Lincoln, Nebraska

Prior to 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 Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River. The Great Sioux Nation, including the Ihanktowan-Ihanktowana and the Lakota, located to the north and west, used Nebraska as a hunting and skirmish ground, although they did not have any long-term settlements in the state. An occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s.[9]

Lincoln, as seen in 1868

Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859.[10] The village was sited on the east bank of Salt Creek.[11] The first settlers were attracted to the area due to the abundance of salt. Once J. Sterling Morton developed his salt mines in Kansas, salt in the village was no longer a viable commodity.[12] Captain W. T. Donovan, a former steamer captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. In the fall of 1859, the village settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Captain Donovan, selected the village of Lancaster to be the county seat. The county was named Lancaster. After the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders began to inhabit the area. The first plat was dated August 6, 1864.[9]

By the close of 1868, Lancaster had a population of approximately 500 people.[13] The township of Lancaster was renamed Lincoln with the incorporation of the city of Lincoln on April 1, 1869. In 1869, the University of Nebraska was established in Lincoln by the state with a land grant of about 130,000 acres. Construction of University Hall, the first building, began the same year.[14]

Thomas P. Kennard house

Nebraska was granted statehood on March 1, 1867. The capital of the Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854; however, most of the territory's population lived south of the Platte River. After much of the territory south of the Platte River considered annexation to Kansas, the territorial legislature voted to locate the capital city south of the river and as far west as possible.[15] Prior to the vote to remove the capital city from Omaha, a last ditch effort by Omaha Senator J. N. H. Patrick attempted to derail the move by having the future capital city named after recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Many of the people south of the Platte River had been sympathetic to the Confederate cause in the recently concluded Civil War. It was assumed that senators south of the river would not vote to pass the measure if the future capital was named after the former president. In the end, the motion to name the future capital city Lincoln was ineffective in blocking the measure and the vote to change the capital's location south of the Platte River was successful with the passage of the Removal Act in 1867.[16][17]

Goodhue-designed Nebraska State Capitol

The Removal Act called for the formation of a Capital Commission to locate a site for the capital on state-owned land. The Commission, composed of Governor David Butler, Secretary of State Thomas Kennard and State Auditor John Gillespie, began to tour sites on July 18, 1867, for the new capital city. The village of Lancaster was chosen, in part due to the salt flats and marshes.[18][19] Lancaster had approximately 30 residents. Disregarding the original plat of the village of Lancaster, Thomas Kennard platted Lincoln on a broader scale. The plat of the village of Lancaster was not dissolved nor abandoned; it became Lincoln when the Lincoln plat files were finished September 6, 1867.[20] To raise money for the construction of a capital city, a successful auction of lots was held.[21]

Kennard and Gillespie houses in Lincoln in a photograph from 1872. The commissioners houses were designed by John K. Winchell

Newcomers began to arrive and Lincoln's population grew. The Nebraska State Capitol was completed on December 1, 1868; a two-story building constructed with native limestone with a central cupola. The Kennard house, built in 1869, is the oldest remaining building in the original plat of Lincoln.[22]

In 1888, a new capitol building was constructed on the site of the first capitol. The new building replaced the structurally unsound former capitol. The second capitol building was a classical design by architect William H. Willcox.[23] Construction began on a third capitol building in 1922. Bertram G. Goodhue was selected in a national competition as its architect. By 1924, the first phase of construction was completed and state offices moved into the new building. In 1925, the Willcox-designed capitol building was razed. The Goodhue-designed capitol was constructed in four phases, with the completion of the fourth phase in 1932.[24] The capitol is the second tallest capitol building in the United States.[25]

Government Square: U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (1879–1906), City Hall (1906–1969).

