McCook Economic Development Corp.

While most of the attention is going to McCook’s new aquatic center, major progress is also being made in the North Pointe Addition, where Arrowhead Construction is building five “spec” homes as a result of the McCook Economic Development Corp.’s effort to provide more family housing. A number of lots are available for other homes, with the MEDC reimbursing part of the cost of the lots if homes are built within 18 months. More information is available by calling (308) 345-1200...

McCOOK Neb. - Construction is planned to begin as early as next week on homes near West 7th and S Streets in McCook. “We’re excited to partner with Arrowhead Construction. They will be building five ‘spec’ homes,” said Amanda Engell, Director of Housing Development for the McCook Economic Development Corp.  ...

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook will probably have triple the number of building permits for family housing compared to recent years, a McCook Economic Development Corp. official told Red Willow County Commissioners Monday. Amanda Engell, Director of Housing Development, pointed to one of the MEDC’s projects, underway north of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in the Reservation area of north McCook as an example...

McCOOK Neb. - Many community members braved the cold Thursday morning, Dec. 14, 2023, to witness the groundbreaking ceremony for the new construction of homes along Cheyenne Road. It will consist of two duplexes, four units, featuring a two-bedroom layout with two baths and a two-stall garage, and one duplex that will be two three-bedroom, two-bath, and a two-stall garage. The site also allows for three more duplexes to be built in the future, further expanding the available housing inventory...

McCOOK, Neb. — A groundbreaking event Wednesday celebrated the expansion of Performance Plus Liquids cattle feed company in McCook as well as the expansion of Phase II of the local business park. The occasion marked a significant milestone for the board of directors, recognizing their hard work on the project. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. will celebrate major projects with events Wednesday, Nov. 29. A groundbreaking ceremony is set for 1:30 p.m. on Ravenswood Road for McCook Business Park’s Phase II expansion project, and the event will also extend a warm welcome to Performance Plus, as they begin to build their new facility in McCook...

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook’s housing problem is like a puzzle: a lot of pieces need to fit together, a lot of pieces need to work together and a lot of pieces need to come to the table to find a solution. McCook Economic Development has prioritized bringing all those pieces together to address McCook’s housing needs, with an emphasis on not only affordable living for families and seniors but also opportunities for workforce and market-rate housing solutions...

LINCOLN, Neb. — McCook, Red Willow County and Imperial are among communities sharing nearly $23 million in Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund grants announced by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development today. The McCook Economic Development Corp. and Red Willow County received $702,000 to combine with a $351,000 local match, and the West Central Nebraska Development District in Imperial will receive $1 million to combine with a $500,000 local match...

McCOOK, Neb. — When the McCook Economic Development Corp. was established in 1985, its primary role was to support businesses. After all, its mission statement says the MEDC is dedicated to “facilitating the formation, retention, attraction, and expansion of business in McCook and the surrounding area.”...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. is working with a local real estate agent for a new home at West Ninth and Q. A $405,000 housing grant was awarded to McCook, Benkelman and Cambridge, Neb. MEDC put up $20,000 in matching funds that pay for construction site preparation at the McCook location...

McCOOK, Neb. — The new executive director for McCook Economic Development Corp. won’t have far to move when he takes over the role on April 25. Charlie McPherson will join the MEDC later this month as its new executive director. McPherson currently has an office just down the hallway from the MEDC at the Keystone Business Center, where he serves as the McCook and North Platte director for the Nebraska Business Development Center...

McCOOK, Neb. — Kezie’s Kids, Day & Night Care is now open for business. Mackenzie Gonzales, of McCook is now a licensed childcare provider. Kezie’s Kids has the capacity to care for eight children in total and currently is serving three children and their families...

LINCOLN, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. was among four nonprofits to recently receive a Housing Study Grant from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority. The MEDC received $5,760 in the grant and will provide $12,240 in matching funds to pay Hanna:Keelan to update its 2013 local community housing study...

LINCOLN, Neb. — A new statewide initiative known as Energizing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems is strengthening six Greater Nebraska hometowns. The three-year community-building experience will work to bolster entrepreneurial ecosystems in Valley County, Holt County, Keith County, Sidney, Red Cloud and McCook through extensive training, education and peer learning opportunities...

