State-regional
Top Story Spotlight
Keith Jacobshagen, famed prairie painter, finds essential and eternal in endless Nebraska sky
“Crow Call (Near the River)” is one of Jacobshagen’s most well-known paintings. It can be seen at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
Several days each week for more than 50 years, Keith Jacobshagen got behind the wheel and drove into the countryside around his home in Lincoln, to look, to think and, most importantly, to draw and paint.
“I could not stay away from going out there and being absorbed into the space and the light and the landscape,” he said. “So it was a real lure to me that was strong.”
Unlike other landscape artists who capture obvious scenic glories of crashing ocean waves or snow-crested mountains, Jacobshagen has devoted his life to depicting what much of the rest of America calls flyover country: cornfields, treelines, grain elevators and vast skies.
For decades, he has been one of Nebraska’s best-known artists with works featured in exhibitions across the state and the U.S. He has gained renown as a chronicler of the Great Plains, with work featured in two influential museum shows that traveled the country.
“I really regard Keith as the most significant Plains or prairie painter today or then,” said the exhibition’s curator, Joni Kinsey, “and he seemed to be doing more monumental works, and I don’t mean in terms of size but in terms of significance, that were truly in the category of sublime. His work just stood out.”
Now 84 and in a beginning stage of Alzheimer’s disease, Jacobshagen is facing the reality that his painting days are largely behind him.
Keith Jacobshagen sits for a portrait with his cat Stella at his home in Lincoln.
He is content to look back at what he calls a satisfying career in which he produced more than 2,000 paintings.
This summer, he’s spotlighted in a solo show, “The Shape of the Prairie,” at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Mo. The Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney is tentatively planning a 2027 Jacobshagen retrospective that its curator hopes will tour regionally.
Jacobshagen’s works feature a low horizon line with sometimes only loosely delineated features across the landscape and sweeping skies. They showcase delicate white clouds against a panorama of blue or the orange and slate gray of a sunset turning into night.
“Once you see a Jacobshagen, you wouldn’t mistake it for anyone else’s work,” said David Cateforis, a professor of art history at the University of Kansas.
The elevated point of view came from being a pilot. When he was in his teens, the Wichita, Kansas, native learned to fly from his father, who was a test pilot for Boeing during World War II. As an adult, Jacobshagen would sometimes rent and fly planes and gliders around Lincoln for fun.
“Every time I’d get back in one piece,” he said, “I just felt grateful for getting to do that, to mix both my affection for the landscape in terms of drawing and painting in it and in terms of flying over it.”
Although Jacobshagen’s landscapes are rooted in specific times and places, his skies often verge into abstract-expressionism, with his free-spirited deployment of color and patterns.
In previous eras, landscape artists often felt compelled to fill up their compositions. Kinsey, a professor emerita in art history at the University of Iowa, argues that Jacobshagen avoids that approach.
“He’s got maybe grain elevators or other structures,” she said, “but they are so tiny that they don’t dominate, and what he allows to dominate is the vista — the flat horizon and sweeping sky, and definitely there is almost a kind of (Mark) Rothko effect.”
While he certainly knows well the centuries-long history of landscape painting, Jacobshagen also kept up with the ever-changing art world. For years, he’d spend summer weeks in New York City viewing dozens of gallery and museum exhibitions.
It is this balance of past and present, of abstraction and realism, that gives his pieces a contemporary quality.
The Nebraska artist is of his time but also manages to transcend it, Cateforis believes. “There is a sense of something that is kind of essential and eternal that Keith is finding in these humble Midwestern landscapes,” the art historian said.
Jacobshagen was born in Kansas in 1941 and has spent his entire life within a three-state area, nearly all of it in the Great Plains, the vast region of grasslands that stretches from Canada south to Texas.
He first fell in love with the Plains landscape as a child, when he peered out the car window as he rode with his mother to airfields to pick up his father from work. “There was something magical about what was around me that I somehow knew as special to me,” he said.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Kansas City Art Institute and his master’s degree at the University of Kansas, where he studied with Robert Sudlow, a noted landscape painter who Jacobshagen called a “huge influence.”
