News Center

When third-generation owner Paul Philippi learned of Bruning Grocery being the recipient of TCEDA’s Thriving in Thayer County Business of the Year Award, he was excited and humbled. Bruning Grocery has been a Thayer County staple for over 50 years and this is the first time winning the award. In...Continue Reading

Redesigned Site Offers Fresh Look, Enhanced Features, and Valuable Resources for Thayer County’s Growth and Community EngagementHEBRON, NE–The Thayer County Economic Development Alliance (TCEDA) is proud to announce the launch of its redesigned website, created in collaboration with Golden Shovel Agency. This new and improved online presence aims to better...Continue Reading

Reassuring news this week for Nebraska motorists and corn growers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed its intent to uphold the current April 28, 2025, implementation date for year-round access to E15. Nebraska is among eight states that have long been fighting a summertime ban on the higher ethanol...Continue Reading

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) has published application guidelines for the 2025 program cycle of the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF).Established in 1996, the NAHTF has been a high-impact program to increase the supply of quality, affordable housing throughout the state.The NAHTF’s Housing Development and Technical Assistance...Continue Reading

The Risk of Marketing Without a PlanMany rural communities struggle to attract business investment, site selectors, and workforce talent–not because they lack opportunity, but because they don’t have a clear economic development marketing strategy.We’ve seen it happen time and time again. Economic developers in rural America rely on one-off marketing...Continue Reading

A new study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Bureau of Business Research confirms the strong—and rising—return on investment from the State’s Business Innovation Act (BIA) programs.The report examined the overall economic impact BIA programs have had by empowering early-stage entrepreneurial ventures. BIA funds have generated $11.52 of private capital...Continue Reading

While homebuyers and home sellers still see headlines about the housing market being a seller’s market and national home prices reaching all-time highs, a deeper look reveals that several regional housing markets have shifted, giving homebuyers some power.During the pandemic housing boom, from summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number...Continue Reading

The wildfires raging across California have renewed discussion about how to minimize these devastating disasters. Fast Forward, a small business in Kearney, is using funds from Nebraska’s Business Innovation Act (BIA) Program to aid wildfire prevention. They’re helping utilities inspect powerlines more quickly so that anomalies can be identified and...Continue Reading

The Detroit factory where Henry Ford first began mass-producing automobiles had a transformative impact not just on the auto industry but on manufacturing and business practices across all industries. However, that factory was singular in purpose—assembling a Model T as quickly and uniformly as possible.Today, while optimal efficiency in production...Continue Reading

As global initiatives place increased emphasis on sustainable construction and built environments, emerging priorities for building projects in nearly every industry are focused on resilience, embodied carbon reduction, and achieving net-zero energy. For building owners, the challenge lies in effectively integrating sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies into...Continue Reading

Out with the old, in with the new! As Thayer County Economic Development Alliance continues to drive growth, their fresh ideas warranted a fresh look. What better way to start the new year than premiering TCEDA’s new logo?When the time came to create the design, TCEDA chose Noel Photography and...Continue Reading

Robotics and artificial intelligence: Words typically accompanied by the backdrop of a neon cityscape full of high rises and never-ending streams of cars flying past. From Bladerunner to The Jetsons, a future of technology is often predicated on ideas of sprawling, gritty urbanity, where wired, manufactured components replace biological structures...Continue Reading

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is now accepting applications for the 2024 program year of the Middle Income Workforce Housing Fund (MWHF). A Letter of Intent is required and due by February 20, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. CT. The last day to submit an application is April 16,...Continue Reading

Governor Jim Pillen and state senators presented three bills critical to preserving and protecting agriculture in Nebraska.“As the first farmer-governor in more than 100 years, I know how important it is that we take steps to preserve our way of life, for the benefit of those who consume our products,”...Continue Reading

Economic development organizations take a multi-track approach to sustained community growth. Supporting local small businesses is frequently a top priority for intracommunity growth, and its importance grows in economic downturns or times of crisis. There are several ways to champion these enterprises no matter the size of the program budget...Continue Reading

For months, if people in Southeast Nebraska needed a public place to clean their clothes, their only option was to get to the lone laundromat in Beatrice. But now, after nearly half a year of dormancy, the Fairbury Laundromat has reopened its doors, restoring an essential service to the local...Continue Reading

As we prepare for 2025, Thayer County Economic Development Alliance (TCEDA) is reflecting on the success of 2024, and thanking all residents for helping Thayer County thrive!Your community involvement makes our county a great place to live, work, and grow. Each time you purchased from a local business, you assisted...Continue Reading

Reinke Manufacturing recently announced significant contributions to local childcare providers.The Nebraska Legislature recently introduced the Child Care Tax Credit, applicable for tax years commencing on or after Jan. 1. This initiative is intended to incentivize financial support for childcare programs by offering nonrefundable tax credits to taxpayers.Contributions must be directed...Continue Reading

Thayer County is a prime Midwest location within a day’s drive of many popular metropolitan areas. Its low cost of living and doing business, rich agricultural assets, and strong workforce should also make it known for its strong community. The residents of Thayer County bond together to build, create, and...Continue Reading

Nebraska’s number one industry is agriculture. Farms and ranches have stood strong for generations because of strong family bonds within the business. Known for having a high-level work ethic and strong family values, these families make Nebraska a place where high quality foods are produced to feed the world.Well into...Continue Reading

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Rural America gets a bad rap. Often thought to have limited job opportunities, lack of education, lack of diversity, lack of progress, and backward thinking, rural communities have come a long way in being diverse, dynamic places boasting rich history, culture, and progressiveness. Many rural communities offer a unique perspective...Continue Reading

Smartphones have enabled us to attend to work from nearly anywhere. But their productivity power also frequently encroaches on our personal lives—making it too easy to reply to business emails or Slack messages when we should be focused on dinner with the fam. Likewise, when we want to get work...Continue Reading

The rise in artificial intelligence (AI) in the franchising world may seem like a fairly recent phenomenon, but it first began to have a noticeable impact on the industry five years ago. Since that inflection point, AI technologies have rapidly matured in areas like machine learning, data analytics and language...Continue Reading