McCOOK, Neb. — And the Keystone mortgage is paid off! The announcement was made to the McCook Economic Development Board of Directors by MEDC President, Dennis Berry at their regular board meeting. Berry said that the purchase of the Keystone Hotel from Dale and Joan Stewart was controversial at the time, as the Hotel had sat empty for a number of years and was in need of major repair...

McCook, Neb. - Maplewood II was awarded $267,629 in Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and $267,629 in State Affordable Housing Tax Credits (AHTC) by the Nebraska Investment Finance Agency (NIFA). Maplewood II is an acquisition/rehab project consisting of 24 affordable senior (55+) units in McCook, Nebraska located at 1400 West H St. The 16 two-bedroom and 8 three-bedroom units income guidelines are as follows:...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Benkelman, Imperial and McCook are all among Nebraska cities receiving a total of $168,000 in project planning awards under the Civic and Community Center Financing Fund. As announced earlier the City of McCook was awarded $12,500 for a feasibility study and conceptual design development for the renovation or replacement of the swimming pool...

McCOOK, Neb. – A shrimp farm, co-work space and a wide range of other efforts are signs McCook is committed to economic growth, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley said Tuesday. Foley attended the McCook Economic Development Corp.’s annual meeting to congratulate McCook as an Economic Development Certified Community...

McCOOK, Neb. — How to keep older homes in the city in good shape while assisting families who want to buy them is the focus of a program that the McCook Economic Development Corp. is helping to administer. MEDC partnered with Southwest Nebraska Community Betterment Corp. ...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Tourism today announced grant awards totaling $494,833.65 in the combined application cycle of the Community Impact and Tourism Marketing Grant programs. Among them is $9,241.65 to the McCook Economic Development Corp. for marketing promotions...

GRANT, Neb. -- Southwest Nebraska Community Betterment Corp., a non-profit organization located in Grant, Nebraska, is leading a cooperative effort to provide down payment/closing cost assistance with rehabilitation to homebuyers using funding through the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund, provided by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Entrepreneurs who may need dedicated space, enhanced tools and high-speed internet access to help get their business off the ground can now get a leg-up from the McCook Economic Development Corp, The MEDCs Cowork Space in downtown McCook is one of the most economical such facilities in the country, according to Andy Long, MEDC executive director...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Andy Long is one of only 48 nationwide to become a certified facilitator to teach the Destination Creation Course, a class designed to help business owners increases their revenue and customer traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Community for Kids group has recently been awarded $15,000 from Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to continue their initiative work. McCook and 28 other communities across the state of Nebraska were granted funds to support their local initiatives. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Today, Janell Anderson Ehrke, CEO and Founder of GROW Nebraska, presented to a group of McCook area businesses on a USDA grant they received to help McCook area businesses develop a digital marketing plan. GROW Nebraska’s USDA grant allows them to work with McCook, Sidney, and Alliance businesses for no charge to provide training, coaching, technical assistance, and free Google AdWords advertising...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A joint effort between several local entities aimed at improving childcare access in the area received another boost this week with the grand opening this Tuesday of BlessEng’s Childcare at 1233 Norris Avenue, the location of a former church and parsonage...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Economic Development Corp. is working to position the community to attract workers who are now able to take their job with them. While that includes working from home, it may also mean an office allowing them to avoid the distractions that come with working from home...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook Community 4 Kids, in partnership with First Five Nebraska, has launched My Nebraska Story, a new campaign to engage business leaders, economic development officials and others in strengthening the availability of quality child care in their communities. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook and Southwest Nebraska needs to “tell your story,” says the Director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Anthony Goins, who visited with the McCook Rotary Club and guests via Zoom on Tuesday. Goins suggested that rural Nebraska create video presentations that the NDED could post on their website and include in marketing material to send to potential firms looking to relocate or expand. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. has announced the New Childcare Provider Jump Start program. The program will provide a scholarship to take an online eight week course on how to run a childcare business. Upon successful completion of the course, individuals can apply for a $3,000 grant to start a childcare business in the McCook area...

McCOOK, Neb. — Andy Long, director of the McCook Economic Development Corp., delivered a quarterly report, Monday, telling Red Willow County commissioners at their weekly meeting Monday morning that, while office space at the Keystone Business Center in downtown McCook is occupied, what is available is wonderful ground-floor space with a commercial kitchen...

