News Flash

Winter/Spring 2024 Activity Guide

It's that time of year again! The new year is just around the corner, which means new fun activities with Parks and Recreation. This is your complete digital guide to swim lessons, fitness classes and fun youth and family events. We can't wait to see what...

MONSTER MASH – City + Friends Trunk-or-Treat sparks massive community Halloween party

Columbus came, it saw and it conquered the quest for Halloween fun on Thursday night, as more than 1,500 people showed up for the first-ever City of Columbus + Friends Trunk-or-Treat extravaganza.

Pirates, Pokémon, the “Mario Kart” collective, Ghostbusters, Sesame Street’s “Oscar the Grouch,” “Gru” and his “Minions,” “Cruella de Vil&rd...

Public Works urges road caution ahead of predicted winter weather

In loom of predicted wintery weather this weekend, the City of Columbus Public Works Department is reminding the public to use caution on the roads.

Rain and snow showers with the potential for strong winds are predicted to begin on Saturday morning throughout Northeast Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service based out of Omaha/Valley. It also could result in freezing drizzle.

Please be adv...

City honors staff with recognition awards

The City of Columbus recently celebrated the 2022-2023 fiscal year by honoring its staff members.

Staff members were saluted during an awards recognition banquet on Oct. 13 at American Legion.

"This is just another example of the great employees we have," Mayor Jim Bulkley said. "They are here when we need them and are not afraid to go a...

Columbus teen group aiming to build and open drive-in movie theater

A group of Columbus teens is hoping to help make the community’s future bright by potentially launching a drive-in movie theater in town and more.

Legacy is a collective made of students from Columbus High, Lakeview and Scotus Central Catholic high schools.

“Our main push is to look at what we can do to make Columbus a place people want to come back and raise their families; live and work h...

CITY ADMINISTRATOR, PART 1: What actually happened in York?

The following chronicles Columbus City Administrator Tara Vasicek's tenure in York as its city administrator.

NOTE TO READERS: As city administrator, Tara Vasicek oversees activities in the city office and the departments that are in charge of utilities and services; as well as the day-to-day operations of the City while implementing all plans and policies under t...

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Public golf courses benefit from sales tax revenue

For years, the two municipal golf courses in town have not only provided a chance to enjoy physical activity but served as social hubs bursting with opportunities for residents and visitors alike.

Quail Run and Van Berg golf courses have bred countless youth athletes while also providing outdoor recreation for local and visiting golfers of all sorts of skill levels and ages. They’re the two public courses available in town, complementing ...

Men's restroom at Glur Park savagely vandalized

Some people appear to be upset school has started back up and took it out on Glur Park’s men’s public restroom.

The men’s and women’s restrooms at Glur Park were cleaned like normal and looking good on Tuesday, Aug. 15. But shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, City officials discovered the men’s restroom at Glur Park, near the intersection of 26th Avenue and 28...

Downtown viaduct project public open house set; your input sought

Area residents will soon have another chance to hear more about the potential for a downtown Columbus viaduct and can share their input now via an online survey.

Following presentations made in Frankfort Square during Columbus Days and at a gathering of downtown stakeholders earlier this month regarding a potential downtown viaduct, the City of Columbus will host a public open house from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29^t...

WATCH AND READ: City mapping out upgraded pedestrian crosswalks near schools

A City of Columbus initiative is aiming to help keep kids heading to and from school, as well as all pedestrians, a little safer in town.

The City recently installed the first Rapid Flash High Visibility Crosswalk at the intersection of 27th Street and 18th Avenue, just in time for the start of the new school year. The flashers at that crosswalk, fairly close to Columbus Middle School, Nort...

33rd Avenue viaduct lights have become popular attraction

The 33rd Avenue viaduct will be giving off Hollywood vibes this week with red, gold and white lighting in honor of the Columbus Days 2023 theme of “Lights, Camera, Action!”

