Nebraska Stories | NET Television

Cindy Chinn was expanding her Las Vegas art studio when she discovered an old school in Chester was up for auction on eBay. It was such a good deal she bought the big old building and transformed it into her private studio where she creates unique works in many mediums.

Rancher Sandy Montague Roes still gets emotional about the 2012 wildfire that devastated her northwest Nebraska ranch. Today, the question isn’t “if”, but “when” the next fire happens. This concern united ranchers, volunteer firefighters, and foresters in developing and implementing conservation m...

Paper Stadiums As a kid, Trey Asby enjoyed sports and drawing. As an adult, he morphed his two favorite things into a hobby that’s a hit on social media. Trey recreates sports stadiums like Memorial Field, the Astrodome, and Wrigley from paper. Today, thousands follow him on his popular Twitter p...

The American Dipper is a small, chunky bird that routinely swims and dives underwater to capture its food. It's one of five subspecies of dippers worldwide, but is the only one found living along the western streams of North America.

As a kid, Trey Asby enjoyed sports and drawing. As an adult, he morphed his two favorite things into a hobby that’s a hit on social media. Trey recreates sports stadiums like Memorial Field, the Astrodome, and Wrigley from paper. Today, thousands follow him on his popular Twitter page to watch hi...

Healing Art An Omaha hospital takes cancer treatment to the next level with the creation of what may be one of the largest healing arts sanctuaries in the country premised on the idea that art has healing properties. Quilted Conscience A group of young Sudanese girls, all refugees living in Grand I...

This story explores the brief intertwining of two remarkable women: the very first Native American doctor and a Nobel Prize winning scientist. In 1915, Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte, the first Native American doctor and the daughter of a powerful Omaha chief, lay dying of cancer in her home on the Om...

Hector Anchondo picked up a guitar at the age of 16 and has never looked back, finding success on the music scene with his own rock band, Anchondo. While his fans wanted more of his signature Latin-infused rock, Hector felt a calling to play the blues. He packed up and moved to Chicago for a year,...

The first American woman to die in World War I was an 1889 graduate of Omaha High School. While serving in a support role for American and French troops on the Western Front, Marion Crandell was killed during a German bombardment in the spring of 1918. Crandell’s story went largely unnoticed until...

Ami Sheffield and her dog Pixel, a miniature American shepherd, are serious competitors in the rapidly growing sport of agility. They have serious fun doing it, too. Ami and Pixel are reigning titleholders in the 12-inch division of Westminster Kennel Club Master’s Agility Championship (they’ve wo...

Hector Anchondo Hector Anchondo picked up a guitar at the age of 16 and has never looked back, finding success on the music scene with his own rock band, Anchondo. While his fans wanted more of his signature Latin-infused rock, Hector felt a calling to play the blues. He packed up and moved to Chic...

The Cold War ended in 1992, but the remnants of this historic period can still be seen in the stained glass windows of Strategic Air Command Memorial Chapel at Offutt Air Force Base. The windows are filled with symbolism reflecting the earliest days of the Cold War.

Marion Crandell The first American woman to die in World War I was an 1889 graduate of Omaha High School. While serving in a support role for American and French troops on the Western Front, Marion Crandell was killed during a German bombardment in the spring of 1918. Crandell’s story went largely...

“Forgotten World”??? John Johnson may have a common name, but the photographs he took of black families in Lincoln during the early 1900s has made him one of the great African American photographers of the 20th Century. All of Johnson’s work could have easily been lost to the ages but for a teenag...

An old railroad route known as the Cowboy Line is being redeveloped into a 195-mile recreational trail and will be part of the national Great American Rail-Trail. As the Cowboy Trail nears completion, it’s already attracting cyclists from Nebraska as well as riders from across the US and beyond.

Experimental Music Omaha composer and educator Dr. Stacey Barelos demonstrates how making music from everyday objects can spark a love of music. Tracks to Trails A former northern Nebraska railroad route known as the Cowboy Line is being redeveloped into a 195-mile recreational trail. As the Cowbo...

As a child she was a reluctant student, but then young Stacey Barelos discovered modern music. Today Dr. Barelos is a performer, composer and educator who specializes in making music from everyday objects.

Catherine Meehan Blount recites her father’s poem written when he was 19-years-old and enjoying life in DeWitty, Nebraska’s longest lasting African American settlement.

Amateur astronomers from across the United States converge on the Nebraska Sandhills to view galaxies far, far away and share a lesson on the science of stars.

In 1899, an elderly William Stansbury built a brick building in the small town of Nelson and adorned it with 12 life-sized faces carved by a local stonemason. Some are notables and some are locals, but that are all peculiar.

Nebraska may be rich in mammal fossils, but incredibly few dinosaur fossils have been found within the borders of our state. We visit with Matt Joeckel, State Geologist of Nebraska, to learn more about an important Cretaceous Period dinosaur tracksite that was discovered in 2002 on a farm in Jeffer...

