Nebraska 101: Cornhuskers Football, Warren Buffett, and Midwest Heartland

Geography and Climate: Great Plains, Not Just Cornfields

Understanding Nebraska:

Size and landscape:

16th largest state:

• 77,000 square miles
• Population: 1.96 million (37th)
• Density: 25 people/square mile (mostly rural)
• 97% private land (unlike Western states—farmers own land)

Not entirely flat:

• Eastern Nebraska (Omaha, Lincoln): Rolling hills, Missouri River valley
• Sandhills (north-central): Grass-covered dunes (largest dune area North America—20,000 square miles)
• Western Nebraska: High plains, buttes, Scotts Bluff

Three regions:

Eastern Nebraska (population center—70%):

• Cities: Omaha (950,000 metro—half state), Lincoln (340,000—capital, university)
• Geography: Missouri River, rolling hills, fertile soil
• Climate: Humid continental (hot summers, cold winters)
• Economy: Insurance (Mutual of Omaha), tech (Hudl, PayPal), healthcare, food processing (beef, pork)
• Vibe: Urban (relatively), diverse (by Nebraska standards), growing

Central Nebraska (agricultural heartland):

• Cities: Grand Island (54,000), Kearney (34,000), Hastings (25,000)
• Geography: Platte River valley, flat farmland
• Climate: Drier, windier
• Economy: Agriculture (corn, soybeans, cattle), food processing
• Vibe: Small-town, conservative, aging

Western Nebraska (emptiest, ranching):

• Cities: Scottsbluff (15,000), North Platte (23,000)
• Geography: High plains, Sandhills, panhandle touches Wyoming/Colorado
• Climate: Semi-arid, colder, windier
• Economy: Ranching (cattle), agriculture (wheat, sugar beets)
• Vibe: Frontier-esque, isolated, depopulating

Climate (harsh):

Omaha:

• Summer: 85-95°F (hot, humid—heat index 105°F+)
• Winter: 10-30°F (snow 30 inches/year, blizzards)
• Record cold: -32°F (frequent -10°F to -20°F)
• Wind: Constant (30+ mph common—wind chill -40°F)

Temperature extremes:

• 100°F summer, -20°F winter (120°F swing—extreme)
• Spring/Fall: Mild (50-70°F—pleasant but brief)

Severe weather:

• Tornados: 50+ yearly (less than Kansas/Oklahoma, but significant)
• Blizzards: Winter (I-80 closed, whiteout conditions)
• Hail: Common (crop damage, car dents)
• Ice storms: Freeze rain (power outages, dangerous roads)

Natural disasters:

• Tornados: Annual (EF3-EF4 possible—deadly)
• Floods: Missouri/Platte Rivers (2019 floods catastrophic—$3 billion damage)
• Droughts: Cyclical (Dust Bowl history—still risk)

Cost of Living: Genuinely Affordable

Nebraska advantage:

Housing (cheap):

Omaha:

• Median home: $230,000 (versus Denver $625,000, Kansas City $330,000)
• New construction: $300,000-350,000 (2,500 sq ft, 4-bedroom, garage, yard)
• Neighborhoods:
  • West Omaha (Elkhorn, Papillion): $280,000-400,000 (suburbs, growing)
  • Midtown: $200,000-280,000 (older, established)
  • North/South Omaha: $150,000-200,000 (affordable, diverse)
• Rent 1-bedroom: $900-1,200

Lincoln:

• Median: $250,000 (college town—University of Nebraska)
• Student rentals: $800-1,100

Small towns:

• $120,000-180,000 (Grand Island, Kearney, Fremont)
• Rural: $80,000-120,000 (older homes, declining towns)

Taxes (moderate):

Income tax:

• 2.46% to 6.64% (progressive)
• $75,000 income = ~$4,200 Nebraska tax (middle-tier)

Sales tax:

• 5.5% state + local (average 7%)
• Food exempt (groceries—helps low-income)

Property tax:

• 1.6% (higher than neighbors—funds schools)
• $230,000 home = $3,680/year ($307/month)
• But homes cheap so absolute dollars manageable

Daily costs:

Groceries:

• 10-15% below national average
• Hy-Vee, Baker's (Kroger), Walmart dominate

Gas:

• $3.10-3.50/gallon (cheap)

Dining:

• Lunch: $11-15
• Dinner: $20-30 per person
• Steak: Nebraska beef (quality, affordable—$25 ribeye locally sourced)

Income needed:

Omaha:

• Single: $50,000 comfortable
• Family: $80,000+ (kids, savings)

Small towns:

• $45,000 household = middle-class

Median household income: $66,000 (slightly below national $75,000, but costs 30% lower)

Omaha: Fortune 500 Hub and "Silicon Prairie"

Not just farms:

Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway:

Headquarters: Omaha

• Berkshire Hathaway: $780 billion market cap (6th most valuable company world)
• Buffett: World's 5th richest person ($120 billion)
• Still lives Omaha (modest house, $31,500 bought 1958—worth $1 million today)
• Drives himself, eats McDonald's (humble billionaire—Nebraska values)

