Lincoln

Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster. It became Nebraska's state capital in 1869. The Bertram G. Goodhuedesigned state capitol building was completed in 1932, and is the second tallest capitol in the United States. Lincoln Public Schools provided support for approximately 3,000 students from 150 countries, who spoke 125 different languages. The University of Nebraska is the largest in Nebraska with 26,079 students enrolled, and the city's third-largest employer. Lincoln is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the state called the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas. The statistical area is home to 361,921 people, making it the 104th-largest combined statistical area inThe United States, with a population of 292,657 in 2021. The region makes up a part of what is known as the greater Midwest Silicon Prairie. The first settlers were attracted to the area due to the abundance of salt. Before the expansion westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass. Plains Indians, descendants of indigenous peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in and hunted along Salt Creek. The Great Sioux Nation used Nebraska as a hunting and skirmish ground, although they did not have any long-term settlements in the state. The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived along the Platte River.

History

Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. The first settlers were attracted to the area due to the abundance of salt. The Nebraska State Capitol was completed on December 1, 1868; a two-story building constructed with native limestone with a central cupola. In 1925, the Willcox-designed capitol building was razed and state offices moved into the new building. The University of Nebraska was established in Lincoln by the state with a land grant of about 130,000 acres in 1869; construction of University Hall, the first building, began the same year. The capitol is the tallest building in the United States and is the second tallest building of its kind in the world. The state capital is located south of the Platte River and was named after recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. The capital of the Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854; it was removed from Omaha in 1867 with the passage of the Removal Act. The current capitol was constructed in four phases, with the completion of the fourth phase in 1932 and the first capitol in 1934. It is located in the heart of the state's largest city, Lincoln, which has a population of more than 1.5 million people. It was named for Abraham Lincoln after a last ditch effort to derail the move by having the future capital city named after the recently assassinated president. The Capitol is located on a site that was once the site of the U.S. Mint.

Geography

Lincoln has an area of 99.050 square miles (256.538 km²) Lincoln is in the Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Area which consists of the Lincoln metropolitan area and the micropolitan area of Beatrice. Lincoln is located in the Great Plains far from the moderating influence of mountains or large bodies of water. Lincoln has a highly variable four season humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa): winters are cold and summers are hot. The city is subject both to episodes of bitter cold in winter and heat waves during summer, with 10.1 nights of 0 °F (18 °C) or lower lows, 41.8 days of 90 °C (32 °C)' highs, and 3.5 days of 100°F (38 °C)" highs. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 7 thru April 25, allowing a growing season of 164 days. There is an average of 38 days with a snow depth of 1 in (2.5 cm) or more. Snow averages 26.0 inches (66 cm) per season but seasonal accumulation has ranged from 7.2 in (18 cm) in 1967-1968 to 55.5 in (141cm) in 2018-2019. Lincoln's northward growth has encroached on the habitat of the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle. As of December 2013, Lincoln had 45 registered neighborhood associations within the city limits. The last occurrence of freezing temperatures was July 22, 2012 and February 16, 2021. The second lowest temperature ever recorded in Lincoln was 31.0F (35.0C) on February 16, 2021, which broke the monthly record of 26.2 °C set last year.

Demographics

Lincoln is the second-most-populous city in Nebraska. In 2013, Lincoln was named one of the "Top Ten Most Welcoming Cities in America" by Welcoming America. The U.S. government designated Lincoln in the 1970s as a refugee-friendly city due to its stable economy, educational institutions, and size. Since then, refugees from Vietnam settled in Lincoln, and more refugees came from other countries. As of the census of 2020, the city had 291,082 people. The city's racial makeup was 84.9% White, 4.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 3.9%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7. 6% of the population. There were 113,551 households, of which 6.5% had children under the age of 5. The average household size was 2.38, and the city's gender makeup was 49.8% female. The population density was 2,938.74 inhabitants per square mile (1,134.7/km²). The city has a population of 291,000 people, and a population density of 2.938 inhabitants per sq mi (2,908.4/ km²) The city is home to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which has an enrollment of more than 1,000,000 students. It is the state's second-largest city, after Omaha.