Nebraska’s Dinosaur Tracksite Our state may be rich in mammal fossils, but we have incredibly few dinosaur fossils. We visit with Matt Joeckel, State Geologist of Nebraska, to learn more about an important Cretaceous Period tracksite discovered in Jefferson County in 2002. Stargazers Nebraska has s...

During the 1920s a chicken incubator baron found a way to market his products by starting a radio station. KMMJ became a regional tourist attraction that launched the careers of several performers.

We take a look back at the beginnings of the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln and join a vast cadre of volunteers as they dig deep into the dirt to “wake up the beds” and do the annual planting at this neighborhood botanical oasis.

“Sowing The Prairie” Since the Civil War, nearly 99 percent of Great Plains grasslands have succumbed to agricultural development. The mission of the Prairie Plains Resource Institute is to restore native prairies where ever possible and they're doing it with the help of volunteers. More stories:...

Hail Varsity Managing Editor Erin Sorensen recounts her difficult recovery after her car was struck by a drunk driver. Husker fans reached out to the injured journalist on social media and in letters. Sorensen even received a signed football from Cornhusker Football Coach Riley and his staff.

An intimate portrait of retired construction executive and active philanthropist, billionaire Walter Scott. We learn about his passions, his philanthropic efforts impacting the lives of countless Nebraskans, and his most important life lessons.

A group of scientists are experimenting with drones to see if this developing technology can be used to combat wildfires and save lives. Follow along on their first “real-world” scenario as they perform a prescribed burn at Homestead National Monument. Watch more stories: www.netnebraska.org/nebras...

See rodeo through the lens of photographer Mark Harris who spent the past eight years traveling Nebraska to capture the spirit and culture of the sport. From the showman to the spectator, Harris’ remarkable images are stories in a snapshot. Watch more stories: www.netnebraska.org/nebraskastories

Every year fans across Nebraska pack the Devaney Center to cheer on the Husker Volleyball team. But, for the 2016 spring match, the Huskers reversed the roles and headed 4 hours west. For two days Ogallala was the home of the 2015 defending National Champions. Through autograph sessions, youth clin...

A nonprofit group in Omaha uses music to lift spirits, spark old memories and reconnect people to a place and time. That's the mission of the Merrymakers, a group dedicated to performing music for the elderly. See more stories like this at http://www.NETnebraska.org/nebraskastories

The Panhandle skies were filled with nearly 80 balloons as Scottsbluff and Gering hosted two simultaneous events - the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship and the annual Old West Balloon Fest. Tension on the ground and beauty in the sky!

Rare photographs of black families taken in Lincoln during the early 1900s by John Johnson may make him one of the great African American photographers of the 20th Century. All of Johnson’s work could have been lost, too, but for a curious teenage boy who, in 1965, gave a few dollars to buy a box...

On the eastern edge of the Nebraska Sandhills in the small village of Bartlett is one of the largest bronze sculpture gardens in the country. With a population of 117, Bartlett may have the highest number bronze sculptures per capita of anywhere in the world. The garden started with the donation o...

“Herb Mignery, Cowboy Artist” On the eastern edge of the Nebraska Sandhills in the small village of Bartlett is one of the largest bronze sculpture gardens in the country. With a population of 118, Bartlett may have the highest number bronze sculptures per capita of anywhere in the world. The gard...

A beautiful visual montage of the four seasons along the Platte Basin watershed created from photographs taken by the Platte River Basin Timelapse project and edited to newly commissioned chamber music by Kurt Knecht, a composer from Kansas City, Missouri.

You can buy a bike and a cup of coffee at The Bike Union and Coffee. But whatever you buy, entrepreneur Miah Sommer invests the proceeds in developing life skills of his young employees who are aging out of foster care.

Linda Garcie-Perez spent most of her time as child with her grandparents who, like many immigrants, spoke the language of their homeland. Though she was fluent in Spanish Linda struggled to learn English as a young student, but in that struggle she found her unique voice in the world.

Notes written between young lovers in the margins of a 150-year old book provide valuable insight into the courtship of Othman and Elizabeth Abbott. The Abbotts were two of Nebraska's early leaders and the parents of social welfare leaders Edith and Grace Abbott. The book was gifted to the Stuhr Mu...

“A Guided Path” Alex France always knew that he wanted to attend Midland University in Fremont and run on their cross country running team. What he didn’t know is that by the time he would get to college, he would be legally blind due to a rare eye disease. Midland recruited France and, with the he...

Alex France always knew that he wanted to attend Midland University in Fremont and run on their cross country running team. What he didn’t know is that by the time he would get to college, he would be legally blind due to a rare eye disease. Midland recruited France and, with the help of a guide ru...

“Nebraska Land & Sky" A British aerial photography team spent 10 days capturing Nebraska from above. We meet the international team behind these stunning images and hear what they most enjoyed about the beauty of our state. “Dirt Addiction” The bike trails at Platte River State Park are a po...