Annual shareholders meeting:

• 40,000+ attendees (May—Omaha swells)
• "Woodstock for Capitalists" (investment pilgrimage)

Fortune 500 companies (5 total—impressive for 2M population):

1. Berkshire Hathaway (conglomerate—insurance, railroads, utilities)
2. Union Pacific (railroad—largest freight network U.S.)
3. Kiewit (construction—infrastructure projects nationwide)
4. Mutual of Omaha (insurance)
5. TD Ameritrade (brokerage—now Charles Schwab)

More Fortune 500 per capita than NYC, LA, Chicago (punches above weight)

Tech hub ("Silicon Prairie"):

Companies:

• Hudl: Sports video analysis (2,000 employees—Nebraska unicorn startup)
• PayPal: Customer service center (2,000 employees)
• LinkedIn: Offices (engineering, sales)
• Startups: Growing scene (entrepreneurial culture—lower costs than coasts)

Why Omaha?

• Low costs (office space, talent cheaper)
• Work ethic (Midwest values—employees loyal, hardworking)
• Berkshire influence (investment culture, business-friendly)
• Fiber internet (Google Fiber—fast, cheap)

Salaries:

• Software engineer: $85,000-130,000 (lower than Bay Area $200-350K, but housing $230K vs $1.5M)
• Product manager: $80,000-120,000

Insurance capital:

Companies:

• Mutual of Omaha, Ameritas, Woodmen of the World
• Jobs: Actuaries, underwriters, claims adjusters ($60,000-100,000)

Food processing:

Omaha Steaks:

• Founded 1917 (mail-order steaks—before internet)
• Nebraska beef (quality reputation)

Conagra:

• Food conglomerate (Chef Boyardee, Slim Jim, Duncan Hines)
• Headquarters: Chicago now (was Omaha—legacy remains)

Cornhuskers Football: The Religion

Understanding Nebraska obsession:

The streak:

Memorial Stadium:

• Capacity: 85,000 (3rd largest in U.S.)
• Sellout streak: 389 consecutive games (since 1962—longest in NCAA)
• Game day: Lincoln becomes state's 3rd largest "city" (normally 290,000, swells to 375,000)

Why it matters:

• Nebraska has NO professional sports (no NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL)
• Cornhuskers = only game in town (state rallies around)
• Saturday = sacred (nothing scheduled—weddings, events avoided)

The glory years (1990s):

Championships:

• 1994, 1995, 1997 (three national titles—Tom Osborne coach)
• Dominated (60-3 record 1994-1997)

Current:

• Mediocre (2000s-2020s—hasn't won championship since 1997)
• Fans still show up (loyalty unwavering—sellout streak continues despite losing)

Culture:

"Go Big Red":

• State motto (unofficial)
• Red everywhere (game days—sea of red, clothing, houses)

Nice fans:

• Visiting teams applaud opponent ("classiest fans" reputation—Midwest nice)

Nebraska Nice: Real or Myth?

Understanding the culture:

What "Nebraska nice" means:

Friendly:

• Wave to strangers (even driving—country roads)
• Hold doors, say "excuse me," "thank you" (manners ingrained)
• Help stranded motorists (blizzards, breakdowns—leave no one behind)

Humble:

• Don't brag (success downplayed—"aw shucks" mentality)
• Hard work valued (not flashiness)
• Warren Buffett embodiment (billionaire, drives self, eats McDonald's)

But:

Passive-aggressive:

• Conflict avoided (smile, nod, complain later)
• "Bless your heart" tone (fake nice when disagree)

Insular:

• Outsiders tolerated, not embraced (takes years acceptance)
• "Where'd you go to high school?" (Nebraska question—determines status)

Homogeneous:

• 87% white (limited exposure to diversity)
• Conservative Christianity assumed (church central)

Politics: Deep Red, Conservative

Nebraska's political identity:

GOP dominance:

Statewide:

• Trump +19% (2020), +21% (2024)
• Governor, both senators Republican
• Legislature: Officially nonpartisan (actually GOP-majority, conservative)

Why so red?

• Rural (agriculture, ranching—conservative values)
• Christian (evangelical, Catholic—Omaha large Catholic population)
• Self-reliance ethos (Midwest work ethic—distrust government)

Unique: Electoral College split:

Only state (with Maine) splitting electoral votes:

• Nebraska uses congressional district method (2 at-large, 3 by district)
• Usually 5 Republican (statewide red)
• BUT: 2008, 2020, 2024—Omaha district (NE-02) voted Democrat (1 electoral vote Biden)
• "Blue Dot" (Democrats target Omaha—competitive)

Omaha/Lincoln vs. rest:

Omaha:

• Purple (city leans blue, suburbs red—mixed)
• Diverse (by Nebraska standards—Black, Hispanic, refugees)

Lincoln:

• Purple (university town—students, faculty liberal, rest conservative)

Rural Nebraska:

• Deep red (Trump +50% some counties)

Issues:

Agriculture:

• Subsidies, trade (China tariffs hurt soybean farmers—but still vote Trump)

Abortion:

• Restrictive (12-week ban—2023)