LINCOLN, Neb. – A unique cooperative housing agreement between McCook, Benkelman and Cambridge has received a major vote of confidence from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Under the DED’administered Nebraska Affordable housing Trust Fund Innovative Housing Demonstration Program, the McCook Economic Development Corp. was awarded $405,600, which it will use to finance a unique revolving loan fund created in partnership between the three communities...

McCOOK, Neb. — Tom Buresh, MHS Class of 1962, believes that all 7,200 of his fellow McCook Senior High graduates "know someone who knows someone" who can help address business and workforce recruitment challenges in their hometown. Buresh told Andy Long, executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp., that each class of MHS graduates has a couple class representatives they can contact through the Bison Alumni Newsletter to share tips about businesses that might be interested in locating in McCook or graduates who could be encouraged to consider moving back to McCook.. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN) presented its first $5,000 “Livestock Friendly County Grant” to Red Willow County, in care of the McCook Economic Development Corp. Monday afternoon at the MEDC office in the Keystone Business Center...

McCOOK, Neb. — Teen entrepreneurship and housing are some of the areas the McCook Economic Development Corp. is addressing. Andy Long, MEDC executive director and Leon Kuhlen of the Citizen’s Advisory Review Committee, gave the McCook City Council an update on the MEDC at Monday’s council meeting...

McCOOK, Neb. — This May, McCook Economic Development Corp. welcomed the newest owners to the Industrial Park when Luis and Maria Lopez purchased the lot at 1 Industrial Park Drive. The Lopez family has moved to McCook from Denver with their four children, Felipe, 19, Anthony, 16, Maria Giselle, 12, and Isabel, 10. They are planning to have their auto mechanic and diesel shop open in the spring of 2019...

McCOOK, Neb. — Business Partners Jacque Riener and Dan Stoney of Southwest Environmental Engineering are the most recent ‘graduates’ of the Keystone Business Center as they have outgrown their office location in the Keystone and have relocated to 204 West 7th Street. Southwest Environmental Engineering helps people comply with environmental regulations. This can include anything from a report to providing guidance through the legal framework with environmental regulations...

McCOOK, Neb. —  The McCook City Council gave the green light Monday night for an agricultural chemical company in McCook to use tax increment financing to expand its facility. Next Generation Inc. is located in McCook’s Industrial Park east of Valmont and first started business in McCook in 2017 when the council gave approval to use $720,000 in TIF for construction of its $9.06 million facility. The company handles and distributes agricultural chemicals...

McCOOK, Neb. — To assist businesses who recruit workers from outside the area, the McCook Economic Development Corp. released a McCook Recruitment Video to improve the online presence for prospective employees. The four-minute video features area amenities and testimonials of individuals who are proud to live, work, and play in the McCook area...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County commissioners told the director of the McCook Economic Development Corp. they’re glad he’s looking beyond the city limits of McCook. MEDC director Andy Long told commissioners at their meeting Monday morning, “A strong Southwest Nebraska and a strong Red Willow County make a strong McCook.”...

McCOOK, Neb., - Community development has always been about numbers. Creating jobs. Economic growth. Investing in infrastructure. But according to a University of Nebraska professor, economic development also involves a psychological factor. Dr. Lindsay Hastings serves as the Clifton Professor in Mentoring Research and Director of Nebraska Human Resources Institute, a leadership development organization at UNL. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. plans two information sessions on Aug 1 at noon and 5 p.m. in the Keystone Third Floor Training Room to introduce its Mastermind and Internship Programs. Each session will be about an hour long and food will be included, along with a presentation, and information on the new programs, according to Andy Long, MEDC executive director...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Economic Development Corp. has launched its Retail Incubator program to help individuals thinking about opening their own retail business in McCook. The program allows individuals to rent the 578 square foot space in the Keystone on the first floor on the corner of Norris and D...

One of my goals as I start my new position as the McCook Economic Development Corporation Executive Director is to be in constant communication with the community. One effort to do this will be a monthly article that comes out the week after our board of directors meets. This is the inaugural monthly article...

McCOOK, Neb. — Wishing to create a community with opportunities that his children could one day move back to, McCook Community College Vice-President Andy Long will leave his position at the college to accept the executive director’s position at McCook Economic Development Corp...

