Area sites included in state's 'Passport' promotion

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Several Southwest Nebraska attractions are among the 80 stops featured in the 2015 Nebraska Passport Program.

The Passport program encourages travelers to explore Nebraska, collect stamps from participating attractions and earn great prizes.

They include Sew Blessed, Sehnert's Bakery and the Sen. George W. Norris Nebraska State Historical Site in McCook, and the Balcony House Bed & Breakfast in Imperial.

The 2015 Passport will feature 80 attractions on 10 themed tours, Play Nice, Happy Heart, I ♥ Art, One of a Kind, Yummy Tummy, Chill & Chat, Sauces & Cycles, Crazy Confections, Only in Nebraska and Nebraska Legends.

Travelers have from May 1 through September 30 to visit attractions and redeem their stamps for prizes. For each completed tour, participants win a Nebraska Passport T-shirt. Travelers also can receive 20 $1 Nebraska Lottery Scratch coupons (for 20 stamps) and a Travel Duffle Bag (for 40 stamps) and a Local First Gift Basket (for all 80 stamps).

A grand-prize drawing for an Omaha Steaks Culinary Calendar Package will be held in October. This year, an additional drawing for 300 $1 Nebraska Lottery Scratch tickets will be held for all participants, 19 and older, who turn in passports with at least one stamp.

Passports will be available at participating stops in May or can be pre-ordered by emailing info@NebraskaPassport.com. Participants can also download the Nebraska Passport App for their smart phone and get stamped digitally rather than carrying around the paper passport. Please note, the passport app will be updated with the 2015 information at 12:01 a.m. on May 1.

Those who used the application last year will need to download the update to see the new information.