The worldwide economic depression of 1890 saw Lincoln's population fall from 55,000 to 40,169 by 1900.(per 1900 census). Volga-German immigrants from Russia settled in the North Bottoms neighborhood and as Lincoln expanded with the growth in population, the city began to annex nearby towns. Normal was the first town annexed in 1919.[26] Bethany Heights, incorporated in 1890, was annexed in 1922.[12] In 1926, the town of University Place was annexed.[27] College View, incorporated in 1892, was annexed in 1929. Union College, a Seventh Day Adventist institution, was founded in College View in 1891. In 1930, Lincoln annexed the town of Havelock. Havelock actively opposed annexation to Lincoln and only relented due to a strike by the Burlington railroad shop workers which halted progress and growth for the city.[12]

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad's first train arrived in Lincoln on June 26, 1870, and the Midland Pacific (1871) and the Atchison and Nebraska (1872) soon followed. The Union Pacific began service in 1877. The Chicago and North Western and Missouri Pacific began service in 1886. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific extended service to Lincoln in 1892. Lincoln became a rail hub.[12]

Detroit-Lincoln-Denver (D-L-D) Highway monument

As automobile travel became more common, so did the need for better roads in Nebraska and throughout the U.S. In 1911, the Omaha-Denver Trans-Continental Route Association, with support from the Good Roads Movement, established the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway (O-L-D) through Lincoln. The goal was to have the most efficient highway for travel throughout Nebraska, from Omaha to Denver.[28]

In 1920, the Omaha-Denver Association merged with the Detroit-Lincoln-Denver Highway Association. As a result, the O-L-D was renamed the Detroit-Lincoln-Denver Highway (D-L-D) with the goal of having a continuous highway from Detroit to Denver. The goal was eventually realized by the mid-1920s; 1,700 mi (2,700 km) of constantly improved highway through six states.[29] The auto route's success in attracting tourists led entrepreneurs to build businesses and facilities in towns along the route to keep up with the demand. In 1924, the D-L-D was designated as Nebraska State Highway 6. In 1926, the highway became part of the Federal Highway System and was renumbered U.S. Route 38. In 1931, U.S. 38 was renumbered as a U.S. 6/U.S. 38 overlap and in 1933, the U.S. 38 route designation was dropped.[30][31]

Arrow Sport, Lincoln Airport.

In the early years of air travel, Lincoln had three airports and one airfield.[32] Union Airport, was established northeast of Lincoln in 1920. The Lincoln Flying School was founded by E.J. Sias in a building he built at 2145 O Street.[33] Charles Lindbergh was a student at the flying school in 1922. The flying school closed in 1947.[33] Some remnants of the Union Airport are still visible between N. 56th and N. 70th Streets, north of Fletcher Avenue; mangled within a slowly developing industrial zone.[34] Arrow Airport was established around 1925 as a manufacturing and test facility for Arrow Aircraft and Motors Corporation, primarily the Arrow Sport. The airfield was near Havelock; or to the west of where the North 48th Street Small Vehicle Transfer Station is today. Arrow Aircraft and Motors declared bankruptcy in 1939 and Arrow Airport closed roughly several decades later.[35] An Arrow Sport is on permanent display, hanging in the Lincoln Airport's main passenger terminal.[32][36]

As train, automobile, and air travel increased, business flourished and the city prospered. Lincoln's population increased 38.2% from 1920 to a population of 75,933 in 1930.[37] In 1930, the city's small municipal airfield was dedicated to Charles Lindbergh and named Lindbergh Field for a short period as another airfield was named Lindbergh in California. It was north of Salt Lake, in an area known over the years as Huskerville, Arnold Heights and Air Park; and was approximately within the western half of the West Lincoln Township.[38][39][40] The air field was a stop for United Airlines in 1927 and a mail stop in 1928.[41]

In 1942, the Lincoln Army Airfield was established at the site. During World War II, the U.S. Army used the facility to train over 25,000 aviation mechanics and process over 40,000 troopers for combat. The Army closed the base in 1945, but the Air Force reactivated it in 1952 during the Korean War. In 1966, after the Air Force closed the base, Lincoln annexed the airfield and the base's housing units.[38] The base became the Lincoln Municipal Airport, and later the Lincoln Airport, under the Lincoln Airport Authority's ownership. The two main airlines that served the airport were United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. The Authority shared facilities with the Nebraska National Guard, who continued to own parts of the old Air Force base.[42]

In 1966, Lincoln annexed the township of West Lincoln, incorporated in 1887. West Lincoln voters rejected Lincoln's annexation until the state legislature passed a bill in 1965 that allowed cities to annex surrounding areas without a vote.[43]

Lincoln on a late Sunday night (2015)

