignation seen at the beginning of the year has morphed into the “Great Reshuffle.” While 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in February, more than half of the workers who quit are switching thei...Continue Reading

This spring we celebrated 7,200 new graduates of the University of Nebraska – new Husker, Maverick, Loper and UNMC alumni who are future leaders of our state. It’s one of my favorite times of year. Commencement brings to life the fundamental reason why public higher education exists: To create opportunities fo...Continue Reading

Communities throughout the country are facing a housing crisis either due to a lack of housing units, as the result of prices skyrocketing past the level of affordability, or both. Solving this crisis requires creativity and the support of the entire community. As such, leaders who put forth policies withou...Continue Reading

The Phelps County Development Corporation (PCDC) is preparing a County-Wide Housing Study for Phelps County, Nebraska, including each Community and the rural areas of the County.  The Assessment will highlight current demographic and economic statistical data, local housing unit “target demand” and a five year “Housing Action Plan” for ne...Continue Reading

It’s no news that lingering supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures have forced project teams across the U.S. to shake up their procurement and delivery processes. The projects of today are rife with risk, as supplied materials’ lead times and pricing have proven to be no longer as reliable a...Continue Reading

The way businesses in the industrial sector approach hiring new employees has changed. Companies can no longer rely on posting a job ad and sitting back to wait for resumes to flood in. With unemployment rates at an all-time low after the advent of the Great Resignation, the best candidate...Continue Reading

More than 40 businesses and non-profits joined representatives from UNO, Omaha, and the State of Nebraska to launch a new program granting unprecedented access to paid internship opportunities for our students. UNO Career Connect is a new collaborative program pairing UNO with area companies and organizations to guarantee paid internship position...Continue Reading

Out of all of the places Jack and Amanda Krause have seen and lived during their military careers, Holdrege, Nebraska, was the place they chose to put down roots. Jack and Amanda had a move-about lifestyle during their first years of marriage because of their military service. Jack was no strange...Continue Reading

Grit and determination.  Readiness to help at a moment’s notice.  Willingness to work long and hard.  Steadfastness in the face of difficulty.  These are the qualities that define us as Nebraskans.  And we saw them on full display last month as our state battled the worst fires in a decade. O...Continue Reading

The Phelps County Development Corporation has announced its GO! HOME grant opportunities for 2022. The grants are intended to encourage new residents and the construction and sales of local workforce housing in all Phelps County communities. “GO! HOME addresses opportunities for improvement by priming the pump, so to speak,” PCDC Executive Directo...Continue Reading

LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) - The Nebraska Department of Economic Development is accepting applications under the 2022 grant cycle of the Developing Youth Talent Initiative (DYTI). Applications are due by noon on June 14, 2022, via Amplifund. Read full article.Continue Reading

The pandemic created a chance opportunity for Wood River native Mady Thelen to purchase a local dance studio and become a small-town entrepreneur. Mady graduated from Wood River High School nine years ago and then earned a bachelor’s degree in dance (with a minor in agricultural entrepreneurship) from the University o...Continue Reading

Phelps County needs more housing. The continued tight-housing supply in Holdrege is prompting PCDC to formulate new strategies to create housing and attract developers to the area. For the past six months, just a few dozen or fewer homes are on the market in the county each week. Phelps County has commissioned a...Continue Reading

A recent board retreat allowed the Phelps County Development Corporation’s board of directors to learn from other community’s successes and to generate new ideas to help grow the county. PCDC board members traveled to northeast Nebraska to Fremont’s Costco/Lincoln Premium Poultry Plant and to Wayne, where they met at the beautifu...Continue Reading

The pandemic spurred many people to take action to change what was no longer working in their lives whether it be location, jobs, schools, all of the above, or everything in between. For Michelle Mel McNierney, her husband, Jason, and their young family, it was living in Denver. They wer...Continue Reading

A bill that would offer financial help to struggling small businesses has advanced through the second round in the Nebraska legislature. LB 598 from Lincoln Senator Anna Wishart would organize an existing pandemic relief program within the state Department of Economic Development under the Businesses Innovation Act, and make it availabl...Continue Reading

President Joe Biden appointed Vercie Lark as the new Small Business Administration Region 7 administrator in February and he directs SBA programs and services in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. “My key goal for the SBA in the Region 7 Great Plains states is to increase access to capital for micr...Continue Reading

Movies can be a great source of inspiration and entertainment, and a fun way to expand your knowledge base. If you’re familiar with Amazon, you probably already know that the online shopping platform has a video streaming service. It makes thousands of video titles available for free to its Amazon Prim...Continue Reading

After several trips to Phelps County to visit friends, Kevin and Dr. Jill Smith decided to plant their roots here. The couple moved to Holdrege in December 2021 with their newborn child, bought a business and started another business. “Each time we visited, we always left thinking how fantastic of a...Continue Reading

PCDC is part of a Nebraska team that is encouraging the growth of the dairy industry locally and statewide. “Dairy farming is an under-developed livestock activity in our area, and there are significant growth opportunities in this sector,” PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery said. “It’s important for Phelps County to b...Continue Reading