McCOOK, Neb. — An agreement that regulates development at McCook’s Business Park will be revised so a diesel mechanic repair shop can move in. The McCook City Council unanimously agreed Monday night at the regular meeting to an amendment to the McCook Business Park Subdivision Agreement that will allow for the development and occupation of Lot 2 of the park without improving Ravenswood Road. ...

LINCOLN, Neb. — The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced 44 “opportunity zones” in Nebraska. The Nebraska areas were among hundreds approved in 15 states, as well as American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. One of them includes portions of central, south, southeast and northeast McCook...

McCOOK, Neb. — Andrew Ambriz, executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp. for less than a year, is resigning effective April 27. The resignation came as a “huge surprise,” said Dennis Berry, president of the MEDC board of directors. Berry said Ambriz is leaving to take a new position at the Custer County (Broken Bow) economic development, to be closer to family...

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook economic development officials are in the midst of a commercial property inventory they believe will ultimately help lure new business to the region. “We have to know what we have before we can start chasing what we want,” said McCook Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Andrew Ambriz during last week’s Coffee with a Cop meeting...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Mid-America Economic Development Council board of directors recently selected MEDC Executive Director Andrew Ambriz among the 14 recipients for the 2017 annual Bob Ady Scholarship Program. The scholarship program is named in memory of Bob Ady, a champion for economic development in the U.S. and especially the Mid-America region. ...

LYONS, Neb. — A Public Service Commission field hearing set for McCook later this month is important for rural economic growth, according to the Center for Rural Affairs. The expansion of internet access for rural Nebraska is the focus of a recently released grant funding opportunity and upcoming legislative hearings...

McCOOK, Neb. — A local economic development contingent came back from an out-of-state meeting last week armed with a wealth of data on area shoppers, a lengthy list of business enterprises looking for a community like McCook, and a renewed enthusiasm for the local retail scene...

An inaugural concert at "Norris Alley" in downtown McCook performed by Jim Salestrom on Sept. 30, 2017. The gallery also includes artist renditions of proposed improvements to the alley provided by Engineering International of McCook. Donations to the project should be directed to Mark Graff at McCook National Bank, 308-345-8717 or through the Norris Institute via Treasurer Bruce McDowell at 308-345-5439.

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook Economic Development Corp. officials traveled to Alabama last week as a part of a program they hope will bring some vibrancy to the local economy. The trip was part of a $10,000 “Retail Academy” program through Retail Strategies LLC of Birmingham, Ala...

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook’s latest income based housing development managed by the McCook Economic Development Corp. is taking shape north of the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. As of Monday, construction is complete on six of the ten buildings going up in the Quillan Courts housing development...

OMAHA, Neb. — Hear Nebraska (HN) and McCook’s Prairie Roots Festival have joined forces to bring the Good Living Tour back to Barnett Park on Saturday, July 29. For a second straight year, HN has booked a diverse group of artists from around the state to perform a free, all-ages concert starting at 5 p.m., with activities beginning at 1 p.m. ...

Veiled, black-clad protesters keep their distance at West Fifth and C, protesting Gov. Pete Ricketts’ policies on Medicaid and other issues during his visit to McCook on Friday.

Gov. Pete Ricketts presents a signed copy of Site Selection Magazine to American Agriculture Laboratory owners Kevin and Christine Grooms in McCook during the final stop of last week’s “Thank You Tour” recognizing businesses that helped give Nebraska the most economic development projects per capita in 2016. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook Industrial Park is bustling with activity this week thanks to the early stages of a $9 million construction project bringing a new agricultural chemical handling and distribution facility to the area. The Next Generation Inc. facility is the third tenant in the 20-acre industrial park and a welcome sign for economic development officials after more than a decade with only one tenant...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Rural Futures Institute, University of Nebraska at Kearney and the community of McCook partnered up to offer a five week health, exercise, technology & aquaponics day camp over the coming weeks. The five-part summer camp series is geared towards middle school students, ages 10-14, and will take place weekly beginning Monday, June 12, and be ending the week of July 10. Camp hours are from 8 a.m. to noon at the 4-H Building on the Red Willow County Fairgrounds...

McCOOK, Neb. — Two University of Nebraska-Kearney students start this week in McCook as part of a nine-week student serviceship through Rural Futures Institute . Tyan Boyer and Collin Fleecs join six other University of Nebraska and UNK students who are making their “rural immersion” into four Nebraska communities: McCook, North Platte, West Point and York...