The two would venture into rural areas around Lawrence and set up their easels feet apart. He vividly recalls Sudlow yelling out when the light changed: “Geez, look at that blue!”
Jacobshagen would continue this practice throughout his career. He traveled into the landscape as often as five days a week, depending on his schedule at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he taught from 1968 through his retirement in 2008.
Before heading out in the morning, he would sit with a cup of coffee and look at maps. Sometimes, an intriguing town name like Rokeby or Saltillo or a group of lakes would catch his eye. “Those kinds of things lured me out there like the sirens,” he said with a laugh.
He sometimes brought an easel with him, painting for two or three hours at whatever site he’d chosen and roughing out half of a composition. Then he’d finish in his studio, relying on Polaroid photos he had taken at the same time and his memory.
Other times, he used engineering notebooks to make sketches or jot down notes about the weather conditions or time of day, factoids that can sometimes be found written in small letters along some of his drawings and small paintings.
For Jacobshagen, taking in the landscape was as important as the final art work. “Being out there and absorbing the light and the temperature and the lovely sounds that go on out there and the terrific smells of a freshly turned field,” he said. “There is nothing better.”
Many of Jacobshagen’s drawings and paintings are small, but he has created larger-scale works as well, including “Crow Call (Near the River),” a twilight scene that measures 4 feet tall and 6½ feet wide.
That panoramic piece was acquired in 1991 by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. Since 2018 it has hung in a place of honor in the museum director’s office.
“I got very charged up when I made that painting,” the artist said. “I made a lot of personal discoveries about how I was thinking of the process of painting.”
The big question surrounding Jacobshagen is legacy. In addition to his many exhibitions, he was represented by several New York galleries and has works in more than 50 museum and corporate collections across the country.
But is that enough for him to be remembered in 100 years?
“I hope so,” Kinsey said. “I definitely hope so, because I think he has been all along one of the more astute artists of this distinctive landscape, and there are not a lot of them.”
It doesn’t help that Jacobshagen’s works are not in the collections of major museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York or Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Also working against him are the art world’s continuing coastal biases. That’s something that the influential 1996 show “Plain Pictures” strived to counter. Jacobshagen’s work was included in the exhibition, which opened at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, then traveled to Texas and Omaha’s own Joslyn Art Museum. A Jacobshagen painting was featured on the cover of the show’s catalog.
But the reality remains: Landscape painting has never been at the forefront of 20th or 21st century art.
What’s not in question is the mastery of Jacobshagen’s work itself, which Cateforis believes has the transcendent quality matching the great Dutch masters. “There is a sense of calm and serenity but also a sense of supreme accomplishment in the way he renders the sky, the land..,” he said. “There is a quiet assurance in the work.”
The artist himself professes to give little thought to his legacy.
He is sure of one thing: He has no regrets.
“Oh, no, none,” he said without hesitation. “I am content.”
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
Around Town
The Around Town section of the Clipper-Herald is to notify the public of upcoming events and to publicize pertinent information from individuals, groups or service organizations.
LEXINGTON HAPPENINGS
Lexington Legion baseball hamburger feed Saturday, June 6 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Plum Creek Market Place. Free will donation to support local baseball.
Sen. Deb Fischer office hours Tuesday, June 9 at Lexington Public Library from 10-11 a.m.
City Council Meeting Tuesday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Annual Mary Maloley Aussie Open Tennis Tournament June 5-6.
New Holiday Inn Express grand opening from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9.
Free Pool Sensory Hour hosted by Lexington Regional Health Center Pediatric Rehab Team Thursday, June 11 at 10 a.m. at the Lexington Family Aquatic Center.
Discover the Fun of Fishing - Free fishing clinic with Nebraska Game and Parks and Orthman Community YMCA Saturday, June 13 for ages 6-18. Register with the YMCA by June 10. Ages 16 and up need Nebraska fishing license. Located at Plum Creek Park Pavilion.
Celebrate America's 250th at the Lexington Public Library Tuesday, June 16 from 5-7 p.m.