Economy

Lincoln's economy is fairly typical of a mid-sized American city; most economic activity is derived from the service and manufacturing industries. Government and the University of Nebraska are both large contributors to the local economy. Other prominent industries in Lincoln include finance, insurance, publishing, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, railroads, high technology, information technology, medical, education and truck transport. In 2013, Lincoln ranked No. 4 on Forbes' list of the Best Places for Business and Careers, No. 1 on "NerdWallet's Best Cities for Job Seekers in 2015 and No. 2 on SmartAsset's Cities with the Best Work-life Balance in 2019. For October 2021, the Lincoln Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) preliminary unemployment rate was 1.3% (not seasonally adjusted). With a tight labor market, Lincoln has seen rapid wage growth. From summer of 2014 to the summer of 2015, the average hourly pay for both public and private employees have increased by 11%. From October 2014 to October 2015, wages were also up by 8.4%.One of the largest employers is Bryan Health, which consists of two major hospitals and several large outpatient facilities across the city. Several national business were originally established in Lincoln; these include student lender Nelnet, Ameritas, Assurity, Fort Western Stores, CliffsNotes and HobbyTown USA. Several regional restaurant chains began in Lincoln, including Amigos/Kings Classic, Runza Restaurants, and Valentino's. The city is also a part of a rapidly growing craft brewing industry.

Arts and culture

Lincoln's music scene has grown to the point where it is sometimes referred to as a "Music City" Lincoln is home to several notable musical groups, such as Remedy Drive, VOTA, For Against, Lullaby for the Working Class, Matthew Sweet, Dirtfedd, The Show is the Rainbow and Straight. In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. Lincoln is the hometown of Zager and Evans, known for their international No. 1 hit record, "In the Year 2525" (1969) In late 2016, Lincoln was ranked #3 on Lonely Planet's "Best in the U.s.," destinations to see in 2017 list. The Lincoln Children's Zoo, the dairy store at UNL's East Campus, and Mueller Planetarium on the city campus are some of the city's tourist attractions. The Nebraska State Capitol, which is also the tallest building in Lincoln, offers tours. The Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed preserves, interprets, and displays physical items significant in racing and automotive history. The National Museum of Roller Skating extends public knowledge of roller skating history and seeks to preserve its legacy for future generations. A locally popular event is the Haymarket Farmers' Market, running from May to October in the Historic Haymarket, one of several farmers markets throughout the city. The Sunken Gardens, basketball games at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, and the University of Nebraska's Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center are also popular attractions.

Sports

Lincoln is home to the University of Nebraska's football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In total, the university fields 22 men's and women's teams in 14 NCAA Division I sports. Nebraska football began play in 1890. Among the 128 Division I-A teams, Nebraska is one of ten football programs to win 800 or more games. Other sports teams are the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves, an NCAA Division III University; the Lincoln Saltdogs, an American Association independent minor league baseball team; and the Lincoln Stars, a USHL junior ice hockey team. The No Coast Derby Girls, a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, play in the American Association of Independent Professional Women's Roller Derby leagues. The university's indoor arena, the Bob Devaney Sports Center, was named for him. It is located in the heart of the university's downtown area. The Cornhusker football program has won more than 800 games in its history. Notable coaches were Tom Osborne, and Bobdevaney. Osborne coached from 1973-1997. Devaney coached from 1962-1972 and the university’s indoor arena was named in his honor. The Nebraska Wesleyen Prairie Wolves are a Division III university. They play their games in the National Collegiate Division of the American Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The team is known as the "Prairie Wolves" and is based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Prairie Wolves have won over 100 games in their history. The team has also won the NCAA Division II National Championship.