McCOOK, Neb. ‚— Andrew Ambriz has been named the new Executive Director of McCook Economic Development Corp. Dennis Berry, MEDC President, said Ambriz, who has been serving as interim director since March, will officially assume duties June 1. “It’s been a privilege to serve the McCook community through my interim role,” Ambriz said. “It’s an honor to be selected as the executive director and to lead this organization toward creating positive change in our area.”...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Clary Village housing development in McCook will be assessed for valuation using IRS and Nebraska statutes regarding rent-restricted housing properties. Red Willow County assistant attorney Phil Lyons and county commissioners discussed the difference between valuations proposed by the county assessor’s office and Clary Village LLC during the commissioners’ meeting Monday morning. ...

McCOOK, Neb. (Red Willow County Tourism) — Celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week, the Nebraska Tourism Commission in conjunction with the McCook/Red Willow County Visitors Bureau will host a town hall meeting in McCook on Tuesday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Economic development officials recognized three of their own last week and touted the sales tax funded entity’s role in keeping McCook’s population strong. “Over the years the MEDC has played a pivotal role in stabilizing the population of McCook by being a lead agency in providing jobs and housing as exampled by the Work Ethic Camp, Valmont, Booe Salvage, Silverheels, the Cobblestone Hotel, East Ward Village, Quillan Courts and Clary Village, among others. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Kirk Dixon, the executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp. since May 2016, has resigned effective immediately. MEDC president Dennis Berry said this morning that Dixon offered no reason for the resignation. Berry said this was not a move sought by the MEDC board...

In a wet, sticky falling snow, McCook Community College vice president Andy Long walks past a statue of Nebraska Gov. and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson as a teenager receiving his Eagle Scout pin from his mother, during tours Thursday of the Nelson House and the house of fellow Nebraska senator, George W. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Industrial Park behind Valmont sat patiently for more than a decade before welcoming its second tenant in 2014, Booe Machinery and Salvage. The 20-acre development appears to be building on recent momentum and has since paved its main access road and is set to welcome a third tenant in the near future...

McCOOK, Neb. -- B Street Banners and a Big Birthday Bash are among the possibilities as the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce gets ready to roll out plans for the celebration of McCook's 135th and Nebraska's 150th anniversaries, both of which will take place in 2017...

McCOOK, Neb. -- "Economic Growth in Southwest Nebraska" is the theme for the next Hormel Entrepreneurial Competition, the time to apply is right now for more than $25,000 in business grants. McCook Community College's Business and Community Education and the Hormel Family Foundation are looking for potential business ideas to be part of the next local competition. Applications are due Dec. 2...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The never-quit determination of the McCook community is receiving praise today as the major reason the Nebraska Department of Roads set aside $60 million in funding for a "Super 2" Highway between McCook and North Platte. Inspired by the perseverance of former McCook Mayor Linda Taylor and Highway...

McCOOK, Neb.-- Soon after McCook's birth as a railroad town in 1882, Nebraska's major newspapers nicknamed McCook "The Magical City of the West." More than a century and a quarter later, the title still seems appropriate, with this now modern "Magic City" on the edge of the American West garnering more than 24 "Best Of" honors in the past two years...

McCOOK, Neb. -- It has been slightly more than 100 days since Kirk Dixon took over as the Executive Director of the McCook Economic Development Corp. His tenure spearheading the bustling business center has flown by thus far and his enthusiasm has grown, he told the McCook City Council Monday evening...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Nebraska Main Street's executive director, Elizabeth Chase, told a dozen McCookites Tuesday night that it might be wise for McCook to re-enter the Nebraska Main Street program through "consortium" sponsorship, meaning that she believes the community would be better served if several leadership groups -- instead of just one -- joined to sponsor the Main Street effort...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A new weblink is available for people who want to pitch in on any of four main projects that grew out of the "Marketing Hometown America" Action Forum Jun 30 and Town Hall meeting July 7. Nebraska Futures Institute's strategic intern for McCook, Andrew Ambriz, has established a link to "Marketing Hometown America" activities on the McCook Economic Development Corp. website...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Southwest Nebraska Leadership Institute conducted its annual orientation for the 2016-17 class members in two sessions this year -- one in May and one in June to accommodate class members' busy schedules. Each evening began with an ice breaker followed by an overview of the history, requirements, expectations and rewards of going through the program...