Lexington Area Christian Women's Connection presents "Music is in the Air" men's night Tuesday, June 16 at 6 p.m. at Kirk's. Reservations and cancellations by noon Monday, June 15. Call Sheri at 308-320-0952 or Jonelle at 308-325-8279.
The Magic of Reading - summer library edition with Curtis Hed Thursday, June 11 at 12:45 and 1:45 p.m. at the Lexington Public Library.
Lexington Street Dance Friday, June 19 from 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. at The Well featuring DJ Lopez. $10 cover charge.
City of Lexington Firework Show Wednesday, July 1 at 10 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Pavilion. Food trucks from 7-10 p.m. and live music by The Innocence from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
21st annual Golf Tournament for the Lexington Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, July 8 from 2-7 p.m. at Lakeside Country Club at Johnson Lake.
Heartland Museum of Military Vehicle's second annual Summer Celebration Friday, July 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the museum. Join them to celebrate the US's 250th birthday with food trucks, live vehicle demonstrations, family activities and more.
"Ladies Night at the Fair" Thursday, July 16 from 4-9 p.m. at the Dawson County Fair Commercial Building. Vendors, door prizes and cocktails.
Wine & Wings, Beer & Brats fundraiser night for the Blanche Senior Scholarship at Mac's Creek Thursday, Aug. 20 from 5-9 p.m.
Parkview Baptist Church holds a food pantry every third Saturday of the month at the Refuge Building (1105 Park St.) in Lexington.
The Dawson County History Museum is hosting “Coffee with Carol” the first Wednesday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon.
The Lexington Lions Club meets at 7 p.m. every fourth Monday of the month at the Lexington Grand Generation Center.
Lexington Rotary Club meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at Dawson County Annex Building at noon. For more information or to join call 308-325-7006.
The Dawson County Democrats meet at 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at the Los Jalapeños Restaurant.
American Legion in Lexington meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.
WIC Clinic Sites, Dawson County: Lexington – Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Building, 931 W. Seventh St., Tuesday through Thursday the first 4 full weeks for each month.
RYDE Transit — Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone.
COZAD HAPPENINGS
Blacktop Classics Car Show Saturday, June 6 at 11 a.m. in downtown Cozad on Meridian Avenue.
Free document shredding for anyone over 60 at the Cozad Grand Generation Center Monday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Dine In/Drive Thru Burger Night Thursday, June 11 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Cozad Grand Generation Center. $15.00 suggested meal price. Free grocery bags.
Monthly Coffee Chats - chat with Senior Life Solutions on mental health services for seniors Thursday, June 18 at 9:30 a.m. at Cozad Grand Generation Center.
Recycling Center - Goodwill Industries will have a community donation trailer available on Highway 30 from June 22-29. Your donated goods not only keep items out of landfills helping to reduce waste and the resell of donated items provide mental health, employment, developmental disability services, and more in local communities.
Charlie (The Noise Guy) Kind of a Dragon Show Thursday, June 11 at 2 p.m. at the Wilson Public Library.
City wide garage sales Saturday, June 13.
Maker Market every Tuesday from 5-7 p.m. starting June 16 at The Green Space, east of 222 Hardware.
The Writing Society meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Wilson Public Library. Open to all writers of all levels and genres.
Bands, Brews and BBQs will be held Saturday, July 11 with the Lemon Fresh Day band headlining the night and opener by Heather Wellman. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. More information on ticket sales will be provided at a later date.
Blood Pressure Clinic at the Cozad Grand Generation Center the third Tuesday of every month at 11 a.m.
The Cozad Grand Generation Center has Home Delivered Meals to the Community Monday — Friday. If you would like to receive Home Delivered Meals or would like to pick up a Curbside Meal at 410 W. Ninth St. from 11:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m., please call us at 308-784-2747 by 9:30 a.m. that morning, so we can arrange everything for your convenience.
The Cozad Grand Generation Center Bus is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. To schedule a ride in Cozad call 308-784-2747.