The downtown core retail district from 1959 to 1984 saw profound changes as retail shopping moved from downtown to the suburban Gateway Shopping Mall. In 1956, Bankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska announced plans to build a $6 million shopping center next to their new campus on Lincoln's eastern outskirts. Gateway Shopping Center, now called Gateway Mall, opened at 60th and O streets in 1960.[44][45] By 1984, 75% of Lincoln's revenue from retail sales tax came from within a one-mile radius of the Mall. However, the exodus of retail and service businesses led the downtown core to decline and deteriorate.[46]

In 1969, the Nebraska legislature legislated laws for urban renewal. Soon afterward, Lincoln began a program of revitalization and beautification. Most of the urban renewal projects focused on downtown and the near South areas. Many ideas were considered and not implemented. Successes included Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, designed by Philip Johnson; new branch libraries, new street lighting, the First National Bank Building and the National Bank of Commerce Building designed by I.M. Pei.[47]

In 1971, an expansion of Gateway Mall was completed. Lincoln's first woman mayor, Helen Boosalis, was elected in 1975. Mayor Boosalis was a strong supporter of the revitalization of Lincoln with the downtown beautification project being completed in 1978. In 1979, the square-block downtown Centrum was opened and connected to buildings with a skywalk. The Centrum was a two-level shopping mall with a garage for 1,038 cars. With the beautification and urban renewal projects, many historic buildings were razed in the city.[47] In 2007 and 2009, the city of Lincoln received beautification grants for improvements on O and West O Streets, west of the Harris Overpass, commemorating the history of the D-L-D.[29][48]

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnamese refugees created a large residential and business community along the 27th Street corridor alongside Mexican eateries and African markets.[49] Lincoln was designated as a "Refugee Friendly" city by the U.S. Department of State in the 1970s. In 2000, Lincoln was the twelfth-largest resettlement site per capita in the country.[50] As of 2011, Lincoln had the largest Karen (Burmese ethnic minority) population in the United States (behind Omaha),[51][52] with an estimated 1,500 in 2019.[53] As of the same year, Nebraska was one of the largest resettlement sites for the people of Sudan, mostly in Lincoln and Omaha.[54] In 2014, some social service organizations estimated that up to 10,000 Iraqi refugees had resettled in Lincoln.[55][56] In recent years, Lincoln had the largest Yazidi (Iraqi ethnic minority) population in the U.S.,[57][58] with over 2,000–3,000 having settled within the city (as of late 2017).[59][60] In a three-year period, the immigrant and refugee student population at Lincoln Public Schools increased 52% - from 1,606 students in 2014, to 2,445 in 2017.[61]

The decade from 1990 to 2000 saw a significant rise in population from 191,972 to 225,581. North 27th Street and Cornhusker Highway were redeveloped with new housing and businesses built. The boom housing market in south Lincoln created new housing developments including high end housing in areas like Cripple Creek, Willamsburg and The Ridge. The shopping center Southpointe Pavilions was completed in competition of Gateway Mall.[62]

In 2001, Westfield America Trust purchased the Gateway Mall [63] and named it Westfield Shoppingtown Gateway. In 2005, the company renamed it the Westfield Gateway.[64] Westfield made a $45 million makeover of the mall in 2005 including an expanded food court, a new west-side entrance and installation of an Italian carousel.[65] In 2012, Westfield America Trust sold Westfield Gateway to Starwood Capital Group. Starwood reverted the mall's name from Westfield Gateway to Gateway Mall and has made incremental expansions and renovations.[63][66]

In 2015, ALLO Communications announced it would bring ultra-high speed fiber internet to the city. Speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second were available for business and households by building off of the city's existing fiber network. Construction on the citywide network began in March 2016 and was estimated to be complete by 2019,[67] making it one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States.[68] Telephone and cable TV service were also included,[69] making it the third company to compete for such services within the same Lincoln footprint. In April 2016, Windstream Communications announced that 2,300 customers in Lincoln had 1 Gigabit per second fiber internet with an expected expansion of services to 25,000 customers by 2017.[70][71] On November 29, 2017, Lincoln was named a Smart Gigabit Community by U.S. Ignite Inc.[72][73] and in early 2018, Spectrum joined the ranks of internet service providers providing 1 gigabit internet within the city.[74]

The Lincoln Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Lancaster County and Seward County. Seward County was added to the metropolitan area in 2003. Lincoln is also in the Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Area which consists of the Lincoln metropolitan area and the micropolitan area of Beatrice. The city of Beatrice is the county seat of Gage County. The Lincoln-Beatrice combined statistical area is home to 356,083 people (2018 estimated)[6] making it the 105th-largest combined statistical area in the United States.[78]

View of south Lincoln from the top of the Nebraska State Capitol (2012).

