FAIR HOUSING MONTH
REPORT DISCRIMINATION
If you feel you have experienced housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (incl. sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, and familial status, contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777, online at www.hud.gov/fairhousing, or your local fair housing organization.
Please join us on April 26th at 2:00 p.m. for our Arbor Day Program!
CLEAN UP FOR A BETTER FUTURE!
It's time to clean up the city one property at a time! This is the time to clean up those front and back yards and work together to make our city a welcoming one! If you need help with your property just ask, communities willing to work together will thrive together.
**Do not drop off your items in other dumpsters or other properties.**
Stop by our Careers Page for Updates on Job Openings!
https://cozardcityne.sites.thrillshare.com/page/careers-page
Tire Clean Up
March 7-9
8 am - 5 pm
Monroe Street and Railroad Street in Cozad
Humanities Nebraska Speaker to Appear
Speaker Yvonne Hollenbeck will present Cowboy Poetry on Saturday, February 17, at 11:00am at the Wilson Public Library in Cozad, as part of the One Book One Cozad program. Pamela Carter Joern’s book, The Floor of the Sky, is the 2024 selection.
Yvonne is an award-winning quilter and one of the nation’s top award-winning cowgirl poets. She will present original poems and stories regarding the hardships experienced by her elders on farms and ranches in Nebraska, from homestead days to present. Be ready to listen to hilarious happenings from a rancher’s wife (although they were not very humorous when they happened!).
This presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Wilson Public Library as part of the HN Speakers Bureau.
“Cowboy Poetry” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.
Speakers are available to any non-profit organization in Nebraska. Each program lasts 30 minutes to an hour, plus a question-and-answer period.
The most frequent users of the HN Speakers Bureau are primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums and historical societies, agencies for the elderly, rural organizations, churches, arts organizations and ethnic organizations. Humanities Nebraska sponsors the largest Speakers Bureau program in the U.S. according to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information detailing the available speakers and guidelines for booking them, please access the Humanities Nebraska website at www.humanitiesnebraska.org (Speakers section) or contact Humanities Nebraska at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508, phone (4202) 474-2131, fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail info@humanitiesnebraska.org. For information concerning this specific program, please contact Laurie Yocom, Wilson Public Library director, at (308) 784-2019.
In addition to the three scholarship nights to be held at the Cozad High School this spring, the Wilson Public Library will also hold three at the library. Staff will be available to proof essays and students will be able to print what they need for free. All will be held on Wednesdays from 4pm-6:45 and CHS students should bring their Chromebooks to access the free WI-FI. Dates are: February 21th, March 13th, and March 27th.
Wilson Public Library is located at 910 Meridian Avenue in Cozad.
In honor of the library’s 2024 theme of Adventures in Your Library, Wilson Public Library in Cozad plans to have community members share personal stories of travel in monthly programs. On Tuesday, February 20, at 5:30pm, Patti Neill will share photographs and stories of her recent trip to Iceland. If you have visited an interesting place, stop by the library to get involved.
Wilson Public Library is located at 910 Meridian Avenue in Cozad.
On Wednesday, February 14, at 11am, Peter Osborne, director of the Robert Henri Museum, stops by to discuss the new art gallery that is currently under construction. The public is encouraged to stop in to find out more. The chat will be recorded and posted to the library’s YouTube channel afterward if you’re unable to make it.
Wilson Public Library is located at 910 Meridian Avenue in Cozad.
Free Tax Preparation
Wilson Public Library is offering area residents free tax preparation for individuals needing help this tax season through Volunteer income Tax Assistance (VITA).
The in-person tax preparation clinic will be held Thursday, February 8 from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm in the Wilson Public Library located at 910 Meridian Ave, Cozad NE 69130. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center on Children, Families, and the Law certified tax preparers will be on site to prepare and electronically file federal and state returns. Additional dates that VITA will be at Wilson Public Library are Wednesdays, March 6 and April 3, also from 10:30am-6:30pm.