“We thought it would be nice for Columbus Days,” Public Works Director Chuck Sliva said, noting the movie-inspired theme for the community celebration this week.

For a little more than a year, the 33rd Avenue viaduct uplighting feature has become a popular...

Overnight storm damages tree in Frankfort Square

Strong winds during the overnight thunderstorm damaged a hackberry tree in Frankfort Square, putting City of Columbus crews to work early on Wednesday morning.

City Public Works Director Chuck Sliva said the winds ended up snapping a branch on the tree located in close proximity to 26^th Avenue, splitting the whole tree in half and making it unstable while tearing down a nearby powerline.

Clint Aegerter, a meteoro...

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Memorial Stadium gets new artificial turf

The new artificial turf field at Pawnee Park's Memorial Stadium will be ready to go just in time for prep football and soccer seasons.

City officials, including City Administrator Tara Vasicek, Public Property Director Doug Moore, Parks and Recreation Director Betsy Eckhardt and City Engineer Rick Bogus, on Monday morning walked through the field to get a final look as crews handled the ...

Mayor and City Administrator meet with Columbus summer interns

Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley and City Administrator Tara Vasicek were recently ready to answer plenty of rapid-fire questions from more than 30 area interns, with only one really catching them by surprise: “What’s a Runza?”

“What’s a Runza? It’s a sandwich made with homemade bread that is enclosed with hamburger and cabbage,” Bulkley told the interns. “It’s delicious … You’ve got to try it.&...

'Itty Bitty Camp' and 'Pop-Up Rec' providing area kids chance to flourish outdoors

Columbus youth will soon have the chance to earn “G.O.A.T. status” like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Well, in a way.

The City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for the grand finale of its all-summer-long Itty Bitty Camp with next week’s “G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) theme, four days of fun featuring some of the most well-rec...

FROM THE MAYOR: A grand summer so far (July 2023)

Did you make it downtown on July 8th for the ribbon cutting and open house of our Community Building? Wow, what an exciting day.

]Wow, what an exciting day. You might think that I am getting tired of talking about this - not! What a day. It began with us highlighting the accomplishments that went into bringing this awesome facility together. We thanked all of the people that played...

City proud to offer Columbus teens experience serving as lifeguards

Columbus knows them for carrying around whistles and wearing their red bathing suits, but the teens who make up the Pawnee Plunge’s lifeguard collective don’t take it lightly. Like “Spider-Man,” they know great power comes with great responsibility.

These teens have to be physically and mentally sharp at all times, going through the proper channels to earn American Red Cross certification that includes swimming 300 yards continuously using various strokes, First Aid, CPR/AED and more.

The City of Colu...

Wall of Heroes, Part II: Community celebrates memorial's debut

As longtime Columbus resident Ken Robinson looked out at the many U.S. veterans from all military branches on Wednesday, he couldn’t help but get a little choked up. His mind raced back to June 6th, 2013.

On that day 10 years ago, Robinson was on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, for the 69th anniversary of D-Day.

Considered the largest seaborne invasion in history, D-Day was the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops ...

Gerrard Park scoreboards get much-needed tune-up thanks to volunteer effort

The collaborative effort among several entities and the determination of one local man fueled the complete overhaul of the Gerrard Park scoreboards.

Columbus’ own Sean Martys spearheaded the efforts to get all of the scoreboards and controllers at the park fully operational once again after years of them being in dire need of some care.

“Some would work and some wouldn’t. ...

'Where collaboration lives': Columbus celebrates grand opening of Community Building

Thunderous applause could be heard early on July 8th, 2023, along 14th Street as hundreds of residents packed outside the Columbus Community Building for its grand opening.

“This is such an exciting event for us and all of you. This voter-approved, $32-million project was completed on time and on budget,” Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley said to the crowd, moments before cutting the ribbon, to many cheers. “We figured out that wor...