Lincoln's neighborhoods include both old and new development. Some neighborhoods in Lincoln were formerly small towns that Lincoln later annexed, including University Place in 1926, Belmont, Bethany (Bethany Heights) in 1922, College View in 1929, Havelock in 1930, and West Lincoln in 1966.[12] A number of Historic Districts are near downtown Lincoln, while newer neighborhoods have appeared primarily in the south and east.[79] As of December 2013, Lincoln had 45 registered neighborhood associations within the city limits.[80]

One core neighborhood that has seen rapid residential growth in recent years is the downtown Lincoln area. In 2010, there were 1,200 downtown Lincoln residents; in 2016, there were 3,000 (an increase of 140%).[81] Around the middle of the same decade, demand for housing and rent units began outpacing supply. With Lincoln's population expected to grow to more than 311,000 people by 2020, prices for homes and rent costs have risen. Home prices rose 10% from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016; rent prices rose 30% from 2007 to 2017 with a 5–8% increase in 2016 alone.[82][83]

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 warm.[84] With little precipitation during winter, precipitation is concentrated in the warmer months, when thunderstorms frequently roll in, often producing tornadoes. Snow averages 25.9 inches (66 cm) per season but seasonal accumulation has ranged from 7.2 in (18 cm) in 1967–1968 to 55.5 in (141 cm) in 2018-2019.[85] Snow tends to fall in light amounts, though blizzards are possible. There is an average of 39 days with a snow depth of 1 in (2.5 cm) or more. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 5 thru April 25, allowing a growing season of 162 days.[85]

Sky over Lincoln after a late summer thunderstorm

The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 24.6 °F (−4.1 °C) in January to 77.6 °F (25.3 °C) in July. However, the city is subject both to episodes of bitter cold in winter and heat waves during summer, with 11.4 nights of sub-0 °F (−18 °C) lows, 41 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs, and 4.6 days of 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs.[85] The city straddles the boundary of USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5b and 6a.[86] Temperature extremes have ranged from −33 °F (−36 °C) on January 12, 1974 up to 115 °F (46 °C) on July 25, 1936.[85] Readings as high as 105 °F (41 °C) or as low as −20 °F (−29 °C) occur somewhat rarely; the last occurrence of each was July 22, 2012 and February 3, 1996.[85]

Based on 30-year averages obtained from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center for the months of December, January and February, Weather Channel ranked Lincoln the seventh-coldest major U.S. city as of 2014[87] In 2014, the Lincoln-Beatrice area was among the "Cleanest U.S. Cities for Ozone Air Pollution" in the American Lung Association's "State of the Air 2014" report.[88]

As of the census[3] of 2010, the city had 258,379 people, 103,546 households, and 60,300 families. The population density was 2,899.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,119.5/km²). There were 110,546 housing units at an average density of 1,240.6 per square mile (479.0/km²). The city's racial makeup was 86.0% White, 3.8% African American, 0.8% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.3% of the population.

There were 103,546 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.8% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age in the city was 31.8 years. 22.7% of the city's population was under age 18; 15.7% was from age 18 to 24; 27.9% was from age 25 to 44; 22.9% was from age 45 to 64; and 10.7% was age 65 or older. The city's gender makeup was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

According to the City's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[110] the principal employers of the city are:

The Nebraska Air and Army National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters are in Lincoln along with other major units of the Nebraska National Guard.[111] During the early years of the Cold War, the Lincoln Airport was the Lincoln Air Force Base;[112] currently, the Nebraska Air National Guard, along with the Nebraska Army National Guard, have joint-use facilities with the Lincoln Airport.[113]

