Leadership Lincoln County – Session 4 Economic Development and Tourism
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 | Submitted by Shelby Kolling, Sandhills State Bank
Leadership Lincoln County 2024-2025 participated in their session on Economic Development and Tourism session on November 19th. The day began with a recap of all
economic development projects that have begun over the last few years in Lincoln County by Gary Person. These projects include the Hershey Industrial Rail Park, Sustainable Beef LLC, the Walmart Distribution Center, Historic Canteen District, District 177 and Heartland Flats, Great Plains Health additions, Twin Rivers Business Park, shovel ready housing subdivisions, Recreation Center and Cody Pool renovations, and GrayBull Golf Course. Mr. Person also reviewed the Chamber and Development Corporation history. There are
currently 660 local businesses that are members of the Chamber.

Next, Justin Gosnell from the North Platte airport presented the upcoming renovations to the airport terminal. Currently, the 72-year-old North Platte airport is the oldest terminal in operation as a regional airport. A $29.6 million terminal update will offer jet bridge boarding, new restrooms, and modern amenities and is primarily covered by federal funding.
 
The next activity was a tour of the areas of North Platte that have utilized Tax Increment Financing (TIF ) by State Senator Mike Jacobson. Upon completion of the bus tour, Mr. Jacobson presented the inner workings of TIF. Tax increment financing was created a Nebraska Constitutional Amendment in 1980 allowing local governments to use the increased tax revenues produced by a redevelopment project to partially finance the cost of some improvements associated with the project. There are certain criteria and feasibility measures that must be met for the project to qualify as well as restrictions by county area on the amount of land classified as blighted and substandard. In essence, TIF guarantees additional tax revenues on the improvement project for 15 years in the future. Following lunch, the group traveled to the Lincoln County Historical Museum and participated in a panel on Tourism provided by Lisa Burke from Visit North Platte, Bob Lantis from NEBRASKAland Days, and Jim Griffin from the Lincoln County Historical Museum. 600,000 people per year visit Lincoln County for tourism and $10.5 million in
state and local tax revenues are generated by the visitor economy. This revenue replaces $735 of taxes annually that would otherwise be paid by Lincoln County households. After the panel, the Leadership Lincoln County members received a tour of the Lincoln County Historical Museum including the current exhibit on Japanese of Lincoln County and the Canteen. Annually, the historical museum has 21,000 visitors. Due to weather, the group was unable to tour the exterior village display and tour from Dusty Trails LLC. Lastly, the group traveled to the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center. The Golden Spike features views of the world’s largest classification yard with a 104-foot-tall viewing center. The attraction has around 35,000 visitors per year and the current goal is to be self-sustaining by February of 2029. Current funding comes from occupancy tax proceeds as well as purchases from the gift store. Current issues that inhibit growth and offerings include broadband internet and accessibility.
 
The Leadership Lincoln County attendees then got to shop the well-stocked holiday gift shop located in the Golden Spike. It was a wonderful day spent learning about all of the economic development currently happening in North Platte and tourism in Lincoln County.

See photos from this session here.