Crete

Crete nebraska

Crete is a community of about 6,500 people, located in Saline County about 20 miles southwest of Lincoln. Founded by Germans from Russia, it later became home to an influx of Czech immigrants, who influenced the community with their culture, foods and religion.

Crete has been home to Doane College since 1872; Doane is a private liberal arts and sciences college known nationally for high-quality education. Crete is home to a progressive public school system known for excellence in academics and sports.

It's also home to Farmland Foods, which has changed the landscape of Crete since it opened its doors for business in 1975. Farmland processes pork products, and this Farmland facility is both a slaughtering and manufacturing plant. The plant employs about 1,800 workers and many travel long distances to work there, according to Tom Crisman, Mayor of Crete and a longtime Farmland employee. In the last 20 years, the Farmland plant has attracted immigrant workers from many countries - chiefly Mexico and countries in Central America. But, Crisman said, the plant has employed large numbers of Asian workers in the past, and currently employs smaller numbers of workers from other countries. Seventeen languages and dialects are now spoken in the plant, he added. read more >>>

SDN Projects

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska: Food Scarcity

Opportunities for Nebraska, Volume Three: Food Scarcity is the third annual publication of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska, exploring the importance of University of Nebraska research on the way we live- and on the way the world lives. Read more>>

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska: Energy Climate and Sustainability

Opportunities for Nebraska, Volume Two: Energy, Climate and Sustainability is the second annual publication of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska that explores the impact and relevance of University of Nebraska research.

Watch and listen as experts tell the stories of research and innovation at the University of Nebraska- one of the top research universities in the United States. Read more>>

2010 Opportunities for Nebraska 
Opportunities for Nebraska is the first magazine in a series that showcases University of Nebraska-Lincoln research. The world population is expected to grow to nine billion by 2050 and this research will result in producing twice as much food with the same amount of land and water. Watch and listen as UNL experts tell the stories of research and innovation at one of the top research universities in the country!
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Ord Community Study
UNL student researchers along with SDN conducted a major research project to study the ways Ord residents communicate about what is happening in the community.
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Immigration in Nebraska
Published in June 2009, Nebraska's Economic Future includes a summary of findings; stories based on individual interviews; summaries of community conversations; and articles written specifically for this magazine. The articles represent varied geographical perspectives as well as perspectives on various parts of the state's economy.
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Immigration in Nebraska
SDN published research on Immigration in Nebraska for the project's initial study in May 2008. We selected Scottsbluff, Lexington, Crete and Omaha and looked at the impact immigration has had on those communities.
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