GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA

'Grand Island' is a city in Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 42,940 in the 2000 census and had grown to 44,632 by 2006. It is the county seat of Hall County.
Grand Island is home to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center (NLETC) which is the sole agency responsible for training law enforcement officers throughout the state, as well as the Southern Power District serving southern Nebraska.

Contents

Geography and Climate

History

Demographics

Special Events

Grand Island in the news

Religion

Attractions

High schools

Persons born in Grand Island

External links

References

Geography and Climate

Grand Island is located at (40.922316, -98.357996).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 55.9 km² (21.6 mi²). 55.6 km² (21.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.60%) is water.
Grand Island was once known for being a center of prostitution due to the volume of railroad traffic which went through it. In about 1890, sugar beets were introduced as a crop in Nebraska, and a sugar beet processing factory was built in the southwest part of Grand Island. This was the first sugar beet factory built and operated in the United States. [1]

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rec High °F	76	80	90	96	101	107	109	110	104	96	82	76
Norm High °F	32.6	38.6	49.5	61.9	71.9	83	87.1	84.8	76.9	64.6	46.8	35.3
Norm Low °F	12.2	17.7	27	37.8	49.3	59.1	64.4	62.3	51.8	39.3	25.9	15.9
Rec Low °F	-28	-19	-21	7	23	38	42	40	23	9	-11	-26
Precip (in)	0.54	0.68	2.04	2.61	4.07	3.72	3.14	3.08	2.43	1.51	1.41	0.66
''Source: USTravelWeather.com [2]''

History

In 1857, thirty-five German settlers left Davenport, Iowa, and headed west to Nebraska to start a new settlement in an area of land known by French traders as La Grande Isle. It was called this because there was a large island in the Platte River near the settlement. The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West, , David Haward, Bain, Penguin Books, , ISBN 0143035266 Part of the reason for this expedition was because the Railroad had to have stops every 150 miles so that railroad engines could refuel. On July 4 1857 they reached their destination and had built more permanent housing by September using local timber.
Over the next 9 years, the settlers had to battle many hardships including blizzards and conflicts with the local Native American populations. A fire set by a prospector who hated Germans destroyed the first settlement in 1859. When the Union Pacific Railroad was built through the area, the population moved the settlement north of the Platte River, which is the present location of the town today. While no longer an island, they kept the name.
In 1886, the railroad did come to town and its population and industry began to grow. As a result prostitution and liquor sales flourished. In fact, it was often said that a bar could be found at the corner of every street.
In 1872 the city was incorporated, and in 1887 an intercity railway was established.
On June 3, 1980, Grand Island was hit by a massive supercell storm. Through the course of the evening, the city was ravaged by seven tornadoes. The hardest hit area of town was the South Locust business district. There were five deaths as a result of the damage caused by the tornadoes, the worst of which was rated F4 on the Fujita Scale.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,940 people, 16,426 households, and 11,038 families residing in the city. The population density was 772.2/km² (2,000.2/mi²). There were 17,421 housing units at an average density of 313.3/km² (811.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.72% White, 0.42% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 9.64% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.94% of the population, but feels like more.
There were 16,426 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,044, and the median income for a family was $43,197. Males had a median income of $28,925 versus $20,521 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,071. About 9.9% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over. The most populated area of the city is central-east, or the downtown area where population is dense.

Special Events

Started in 1941, and planned for the first Saturday of each October is the Harvest of Harmony parade. School bands from all over Nebraska come to play in this parade. In the afternoons they have band competitions at the local high schools. Floats also go along the parade route.
Every mid-September is the Husker Harvest Days. This is a show of the latest farm techniques and equipment. According to local superstition it will always rain during Husker Harvest Days.

Grand Island in the news

On December 12, 2006 the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) staged a coordinated predawn raid at the Swift and Co meat packing plant in Grand Island and at 5 other Swift plants in western states, interviewing workers and hauling hundreds off in buses. ^[1]
[3]. A February 16, 1952 issue of Look Magazine listed Grand Island as one of 26 cities that tolerated sinful behavior. (http://www.nebar.com/pdfs/nelawyer/2000/020004.pdf). After this issue, Grand Island took measures to clean up its image.

Religion

★ Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island

Attractions

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, Grand Island, Nebraska. Building designed by Edward Durell Stone.

★ Crane Meadows Nature Center

★ Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
Stuhr Museum Website

★ Island Oasis Water Park

★ Fonner Park Thoroughbred Horse Racing

★ Husker Harvest Days Web Site

★ Heartland Events Center

High schools

★ Grand Island Northwest High School

★ Grand Island Senior High School

★ Grand Island Central Catholic High School

★ Heartland Lutheran High School

Persons born in Grand Island

★ Tom Rathman, former NFL Running Back for the San Francisco 49ers & Los Angeles Raiders, current Running Backs coach for the Oakland Raiders (born October 7, 1962)

★ Mary Martin McLaughlin, Medieval history scholar, born April 15, 1919.

★ Henry Fonda, Academy Award-winning American film actor, born May 16, 1905.

★ Social workers and educators Edith Abbott (born September 26, 1876) and Grace Abbott (born November 17, 1878).

★ Arling Wiederspahn (1916-2007), Pioneering mortician, coroner, and community college board member in Cheyenne, Wyoming

★ John Parrella, born November 22, 1969, former Defensive Tackle for the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, played in Super Bowl XXXVII

External links

★ City of Grand Island Site

References

★ http://www.grand-island.com/Home/History/history_home.htm
1. "U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case", article New York Times by Julia Preston, December 13, 2006