ELWOOD HAPPENINGS
Garage Sales Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. Map will be available on the Elwood Chamber Facebook Page, the Chamber website and in local businesses around town.
Sen. Deb Fischer office hours Tuesday, June 9 from 1-2 p.m. in Elwood at the Gosper County Courthouse.
GOTHENBURG HAPPENINGS
"The Play That Goes Wrong" June 4-7 at the Sun Theatre. $20 for adults and $10 for 12 and under.
Crime 101 Trivia Night at the Sun Theatre Wednesday, June 10 from 7-9 p.m. Teams of 2-6 $20 and teams of 7-9 $30. To register call 402-413-5747.
City Wide Garage Sales Saturday, June 20. Register for $20 to get your location on the map. Deadline is June 10.
Livin' Out Loud is set for Aug. 15-16 at Lake Helen.
ON THE BIG SCREEN
LEXINGTON
Majestic Theatre, 615 N. Washington St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $5, Students/Senior Citizens/Child $4
SHOWTIMES:
"The Sheep Detectives" (PG) - June 6-7, 10; Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 7 p.m.
"The Breadwinner" (PG) - June 12-14, 17; Friday/Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 7 p.m.
COZAD
Fox Theater, 100 E. Eighth St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $9, Student/Seniors/Military $8, 5 and under $6.50, Matinee (all ages) $6.50
SHOWTIMES:
"Masters of the Universe" (PG-13) - June 6-11; Saturday/Sunday at 4 and 7 p.m. and Monday-Thursday at 7 p.m.
"Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" (PG-13) - June 6-11; Saturday/Sunday at 4:10 and 7:10 p.m. and Monday-Thursday at 7:10 p.m.
"The Breadwinner" (PG) - June 6-11; Saturday/Sunday at 4:20 and 7:20 p.m. and Monday-Thursday at 7:20 p.m.
GOTHENBURG
Sun Theatre, 404 10th St.
Ticket Pricing: Adult $5, Child (12 and under) $3, Senior Citizen $4
SHOWTIMES:
"The Play That Goes Wrong" June 4-7; Thursday-Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
"The Breadwinner" (PG) - June 12-14; Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
"Toy Story 5" (PG) - June 19-21 and 26-29; Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Lexington Public Library hours are: Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. — 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. — 5 p.m., Sunday: Closed. Watch for lots of fun programs and activities this summer. Also, we are continuing curbside services; call the library at 308-324-2151 for information.
Novel Stitchers meets on Tuesdays from 3-5 p.m. in the Board Room of the Library.
Storytime meets at the Library on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
The Wilson Public Library normal hours are: Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. — 7 p.m., Friday: 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. and Saturday: 10 a.m. — 1 p.m. Public and private meetings have resumed, with 24-hour notice appreciated. Limits to how many attendees based upon room need, what equipment is available and other restrictions can be found by calling us at 308-784-2019 or stopping at the front desk. Normal policies about room rental can be found under Policies at wilsonpubliclibrary.org.
LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER
The exercise room is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
MONDAY
8 a.m. - Miracle Ear
10 a.m. - Frog
12:45 p.m. - I've Got It
TUESDAY
11 a.m. - Christian Women
12:45 p.m. - Pool
1 p.m. - Bunco
2:30 p.m. - Hot Cookies
WEDNESDAY
12:45 p.m. - Cards
1 p.m. - Frog
3 p.m. - Movie at Majestic Theater
THURSDAY
12:45 p.m. - Farkle
12:45 p.m. - Pool
FRIDAY
Noon - Birthday Presenter
12:45 p.m. - Cards
1 p.m. - Frog
LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER MENU
Homemade bread every day. Choice of skim, 2% or chocolate milk. No reservations are needed except for large groups. Serving time: 11:30 a.m. Please call 308-324-2498 by 10 a.m. for delivery or carryout meals.