Annual events in Lincoln have come and gone throughout time, such as Band Day at the University of Nebraska's Lincoln campus [128] and the Star City Holiday Parade.[129] However, some events have never changed while new traditions have been created. Current annual cultural events in Lincoln include the Lincoln National Guard Marathon and Half-Marathon in May,[130] Celebrate Lincoln in early June,[131] the Uncle Sam Jam around July 3,[132] and Boo at the Zoo in October.[133] A locally popular event is the Haymarket Farmers' Market, running from May to October in the Historic Haymarket,[134] one of several farmers markets throughout the city.[135]

Tourist attractions and activities include the Sunken Gardens,[136] basketball games at Pinnacle Bank Arena,[117] the Lincoln Children's Zoo, the dairy store at UNL's East Campus,[137] and Mueller Planetarium on the city campus.[138] The Nebraska State Capitol,[139] which is also the tallest building in Lincoln,[140] offers tours. The Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed preserves, interprets, and displays physical items significant in racing and automotive history.[141] In late 2016, Lincoln was ranked #3 on Lonely Planet's "Best in the U.S.," destinations to see in 2017 list.[142]

Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) is the city's sole public school district. It includes 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). Other programs include the Pathfinder Education Program, the Yankee Hill Program[172] and the Lincoln Air Force JROTC.[173]

There are several private parochial elementary and middle schools throughout the community.[174] Like Lincoln Public Schools, these schools are broken into districts, but most will allow attendance outside of boundary lines. Lincoln's private high schools are College View Academy, Lincoln Christian, Lincoln Lutheran, Parkview Christian School and Pius X High School.[174]

At Lincoln Public Schools, during the 2018–19 school year, the English Language Learners (ELL) program had 2,962 students from approximately 150 countries, who spoke approximately 125 different languages.[175][176] Some of the most common first-languages spoken within the program are Arabic, Chinese, French, Karen, Kurdish, Nuer, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. The top two first-language groups, as of 2018–19 school year, are Arabic and Kurdish speakers (38.4%), and Spanish speakers (25.2%). From the 2010–11 to the 2018–19 school years, LPS saw Arabic and Kurdish ELL students increase by over 196%, from 321 Arabic and 63 Kurdish speaking students to 605 Arabic and 532 Kurdish speaking students.[177][178] The continually increasing influx of refugees and immigrants to Lincoln over recent years, which has included refugees/immigrants from Iraq, Mexico, Burma and refugee camps in Thailand, has caused LPS to hire additional ELL teachers at an increasingly rapid pace.[179] However, due to recent immigration restrictions on the national level, ELL numbers have been declining somewhat since 2018.[180]

Music literacy in Lincoln begins early with Lincoln Public School music programs that provide children with the opportunity to begin strings in 4th grade and band in the 5th grade. Collaboration between the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and LPS provides children in the 3rd grade with weekly instruction in classical strings. These programs and others are supported by music retail stores within the city.

Lincoln has nine colleges and universities. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Nebraska system, is Nebraska's largest university in Nebraska, with 20,830 undergraduate, 4,426 postgraduate students and 564 professionals enrolled in 2018. Out of the 25,820 enrolled, 2,187 undergraduate and 1,040 postgraduate students/professionals were international. With 135 countries outside of the U.S. represented, five countries with the highest international enrollment were China, Rwanda, Malaysia, Oman and Vietnam.[181]

Nebraska Wesleyan University, as of 2013, has 1,927 undergraduate and 222 postgraduate students.[182] The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education. Nebraska Wesleyan was ranked the #1 liberal arts college in Nebraska by U.S. News and World Report in 2002. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges.[183] It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.[184] Union College is a private Seventh-day Adventist four-year coeducational college with 911 students enrolled 2013–14.[185][186]

Bryan College of Health Sciences offers undergraduate degrees in nursing and other health professions; a Masters in Nursing; a Doctoral degree in nurse anesthesia practice, as well as certificate programs for ancillary health professions.[187] Universities with satellite locations in Lincoln are Bellevue University,[188] Concordia University (Nebraska),[189] Doane University[190] and Purdue University Global.[191] Lincoln also hosts the College of Hair Design and Joseph's College of Cosmetology.[192][193]

Southeast Community College is a community college system in southeastern Nebraska, with three campuses in Lincoln and an enrollment of 9,751 students as of fall 2013. 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. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the most popular transfer location.[194][195]

Lincoln has four licensed broadcast full power television stations:[196]

