A fall tradition for the OpenSky team is to hit the road and visit communities outside of the Lincoln and Omaha metro areas.

In recent weeks, our travels took us to Hastings, Lexington, Cozad and North Platte where we had the opportunity to visit community leaders from the nonprofit sector, journalists and others.

Common themes emerged from these diverse communities across the central and western regions of the state, including the need for affordable housing, quality childcare, mental health care, and accessible transportation. Workforce concerns also were a common topic.

Some specific examples of challenges that stood out to us as we talked with these community leaders included:

  • Rents for one-bedroom apartments in some parts of the state running as high as 58% of minimum wage income;
  • Hundreds of children in mid-sized cities unable to access quality and affordable childcare – a situation that caused one person referred to as “child care deserts;”
  • The importance of having services and information in multiple languages to meet the needs of all Nebraskans; and
  • Seniors being stuck at local shopping centers for hours because of a lack of public transportation.

Several people we met noted that these challenges impact economic bottom lines in our communities. But as is the case with all challenges, if met and overcome, they also present powerful opportunities for shared prosperity.

Nebraska lawmakers in the upcoming session are likely to have a considerable budget surplus to fund new legislation. While it’s important for policymakers to make prudent choices regarding the use of these dollars to protect the state’s fiscal health, opportunities could exist for surplus dollars to be used responsibly to start addressing some of the major challenges that we discussed with Nebraskans on our travels. Working to address these challenges stands to be a more impactful way of using surplus dollars than passing additional tax cuts for wealthy residents, which has been a legislative priority over the past three legislative sessions.