Parks and recreation

Lincoln has an extensive park system, with over 131 individual parks connected by a 248 mi (399 km) system of recreational trails. The MoPac Trail is a bicycling, equestrian and walking trail built on an abandoned Missouri Pacific Railroad corridor which runs for 27 miles (43 km) from the University of Nebraska's Lincoln campus eastward to Wabash, Nebraska. There are five public recreation centers, nine outdoor public pools and five public golf courses not including private facilities in Lincoln. Smaller neighborhood parks are scattered throughout the city. The city also has a number of community parks, including Ballard Park, Bethany Park, Bowling Lake Park, Densmore Park, Erwin Peterson Park, Fleming Fields, Irvingdale Park, Mahoney Park, Max E. Roper Park, Oak Lake Park and Peter Pan Park. In addition to the city's many parks, the city has a large number of parks in the rural areas of the city, such as Iron Horse Park, Nine Mile Prairie, Sunken Gardens, Union Plaza, and Wilderness Park. The Lincoln Public Library has a collection of more than 2,000 books, many of which are free to the public. The library also offers a free library card for residents of Lincoln and surrounding areas. It also offers free Wi-Fi in many of its buildings, including the library, the Lincoln Public Museum, and the Lincoln Children's Zoo. It is the first of its kind in the state, and one of only a handful of U.S. cities to do so.

Government

Lincoln has a mayorcouncil government. The mayor and a seven-member city council are selected in nonpartisan elections. Many Nebraska state and United States Government offices are in Lincoln. The city lies within the Lincoln Public Schools school district. The Lincoln Police Department has just over 350 police officers. The police per capita rate is extremely low at 1.2 officers per 1,000 people (the average being 1.94), and the violent crime rate of 522 per 100,000People. The department is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and was the first law enforcement agency in Nebraska to become so. Lincoln City Libraries circulates more than three million items per year to the residents of Lincoln and Lancaster County. It is home to Polley Music Library and the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska authors. Lincoln's health, personnel, and planning departments are joint city/county agencies. The most recent city general election was held on May 4, 2021. The LPD shares its headquarters with the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. Lincoln has eight branches of the Lincoln City Library system, which has eight branch locations. It also has a public library system of its own, with eight branches in Lincoln, Lancaster County, and Lincoln, Nebraska. It has a fire fighting and emergency ambulatory services department, while private companies provide non-emergency medical transport and volunteer fire fighting units support the city's outlying areas. Lincoln is the state capital of Nebraska and is the home of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Education

Lincoln has nine colleges and universities. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the largest university in Nebraska. Lincoln Public Schools is the public school district which includes the majority of the city limits. Lincoln's private high schools are College View Academy, Lincoln Christian, Lincoln Lutheran, Parkview Christian School and Pius X High School. Lincoln also hosts the College of Hair Design and Joseph's College of Cosmetology. The five countries with the highest international enrollment were China, India, Malaysia, Oman and Rwanda. The two-year Academic Transfer program is popular among students who want to complete their general education requirements before they enroll in a four-year institution. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges. Union College is a private Seventh-day AdventistFour-year coeducational college with 911 students enrolled 201314. Lincoln has three community colleges: Southeast Community College, Bellevue University, Concordia University (Nebraska) and Doane University. Lincoln is home to the U.S. Air Force JROTC program, which is part of the Lincoln Air Force School of the Air, which has more than 1,000 members. The Lincoln Public School District has six traditional high schools: Lincoln High, East, Northeast, North Star, Southeast, and Southwest. LPS is also home to special interest high school programs, including the Arts and Humanities Focus Program, the Bryan Community School, The Career Academy and the Science Focus Program (Zoo School). Some outerlying sections of Lincoln are in other school districts.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska = 86.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 30. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 40. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Lincoln = 4.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 291,082 individuals with a median age of 32.7 age the population grows by 10.12% in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,937.67 residents per square mile of area (1,134.24/km²). There are average 2.35 people per household in the 100,235 households with an average household income of $47,475 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 4.10% of the available work force and has dropped -3.35% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.20%. The number of physicians in Lincoln per 100,000 population = 220.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Lincoln = 29.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 25.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 82. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 214. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 13.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 34, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska which are owned by the occupant = 56.47%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 33 years with median home cost = $108,110 and home appreciation of -1.81%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $18.15 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,271 per student. There are 14.3 students for each teacher in the school, 635 students for each Librarian and 486 students for each Counselor. 8.49% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 22.68% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 11.35% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).