Taxpayers interested can walk-in any time during those hours. Return preparers will meet with taxpayers to answer questions, prepare their returns, and review the federal and state tax returns are accurate prior to e-filing. The process typically takes approximately 45 minutes. Taxpayers may also schedule an appointment ahead of time at vita.unl.edu/signup so they do not have to wait.
Agenda for the Regular Meeting next Monday February 5, 2024
At the January 2023 Annual Conference Awards ceremony, the Nebraska Concrete Paving Association (NCPA) awarded the City of Cozad Street Department the “Best Urban Street” project for 2023. Public Services Commissioner Jimmy Weinmaster accepted the award on behalf of the City of Cozad Street Department. City of Cozad Paving Improvement Project started in 2021. The City of Cozad undertook the process of rehabilitating some of its local streets to better serve its residents, businesses, and to open new areas for future development. These projects included: • 4th Street from Highway 30 to Willow Street. • 13th Street from J Street to Meridian Avenue. • The intersections of 10th Street & F Street and 8th Street and F Street. • Potter Avenue from 12th Street to 14th Street. • Papio Lane from 19th Street to 22nd Street. • Meridian Avenue from 19th Street to 24th Street. As part of this project, new sidewalks and ADA ramps were constructed to provided added safety for pedestrians. In all, over 4,000 cubic yards of concrete were used in placing over 200,000 square feet of new pavement, driveways, and sidewalks. Additionally water mains were upgraded to provide better pressure and flows as well as new sewer mains were installed in areas that previously weren’t served by City sewer. Congratulations and a large thank you to Paulsen Construction and Olsson for their hard work making our project such a success!
Due to a Water Main Break there will be barricades up at 8th and Meridian on the North side by the theater throughout next week while they pour new concrete. We will post any updates as things arise. Thank you!
City Council Meeting 1-22-24
There have been multiple freeze ups. Please remember to run a pencil size stream of water to help prevent the freeze ups from happening. Thank you!
Haymaker Creative District Welcome Garden Unveiling & Celebration
The Haymaker Creative District is looking forward to the unveiling of the new signage
that will welcome visitors and community members to Cozad’s new Haymaker Creative District, as well as the Cozad Downtown Historic District. The new design of the Welcome Garden signage at the corner of 7th and E will be unveiled Monday January 15th at 3:45, with a celebration to follow at the Meridian Tap House from 4:00-7:00p.m. including an artist pop-up shop, snacks and free caricature drawings.
Due to the forecast, the unveiling will begin at 3:45 sharp and be a very brief
ceremony. There will be outdoor heaters there in an effort to keep everyone
comfortable. Celebration to follow directly after from 4:00-7:00 at the Meridian Tap
House.
Contact karlie@cozadcreates.com with any questions.
The Haymaker Creative District is accepting designs by area creatives to use as a translucent vinyl wrap on the windows of the District’s office. Designs can be any medium that can be scanned and turned into a translucent vinyl window wrap: graphic design, painting, drawing, etc.
We are looking for a design that represents the purpose, goal, and vision of our office:
● Community, growth, and creativity.
● Promotion of Cozad’s existing public art projects and support of local creatives.
● A place to gather, get creative, brainstorm, identify and solve problems, and enjoy
conversation.
Submissions will be accepted through February 29th. The chosen design will receive $200 in Cozad Chamber Bucks.
Technical Information:
Total Dimensions: 136" x 97"
Top Panes: 32" x 53"
Bottom Panes: 32" x 40"
Grid Lines: 1 3/4"
Design must be 2" x 3" ratio
6" x 9" on a single sheet of paper
Contact karlie@cozadcreates.com with any questions.
Time to put your snowman decorating skills to use! Looking forward to seeing all the finished entries. Good luck to you!
Snow Emergency until Wednesday, January 10. No parking in downtown area Tuesday evening thru Wednesday morning.
