In the News

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

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

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

“If We Build It, They Will Come. Place of Our Dreams.” That is the theme for the Phelps County Development Corporation’s annual meeting on Thursday, March 31, at the newly remodeled Holdrege Sun Theater & Event venue. PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery said the theme builds upon the same theme of PCDC’...Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs and business owners aren’t known for conformity. They go against the grain because settling for what already exists is less appealing than paving new paths. But this idealism and drive don’t come without risks. About 21.5% of startups fold within year one, and 30% go under in the secon...Continue Reading

Aside from that first fulfilled order or invoice payment received, nothing warms an entrepreneur’s heart like a repeat customer. How valuable is a steady stream of reliable, recurring business to a business that’s trying to get established? Research consistently finds that repeat customers spend significantly more than new ones whil...Continue Reading

Many people, even retail experts who have been in the industry their entire careers are wondering, what does it really mean to be in the ‘metaverse’? The metaverse exploded into the public consciousness in October 2021 as Facebook, Inc. changed its name to "Meta" and announced multibillion-dollar investments in metaverse technologies...Continue Reading

The Great Resignation has negatively impacted businesses throughout the United States and the world. As CBS reported, in October 4.2 million Americans left their positions for other job opportunities.  Luke Pardue, Chief Economist of Gusto, told CBS “We serve 200,000 businesses across the country and can use their payroll data t...Continue Reading

Nebraska is known for its welcoming communities, work-life balance, and thriving economy.  Nebraska is: No. 6 Best State, U.S. News & World Report, 2021 No. 7 Best Economy in America, CNBC, 2021 No. 2 Best State to Find a Job, WalletHub, 2021 No. 1 Lowest Unemployment, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021 Phelps County is al...Continue Reading

Investors are busy people, and many have seen thousands of pitch decks in their careers. They ultimately choose to invest in very few, however, regardless of how interesting some might seem to the average person. The truth is that a good idea isn’t enough; it’s only part of the equation...Continue Reading

One of Nebraska’s most remarkable restaurants is hiding in a place you’d never suspect. This undeniably rustic-looking spot is far more than meets the eye – it’s the embodiment of a hidden gem. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that The Speakeasy is in the middle of nowhere. In fact...Continue Reading

Governor Pete Ricketts held a press conference to emphasize the State’s strong financial position and call for action to build a new State Penitentiary and protect Nebraska’s water resources.  The Governor noted that continued growth in Nebraska—especially in the State’s two biggest industries of agriculture and manufacturing—has contributed to much stronger-than-expecte...Continue Reading

“If We Build It, They Will Come. Place of Our Dreams.” That is the theme for the Phelps County Development Corporation’s annual meeting on Thursday, March 31, at Holdrege’s new Sun Theater & Event venue. The evening will be a celebration of dreaming big and will honor and inspire those who hav...Continue Reading

In further efforts to turn commuters into full-time residents, PCDC has expanded its GO! HOME program in 2022 to add incentives to purchase mobile homes. “It offers a choice to buyers,” PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery said. “Mobile homes are more affordable to people who are just getting started in thei...Continue Reading

From Atlanta, Ga., to Las Vegas, Nev., PCDC is putting Phelps County on the radar of new and expanding businesses. PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery participated in two recent major trade shows to recruit major job creators and retailers and restaurants to the county. Most recently, he attended the IPPE show i...Continue Reading

Eric and Beth Sweeney recently left behind long commutes, crowded freeways, less sunlight, and people with bad attitudes and moved their family of seven to Phelps County for a “place that may not be 100 percent perfect, but darn close.” Eric, a Loomis High School graduate, and his wife, Beth, ...Continue Reading