MONDAY
Beef Enchiladas, Hominy Casserole, Spanish Rice, Cold Veggie Salad, Pears
TUESDAY
Orange Chicken, Broccoli, Rice with Veggies, Mixed Fruit
WEDNESDAY
Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy, Boiled Potatoes, Peas, Plums
THURSDAY
Cubed Pork in Gravy, Baby Bakers, Stewed Tomatoes, Mandarin Oranges
FRIDAY
Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Corn, Fresh Fruit, Dinner Roll, Dessert
COZAD GRAND GENERATION CENTER
When Cozad schools are closed due to inclement weather, the center will also be closed. Check KRVN or the TV for weather related closings.
MONDAY
10 a.m. - Free Groceries
10 a.m. to noon - Free Shredding Event
12:30 p.m. - Board Meeting
1 p.m. - Pitch
TUESDAY
Noon- Rotary
1:15 p.m. - Foot Clinic
WEDNESDAY
10 a.m. - Free Groceries
12:30 p.m. - Pinochle
THURSDAY
1 p.m. - Tai Chi
5 p.m. - Dine In/Drive Thru Burger Night
5 p.m. - Vendor Market
5 p.m. - Free Grocery Bag
COZAD GRAND GENERATION CENTER MENU
Salad Bar is available daily with meals served from 11:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.
MONDAY
Chicken and Dressing Casserole, Corn, Mandarin Oranges, Fruit Crisp
TUESDAY
Porcupine Meatballs, Baked Potato, Broccoli, Petite Pear Salad, Ice Cream
WEDNESDAY
BBQ Pork Sandwich, Tater Tots, Coleslaw, Peaches, Dessert
THURSDAY
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, Green Beans, Red Applesauce, Cookies
FRIDAY
Goulash, Peas, Fruit Mix, Garlic Bread, Rice Krispie Bars
FARNAM SENIOR CENTER
The center will be closed on Fridays until further notice. When Eustis-Farnam Schools are closed due to the weather, the Senior Center will also be closed. Call ahead by 9:30 a.m. to get a meal 308-569-2359.
MONDAY
Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Cucumber Salad, Peaches
TUESDAY
Oven Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit Cocktail, Dinner Roll
WEDNESDAY
Lasagna, Lettuce Salad, Carrots, Pears, Garlic Bread
THURSDAY
Hamburgers, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Pineapple
GOSPER COUNTY SENIOR CENTER
All meals are served with vegetables, fruit and a sweet item. Please call before 10 a.m. for your reservation 308-785-2500. Menu is subject to change without notice.
MONDAY
Beef and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes
TUESDAY
Chicken Enchiladas
WEDNESDAY
Swiss Steak
THURSDAY
Baked Pork Chops
FRIDAY
Salmon Patties
ORGANIZATIONS
It Works Group: AA meetings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. at 303 E. Sixth St., in Lexington.
First Christin Church NA: meets Sundays at 7 p.m., Tuesdays at 8 p.m. 1206 N. Erie St., in Lexington.
Westside Group: AA/NA: open meeting on Monday and Friday nights from 7-8 p.m. Meetings are held at Grace Lutheran Church, 105 E. 17th St., Lexington, use the south door.
Women's Group: meets every Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. on the second floor lounge at the Dawson County Courthouse (700 N. Washington St.)
Celebrate Recovery: Meetings at 7 p.m. on Fridays at Parkview Baptist Church’s Refuge Building (1105 Park St., Lexington) Contact: 308-324-4410.
Four Roads Group AA: meetings are held on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m., Fridays from 7-8 p.m. and Sundays from 7 p.m. at 1801 W. 18th St., in Lexington.
Grupo Lexington AA (Spanish Speaking): open meetings on Saturdays from 8-9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon at 114 W. 6th St. in Lexington.
Group Nueva Vida Lexington (Spanish Speaking): open meetings on Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. at 114 W. Eighth St., in Lexington.
Full of Grace: Meetings from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Nazarene Church at 919 H St., in Cozad.
Southview Group: Meetings from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesdays at 1804 Papio Lane in Cozad.
SMART Recovery meets at St. Peter’s in the Valley Episcopal Church, 905 East 13th St., Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-8:30 p.m., Saturdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Sumner AA Group: meets Sundays and Tuesdays from 8-9 p.m. at 205 E. Fifth Avenue, in Sumner. For more information call 308-325-5827.