• KLKN (Channel 8; 8.1 DT) – ABC affiliate
  • Grit affiliate 8.2
  • Escape affiliate 8.3
  • Laff affiliate 8.4[197]
• KOLN (Channel 10; 10.1 DT) – CBS affiliate
  • KSNB-DT/NBC 10.2
  • MeTV/MNTV 10.3[198]
• KUON (Channel 12; 12.1 DT) – PBS affiliate, NET Television flagship station
  • NET-W (World) 12.2
  • NET-C (Create) 12.3
  • NET-K (PBS Kids) 12.4[199]
• KFXL (Channel 15; 51.1 DT) – Fox affiliate

The headquarters of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), which is affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, are in Lincoln.[200] Lincoln is one of the few cities without its own NBC affiliate; Omaha's WOWT historically served as the city's default NBC affiliate until 2014 when Hastings' affiliate KHAS-TV moved to KSNB-TV, making both available on cable (KSNB primarily serves central Nebraska).[201] The city has two low power digital TV stations in Lincoln area included the translator KFDY-LD (simulcast of (KOHA-LD)) owned by Flood Communications of Nebraska LLC, including for main Spanish-language network affiliate Telemundo on 27.1, NCN (Ind.) on 27.2, and religious network affiliate 3ABN on 27.3 in Lincoln area only, on virtual channel 27, digital channel 27; and another low power digital KCWH-LD on CW+ affiliate, owned by Gray on channel 18.1 included subchannels like Ion on 18.2, and CBS (Simulcast of KOLN) on 18.3.[196]

Radio station studio KLIN-AM

There are 18 radio stations licensed in Lincoln, not including radio stations licensed outside of the city that serve the Lincoln area. Most areas of Lincoln also receive radio signals from Omaha and other surrounding communities.

FM stations include:[202]

• KLCV (88.5) – Religious talk
• KZUM (89.3) – Independent Community Radio
• KRNU (90.3) – Alternative / College radio UNL
• KUCV (91.1) – National Public Radio
• K220GT (91.9) – Contemporary Christian
• K233AN (94.5) – Top 40
• KNNA-LP (95.7) – Christian
• K255CS (98.9) – Christian
• K268DF (101.5) – Sports Talk
• K277CA (103.3) – News/Talk
• KLNC (105.3) – Classic Rock
• KFRX (106.3) – Top-40
• K294DJ (106.7) – Christian
• KBBK (107.3) – Hot AC
• KJFT-LP (107.9) – Chinese-language Christian

AM stations include:[203]

• KFOR (1240) – News/Talk
• KLIN (1400) – News/Talk
• KLMS (1480) – Sports Talk

The Lincoln Journal Star is the city's major daily newspaper.[204] The Daily Nebraskan is the official monthly magazine of the University of Nebraska's Lincoln campus and The DailyER is the university's biweekly satirical paper.[205][206] Other university newspapers include the Reveille, the official periodical campus paper of Nebraska Wesleyan University and the Clocktower, the official weekly campus paper of Union College.[207][208]

Lincoln is served by Interstate 80 via seven interchanges, connecting the city to San Francisco in the west and Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area.[209] Other Highways that serve the Lincoln area are Interstate 180, U.S. Route 6, U.S. Highway 34, U.S. Highway 77 and nearby Nebraska Highway 79. The eastern segment of Nebraska Highway 2 is a primary trucking route that connects Kansas City (Interstate 29) to the I-80 corridor in Lincoln.[210] A few additional minor State Highway segments are located within the city as well.[211]

A public bus transit system, StarTran, operates in Lincoln. StarTran's fleet consists of 67 full-sized buses and 13 Handi-Vans. The transit system has 18 bus routes, with a circular bus route downtown. Annual ridership for the fiscal year 2017–18 was 2,463,799.[212]

Aerial view of the Lincoln Airport passenger terminal

The Lincoln Airport (KLNK/LNK) provides passengers with daily non-stop service to United Airlines hub Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport. General aviation support is provided through several private aviation companies.[213] The Lincoln Airport was among the emergency landing sites for the NASA Space Shuttle.[214] The site was chosen chiefly because of a 12,901 feet (3,932 m) runway; the longest of three at the airport.[215]