WATCH: Local leaders cut ribbon on Columbus Community Building

Far more than 1,000 people packed the voter-approved Columbus Community Building on Saturday morning for the facility's grand opening celebration.

Watch the video of Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley, the Columbus City Council, City Administrator Tara Vasicek and other community leaders gather to cut the ribbon kicking off the festivities on our YouTube channel by clicking here.

The City will publish plenty...

Construction on Gerrard Park tennis courts set to start July 3rd

The process of improving the tennis courts at Gerrard Park will soon begin.

Construction crews are scheduled to start tearing down the existing courts on Monday, July 3^rd, 2023, to prepare for the construction of four new dual-purpose courts for tennis and pickleball. The current tennis courts are a bit weathered and have been so...

City readies for fun-filled open house for new Columbus Community Building

The City of Columbus is planning for a public open house of the voter-approved Columbus Community Building, 2500 14th St. The public is invited.

The celebration will take place from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, July 8^th, 2023. It will commence with a brief ribbon-cutting event at 9 a.m. outside the front entrance along 14^th Street, with Mayor Jim Bulkley, City Engineer Rick Bogus and City Administrato...

Family business: Father and son appreciate working alongside one another at City of Columbus

Longtime City of Columbus employees Shawn and Tommie Riedmiller always hoped to earn promotions, they just didn’t anticipate they would come at almost the same time and end up working so closely together.

In March, Shawn was promoted to City golf course superintendent after predecessor Keith Kline announced his retirement. In April, one of his sons, Tommie, was promoted to cemetery supervisor after Steve Wortman announced he was retiring. The father and so...

South portion of 48th Avenue reconstruction project progressing ahead of schedule

The road in and out of Bradshaw Park is new, improved and once again open to the public.

A complete reconstruction of 48th Avenue south of 23rd Street down to the entrance of Bradshaw Park began in March 2023 and has progressed ahead of schedule so much so that officials were recently able to open it back up for public use earlier than antici...

Cutsor hopes to inspire others to serve on committees following switch to Planning Commission

Longtime Columbus resident Robbin Cutsor was recently appointed to the Planning Commission, which brings an end to her nine-year run on the parks board.

Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley announced Cutsor’s most recent appointment during the June 5th City Council meeting, noting she’s filling the unexpired term of Kimberly Hoefer. With permission from Council, the two-week waiting period was w...

CITY GOVERNMENT 101 - Appointments and how YOU can get involved

Your neighbor Nick serves on the park commission board; Robert, the businessman you know, is on the board of airport commissioners; your friend’s friend Erin is on the tree board – “wait, Columbus has a tree board?!” you question out-loud.

NOTE TO READERS: “City Government 101” is an ongoing series that debuted in April 2023 that highlights different aspects of municipal government as it pertains to Columbus, Nebraska, in hopes to provide information on how the City of Co...

Float your boat – Community collaboration powers Loup River Water Trail creation

Teamwork among numerous area organizations and one state agency has resulted in a new outdoor destination just in time for summer.

Recently, community leaders gathered to celebrate the official grand opening of the new Loup River Water Trail in Platte County which will give people a chance to enjoy an extensive float using boats or kayaks while taking in the views the local area has ...

Inspirando el cambio – Administrador de la ciudad, Centro Hispano reflexionan sobre el viaje

Intercambio de ComunidadesCuando la administradora municipal, Tara Vasicek, y la directora de Bienvenida y Pertenencia del Centro Hispano, Liz Rodríguez, llegaron a la séptima planta del rascacielos de 18 pisos de Adobe en San José, California, se quedaro...

Council aims to push soccer organizations toward ‘more formal’ agreement on Wilderness Park use

The Columbus City Council has given a trio of local organizations about nine months to work together on creating a new formal agreement for the future collective use of Wilderness Park Soccer Complex.

Many residents and several people representing Columbus Soccer Club and American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) addressed the Council during its April 17th regular meeting to lament their frustrations and concerns, which seemed to equate to a desire for...