Bertrand Thurs Night Group: Meetings from 8-9 p.m. on Thursdays at Hope Lutheran Church, 74094 Road 436 in Smithfield. Call 308-785-3567 or 308-472-3376.
Odie Group AA/NA: meetings at 8 p.m. on Sundays in Elwood at 501 Calvert Avenue.
Pony Express Group AA: meetings are held from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Mondays at the Gothenburg Evangelical Free Church (515 18th St.) in Gothenburg.
Thirsty Thursday by the Cemetery: Meetings held on Thursdays from 7-8 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church (2002 27th St.) in Gothenburg.
Parkinson’s Disease Support Group meetings are held the second Thursday each month at 2 p.m. at Lexington Regional Health Center (1201 N. Erie St., Lexington). For more information contact Dixie Menke at 308-325-5350.
Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Immunization Clinic, first and third Mondays every month: Open 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. by appointment at 931 W. Seventh St., Lexington. Previous vaccination records required. Contact 308-325-3436 or 308-325-3169.
Dawson/Gosper County CASA: seeking Volunteers. CASA Volunteers are everyday people from all walks of life, who advocate through the court system in the interests of children. Contact 308-324-7364.
News
Top Story Spotlight
Concerns over storage container and battery system regulations voiced at June 1 commissioners' meeting
The Dawson County Board of Commissioners met Monday, June 1, for several public hearings and discussions, including a lengthy debate over proposed regulations for storage containers and battery energy storage systems.
After reviewing the proposed changes, the board expressed concerns and sent the matter back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further review.
Zoning Administrator Mark Christiansen asked the board to amend Dawson County's comprehensive planning and zoning regulations regarding battery energy storage systems and storage containers.
The proposal, which would have been adopted as Resolution 2026-18, prompted discussion among the board, Christiansen and county residents in attendance.
Christiansen said he was seeking to update the county's regulations to address issues he has encountered.
Proposed changes included moving storage containers from requiring conditional use permits to temporary permits and eliminating the current limit of one storage container per site.
He said construction projects often require as many as three containers at a time.
The proposal would also remove current requirements that storage containers be anchored to the ground or placed on a concrete slab.
Several residents opposed that change, arguing that containers could be swept away during flooding.
Christiansen responded that storage containers are not permitted in floodplains. Residents and board members countered that, despite the prohibition, people nonetheless place containers in flood-prone areas.
The board acknowledged that some property owners obtain containers temporarily and remove them before violations can be identified and enforced. They noted that aerial imagery potentially could be used in the future to identify illegal containers.
Christiansen agreed that storage containers are "hard to regulate" and said his primary concern is that "we don't want people turning these into houses and sheds."
If a storage container is converted into a house or shed, it becomes a permanent structure and requires a building permit.
The board questioned how such structures would be assessed for tax purposes but did not receive a definitive answer.
Chairman P.J. Jacobson acknowledged that storage containers serve a legitimate purpose for agricultural operations but said limits should remain in place.
"As the proposed regulations are written, they could just go in and put 100 in," Jacobson said.
Battery energy storage systems are also commonly used at project sites.
Christiansen said many wind energy projects include battery storage under storage container permits. He proposed new language requiring a separate permit specifically for battery energy storage systems.
According to Christiansen, battery storage systems require larger setbacks from property lines than the 10 feet required for storage containers because they present greater safety risks and can pose toxic hazards to neighboring properties.
There are currently no provisions in the county's planning and zoning regulations specifically addressing battery energy storage systems.
Christiansen said he wants regulations in place before an unnamed data center is considered in Dawson County.
When battery energy storage systems fail, they can create thermal runoff that can lead to fires. Depending on the technology involved, those fires and associated runoff can be toxic.
Christiansen said such fires cannot be extinguished quickly and instead must be contained and monitored until they burn out.
Because the proposed resolution addressed both storage container regulations and battery energy storage regulations, the board opted to table the measure and return it to Planning and Zoning for additional review.
They said two commissioners would attend the next Planning and Zoning meeting to observe the discussions.