Education funding:

• Property tax debate (high property taxes fund schools—constant battle)

Brain Drain: Young People Leave

The exodus:

Pattern:

High school → college (UNL, Creighton) → leave:

• Graduates move: Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, Twin Cities
• Better jobs, culture, dating pool
• Nebraska loses talent (educators, doctors, engineers)

Why they leave:

Limited opportunities:

• Jobs: Insurance, agriculture, healthcare (no tech diversity, startups small)
• Low wages: Save 30% living costs, earn 20% less (net loss for ambitious)

Boring:

• Entertainment: Limited (Omaha has some—bars, concerts, but nothing like cities)
• Culture: Homogeneous (87% white—little diversity)

Conservative:

• Young people more liberal (feel stifled in red state)

Omaha/Lincoln retain some:

Counter-trend:

• Remote work (keep coastal salaries, live Nebraska—$150K+ affordable)
• Families (raising kids—safe, affordable, quality schools)
• Boomerangs (leave, return 30s—settle down)

Henry Doorly Zoo: World's Best

Omaha's pride:

Rankings:

Consistently rated #1 zoo world (TripAdvisor, USA Today)

• Largest indoor desert (Desert Dome)
• Largest indoor rainforest (Lied Jungle—80 ft tall)
• Largest nocturnal exhibit (Kingdoms of the Night)
• Aquarium, gorilla valley, elephant habitat (world-class)

Why it's great:

• Investment (Omaha wealth—donors fund expansions)
• Innovation (first zoo features—others copy)
• Conservation (breeding programs—endangered species)

Attendance: 2 million/year (Omaha population 950,000—draws regionally)

Agriculture: Corn, Cattle, and Consolidation

Nebraska's backbone:

Corn and soybeans:

Production:

• Corn: 1.8 billion bushels/year (3rd most U.S.—after Iowa, Illinois)
• Soybeans: 300 million bushels (5th most)

Use:

• Ethanol (fuel additive—25% of corn)
• Livestock feed (cattle, pigs)
• Export (China—when trade good)

Cattle:

Feedlots:

• Nebraska #2 cattle state (after Texas)
• 6.8 million cattle (3.5× human population—"more cows than people")

Meatpacking:

• Omaha stockyards historic (closed 1999—legacy remains)
• Plants: Grand Island, Lexington (Tyson, JBS)

Consolidation:

Family farms dying:

• 1950: 100,000 farms
• 2026: 45,000 farms (half gone)
• Corporate ag (large operations—buy out small)

Result:

• Rural depopulation (towns empty, schools close)
• Aging farmers (average age 58—young don't enter)

Nebraska offers genuine-affordability Omaha-$230K median-home Lincoln-$250K small-towns-$120-180K versus-coastal-$800K saving-thousands 30%-lower-costs, Fortune-500-hub Berkshire-Hathaway-Warren-Buffett-$780B-market-cap Union-Pacific-Kiewit-Mutual-of-Omaha-TD-Ameritrade more-per-capita-than-NYC punching-above-weight, tech-growing Silicon-Prairie Hudl-unicorn-startup PayPal-LinkedIn-offices $85-130K-software-engineers lower-than-Bay-Area-but-housing-$230K-versus-$1.5M, Cornhuskers-football-religion Memorial-Stadium-85K-capacity sellout-streak-389-games-since-1962 game-day-Lincoln-3rd-largest-city state-rallies-around-only-game-in-town loyalty-unwavering-despite-mediocre-recent-years, Henry-Doorly-Zoo world's-best TripAdvisor-ranked Desert-Dome-rainforest-aquarium 2-million-visitors-annually Omaha-pride but brutal-winters -20°F-blizzards wind-chill--40°F tornados-50-yearly floods-2019-$3B-damage ice-storms-hail extreme-weather-harsh, brain-drain young-leave college-grads-flee-Denver-KC-Chicago better-jobs-culture-dating-pool rural-depopulation towns-dying-schools-close family-farms-consolidating corporate-ag-takeover aging-population median-age-rising, deep-red-conservative Trump-19% GOP-dominance except Blue-Dot Omaha-district voted-Biden competitive electoral-split unique Maine-Nebraska-only, cultural-homogeneity 87%-white limited-diversity conservative-Christianity-assumed church-central insular-outsiders-tolerated-not-embraced "where'd-you-go-high-school" determines-status Nebraska-nice friendly-humble-help-strangers but passive-aggressive conflict-avoided smile-complain-later. Agriculture-backbone corn-1.8B-bushels soybeans-300M cattle-6.8M more-cows-than-people meatpacking-feedlots consolidation-family-farms-dying corporate-takeover determining Nebraska-represents boring-flyover-state-or-Midwest-heartland-values depends-what-you-value excitement-diversity-versus stability-affordability-simplicity-work-ethic-community accepting-harsh-weather conservative-politics cultural-conservatism recognizing genuine-Midwest-values appealing-families-retirees-coastal-chaos-refugees repelling-diversity-seekers-progressive-culture-enthusiasts where-boring-means-peaceful-simple-wholesome defining-heartland-America-experience.