Lincoln is served by both Express Arrow and Burling Trailways for regional bus service between Omaha, Denver and points beyond.[216][217] Megabus, in partnership with Windstar Lines, provides bus service between Lincoln and Chicago with stops in Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa City and Moline.[218]

Amtrak provides service to Lincoln, operating its California Zephyr daily in each direction between Chicago and Emeryville, California, using BNSF's Lincoln – Denver route through Nebraska.[219] The city is an Amtrak crew-change point.[220]

Rail freight travels coast-to-coast, to and through Lincoln via BNSF Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad, Lincoln's own Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway Company and an Omaha Public Power District rail line.[221][222] Lincoln was once served by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (Rock Island), the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW). The abandoned right-of-way of these former railroads have since been turned into bicycle trails.[223]

Lincoln has a third-generation dock-based bike share program that began in mid-April 2018, called BikeLNK. The first phase of the program included 19 docks and 100 bicycles, scattered throughout downtown and around the UNL City, UNL East & Nebraska Innovation campuses.[224] A second phase in 2019 increased the number of docks to 21, total bicycles to 105 and expanded to a location outside of downtown.[225] Lincoln also has a fleet of commercial pedicabs that operates in the downtown area.[226]

In 2016, 80.5 percent of working Lincoln residents commuted by driving alone, 9.6 percent carpooled, 1.1 percent used public transportation, and 3.1 percent walked. About 2.4 percent used all other forms of transportation, including taxis, bicycles, and motorcycles as well as ride-sharing services such as Lyft and Uber which entered the Lincoln market in the summer of 2014. About 3.3 percent worked at home.[227]

In 2015, 6.3 percent of city of Lincoln households were without a car, which decreased slightly to 5.8 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Lincoln averaged 1.78 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.[228]

Power in Lincoln is provided by the Lincoln Electric System (LES). The LES service area covers 200 square miles (520 km²), serving Lincoln and several other communities outside of the city. A public utility,[229] LES's electric rates are the 8th lowest in the nation, according to a nationwide survey conducted by LES in 2018.[230] Current LES power supply resources are 35% oil and gas, 34% renewable and 31% coal.[231] Renewable resources have increased with partial help from the addition of an LES-owned five Megawatt solar energy farm put into service June, 2016.[232] The solar farm produces enough energy to power 900 homes.[233] LES also owns two wind turbines in the northeast part of the city.[234]

Water in Lincoln is provided through the Lincoln Water System.[235] In the 1920s, the city of Lincoln undertook the task of building the Lincoln Municipal Lighting and Waterworks Plant (designed by Fiske & Meginnis). The building worked as the main hub for water from nearby wells and power in Lincoln for decades until it was replaced and turned into an apartment building.[236] Most of Lincoln's water originates from wells along the Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska.[237] Wastewater is in turn collected by the Lincoln Wastewater System. The city of Lincoln owns both systems.[238]

Natural gas is provided by Black Hills Energy.[239]

Landline telephone service has had a storied history within the Lincoln area. The Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Company, founded in 1880, merged with Aliant Communications and shortly thereafter merged in 1998 with Alltel.[240] In 2006, Windstream Communications was formed with the spinoff of Alltel and a merge with VALOR Communications Group.[241] Windstream Communications provides telephone service both over VoIP and conventional telephone circuits to the Lincoln area.[242] Spectrum[243] offers telephone service over VoIP on their cable network.[244][245] In addition, expected to be completed by 2019, ALLO Communications will provide telephone, television and internet service over their future fiber network to all parts of the city.[246][247]

CHI Health St. Elizabeth

Bryan Medical Center East

Lincoln has three major hospitals within two health care systems serving the city: Bryan Health and CHI Health St. Elizabeth. Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital is a geriatric facility and a physical medicine & rehabilitation center. Lincoln has two specialty hospitals: Lincoln Surgical Hospital[248] and the Nebraska Heart Institute.[249] A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) is in Lincoln (Lincoln VA Clinic, part of the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System).[250]

• Hayes, A.B.; Cox, Sam D. (1889). 1889 History of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska. State Journal Company.
• McKee, James L. (1984). Lincoln: The Prairie Capital. Windsor Publications. ISBN 0897811097.
• McKee, James L. (2007). Visions of Lincoln; Nebraska's Capital City in the Present, Past and Future. TankWorks, LLC. ISBN 978-0979879401.