In other business, commissioners approved a lump-sum workers' compensation settlement and joint stipulation agreement related to an injury sustained by Brandon Kjar while working at the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.
The board said the injury occurred "a long time ago" and the matter had already been settled. Their action formally approved payment of the settlement.
Tony Collins appeared before the board on behalf of Wild Horse Golf Club and Gothenburg Links Inc. to request an amendment to the golf course's liquor license.
Collins said improvements to the clubhouse changed the square footage covered, requiring a clerical amendment to the license.
The board approved the request unanimously.
A public hearing was held for a conditional use permit filed by Thomas Livestock to operate 5,000 animal units. Resolution 2026-16 included permits for two finishing buildings capable of housing 2,500 animals each.
Matt Thomas, representing Thomas Livestock, said the company previously held a permit but allowed it to lapse.
"We've had this permit before, but life got in the way," Thomas said.
There was no opposition during the May 12 Planning and Zoning meeting, and Thomas said the application was "the exact same permit from 2023." The board approved the permit unanimously.
During another public hearing, Christiansen and Andrew Kawpen presented a conditional use permit application filed by Verizon Wireless to construct a 359-foot self-supporting steel telecommunications tower.
The height includes a 9-foot lightning rod. Planning and Zoning determined during its May 12 meeting that the tower met all setback requirements. The board approved the permit unanimously.
Before the commissioners' meeting, the Dawson County Board of Equalization met to discuss back taxes owed by Fox Theater and a proposed valuation change.
The board reviewed a draft letter concerning the valuation change that would have been sent to the theater.
County officials discovered the theater had mistakenly been marked exempt from tax increment financing taxes, resulting in no statements being generated for 2022, 2023 or 2024.
The error was discovered and corrected in 2025.
At the May 15 meeting, theater owners told the board they were unaware of the TIF obligation until they received notice and requested that the back taxes be waived.
The board remained divided on the issue after tabling it in May.
During Monday's meeting, they discussed whether the theater should be responsible for taxes resulting from a county error, how business owners would know they owed TIF taxes and whether the theater owners should have known they would receive two separate tax statements.
The board also noted that the Cozad Fox Theater location had never requested an exemption.
The board reviewed a previous case and noted that failure to receive a tax statement does not exempt a property owner from paying taxes.
They also pointed out that the Fox Theater is a for-profit business and that property taxes support public services such as schools and roads.
"I'm torn here," Jacobson said. "They were paying on the portion they thought they had to. It was our mistake."
The board voted 3-2 not to send the proposed valuation change to Fox Theater, and instead to correct the issue in the future by ensuring the theater receives proper tax statements.
News
Top Story Spotlight
Adrian Gomez Ramos joins Nebraska Community Foundation
Nebraska Community Foundation has announced the hiring of Lexington native Adrian Gomez Ramos as the nonprofit’s director of welcoming and belonging.
Gomez Ramos
This new position aims to cultivate a culture of inclusion, belonging and shared leadership across the NCF network through empowering staff, board members, volunteers and community leaders to deepen their understanding and practice of inclusive community building.
Gomez Ramos will champion grassroots leadership by equipping local people to recognize their own power, amplify diverse voices and co-create communities where everyone is valued and has a place to contribute.
Prior to joining NCF, Gomez Ramos worked for Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln as the assistant director of diversity and inclusion.
In that role he helped create and lead strategies that focused on student success and inclusive practices throughout the university, including programming to increase engagement and retention among underrepresented students.
He has also worked for the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, HelpCare Clinic in Kearney and Buffalo County Community Partners.
Gomez Ramos earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Nebraska Community Foundation unleashes abundant local assets, inspires charitable giving and connects ambitious people to build stronger communities and a greater Nebraska.
Headquartered in Lincoln, the foundation serves communities, donors and organizations by providing financial management, strategic development, education and training to a statewide network of 1,500 volunteers serving 266 communities.
Since 1994, Nebraska Community Foundation has reinvested $594 million in Nebraska’s people and places. For information, visit NebraskaHometown.org.
