Greetings from Historic Red Cloud: Great Stories Grow Here!
Set amid brick-lined streets, charming homes, historic buildings, and the immense beauty of the prairie, Red Cloud offers a glimpse into a storied American past while maintaining a progressive vision for the future. Great stories start in Red Cloud--add your own chapter today!
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Potter Block Development Project Receives $2.3 million "Shovel Ready" Grant, as well as State Historic and Community Development Tax Credits
The Red Cloud Hotel, LLC is pleased to announce that the Willa Cather Foundation received a $2,335,600 grant for the Potter Block Development Project from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NDED) as part of the Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery and Investment Act. 76 Nebraska organizations received funding, with the Red Cloud project being one of the larger grants. Learn more about which area organizations received funding and how much in this article from the Hastings Tribune.
The State Historic Preservation Office also announced that the project received $1 million in State Historic Tax Credits. The Nebraska State Historic Tax Credit (NHTC) was initiated in 2015 under the Nebraska Job Creation and Main Street Redevelopment Act. The NHTC provides a state tax credit of up to 20% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures.
NDED also announced that the Red Cloud Community Fund (RCCF) received $20K in Community Development Assistance Act (CDAA) tax credits to be used on the Hotel Garber Project. This program incentivizes donations by providing a 20% tax Nebraska tax credit for the donor. Red Cloud's allotment resulted in a donation of $50K.
With additional pledges of investment, nearly $3.5 million in funding for the Hotel Garber project was secured in June 2022! Altogether nearly $6.2 million has been raised for the project which will result in the adaptive reuse of the former Brenda's Shoppe building into a 26 room hotel that will also feature meeting space, a catering kitchen, a lounge and dining area, a luxury suite, and will also allow ADA accessibility into the historic Farmers & Merchants Bank next door.
Practically speaking, the June successes mean that the project can now be put out to bid and, barring unforeseen circumstances, that construction efforts can begin in the Fall. An anticipated project completion date will be announced after a bid is accepted.
Although most of the fundraising is now complete, it's not too late to leave your legacy in Red Cloud and be part of this project! Naming rights for several hotel rooms and the 64 person Conference room are still up for grabs. Naming rights for the following locations are available for $50K: 1) Hotel Conference Room, 2)Hotel Bar & Breakfast Nook, 3)Hotel Vestibule, 4) Bookshelves in Hotel Lobby. Naming rights for the Catering Kitchen and the Hotel Manager's Office are available for $25K. A number of individual rooms are available at $100K and the Hotel Lobby can be named for $250K.
Additional donations and investments will help lower and perhaps even eliminate costs associated with taking out any sort of loan and thus enhance the project's likelihood for long-term success. Investors are projected to achieve a favorable return. Please contact Jarrod McCartney or Ashley Olson at 402-746-2653 for more information. Donations can be made to the Red Cloud Community Fund via the link in the button below or to the Willa Cather Foundation. RCCF's mailing address is P.O. Box 263, Red Cloud, NE 68970.
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Nebraska Television (NTV) features Red Cloud's Downtown Revitalization Plans and RCCF's Color Run
NTV news reporter Risell Ventura captured some of the great work going on to make Red Cloud an even better place to work, live, and visit during Alumni Weekend events on Saturday, May 28th. Click on the top photo to read an article and watch a news report about plans for downtown revitalization in Red Cloud, including work on two buildings owned by Dennis and Sally Hansen at the Hwy 136 and 281 intersection (design pictured above) and Todd and Lisa Mahin's Back Alley Bicycles Building. Click on the photo below to learn more about the Red Cloud Community Fund's annual Color Run 5K, which this year helped raise funds for the completion of Phase I of the a new recreation trail in the community.
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Spring Willa Cather Conference Wrap Up
Programming for the 67th Spring Conference served nearly 170 attendees, most of whom were in Red Cloud for the first time since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many highlights was sculptor Littleton Alston's comments on the Willa Cather statue that will soon become part of the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol. Planning is underway for the 2023 Conference (June 1-3) which will celebrate the centenary of Cather's novel A Lost Lady which features a character based on town founder Silas Garber. Click on the photo to order your 2022 One of Ours t-shirt!
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All Nebraska Tractor Drive Stopped in Red Cloud
Farmers and tractor enthusiasts from around the region spent parts of 3 blistering hot June days in and around Red Cloud in an Organized by Campbell area residents Larry Holmberg and Nelson Trambly among others, the All Nebraska Tractor Drive featured 97 entries and toured rural sites in the area such as the geographic center of the United States near Lebanon, the Diversion Dam near Guide Rock, the Starke Round Barn, and the Tom Shute farm in rural Kansas. Special thanks to Shute, Landmark Implement, the Cowles American Legion, and Heritage Tourism board member Liz Rasser for all of their efforts and showing the participants what the Red Cloud area has to offer!
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Back Alley Bicycles Opens in Downton Red Cloud
Todd & Lisa Mahin recently rehabilitated the former Gary's Barbershop location into a sharp looking storefront and retail space that is both tastefully modern and historically appealing. While the couple has several ideas in the works, their first venture out of the space will now allow visitors and anyone interested to "cruise all the historic sites and fun seasonal attractions in Red Cloud." Information on self-guided tours of Red Cloud is available, and additional tours will soon be designed to accommodate cyclists. Contact Lisa & Todd today to learn more about this venture! Learn more about Todd & Lisa's other venture, The M Guest House, in this article from The Modern Maiasaura (Jenni Welsch).
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First Phase of Red Cloud Recreation Trail Completed
Quick thinking and organizing by the Red Cloud Community Schools, the Red Cloud Community Fund and its Recreation & Health subcommittee, and the City of Red Cloud resulted in the first phase of the proposed Red Cloud Recreation Trail being completed. The first phase will now connect walkways between the elementary school and The Valley Child Development Center (TVCDC). Previously, children going between TVCDC and the school had to walk on Cherry St due to a lack of sidewalks in the area. Thanks to work going on to finish a new parking lot at the school, completion of phase I was able to be completed at a discounted rate. RCCF contributed $12,500 and the City was able to use $7,500 in ARPA funds to complete this phase of the project. Much bigger plans for a trail system in and around Red Cloud are underway. If you'd like to get involved or donate, please contact Stacie Heldt, Lisa Mahin, or Jarrod McCartney.
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Mesker Construction laid down the asphalt walking path which terminates on thee south side of the football practice field. TVCDC students can access City sidewalks from that point. Future plans include placing obstacles to discourage vehicle traffic from using the path and a possible crosswalk. The bigger project envisions a trail that loops around the community, while the next phase may concentrate on those areas owned by the City of Red Cloud between TVCDC, Cherry Corner Estates, and the Red Cloud Cemetery. Prior to the schools' parking lot construction walkers wishing to use this path were forced to hoof it on a muddy alley that could easily be confused for private property.
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Watch this video to learn more about women's sports pioneer Kay Cover and her impact on the softball program in Red Cloud!
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RC LEGENDS
KAY COVER
From Nebraska Public Media: Kay Cover was naturally athletic, but opportunities for talented young women prior to Title IX were limited at best. When her five daughters were old enough to play ball, she started a fast-pitch softball league in Red Cloud in the early 1970s. Untrained, but naturally gifted as a coach, Kay Cover not only had an undefeated team, she inspired her players with a new vision for their futures.
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