KEARNEY (AP) - Millions of dollars
from hotel taxes may help put up an arch
way across Interstate 80 and a nearby tour
ist park to commemorate the Great Watte
River Road.
Former Gov. Frank Morrison, who
thought up the project, said at a news con
ference Wednesday that the historic monu
ment and park he envisioned could rival
Mount Rushmore as a tourist attraction.
The city council this week approved a five
year, 2 percent occupation tax on hotel and
motel rooms to help finance the project. The
levy is expected to raise some $650,000 to
cover initial costs of die wooden archway
that would reach a height of 80 feet.
Proponents say total costs will reach $35
to $38 million with help from private in
vestors. Organizers hope a site can be se
lected and ground broken for the monument
• within six months. The park is scheduled to
| open July 4,1999.
: Morrison said the archway would link
structures on both sides of the highway and
feature educational and historic exhibits on
topics including pioneers, fur trappers and
cross-state trails. He also said the monument
would use a panoramic view of the Platte
River.
Although details of the proposed Great
Platte River Road archway and park will not
be finished until a feasibility study is done,
the following attractions are planned:
■ Tbuch Nebraska: A system using elec
tronic kiosks that give tourists information
and road maps at the touch of a few buttons.
It will help them find points of interest across
the state and help them contact hotels and
motels in other areas.
■ Computerized Register Cliff: A dis
play where visitors can record their name
via computer, and for a fee, receive a print
out with their name superimposed over a
close-up reproduction of the names carved
into the stone at the original Register Cliff,
where pioneers carved their names.
■ Treasures of the West: Historical items
donated from museums, attractions and com
munities throughout the state, which will
depict the opening of the American West and
the Great Platte River Road.
■ Westward Ho! Adventures: A live-ac
tion video where visitors can be filmed, in
western attire, superimposed over a western
action scene where they’ll appear to be
riding on a stagecoach, riding for the Pony
Express or heading up a wagon train.
■ Trails West Surround Theater: A 360
degree surround theater that will show films
of American Indians hunting buffalo, fur
trappers breaking the trail, covered wagons
on the Oregon Trail and other historical sub
jects.
■ Wildlife of the West Natural History
Area: Wildlife dioramas of the plains ani
mals. such as buffalo, deer, elk and ante
lope. There will be special exhibits ana in
formation on where the animals can be seen.
Ron Tillery, president of the local Develop
ment Council, said he believed the archway
could be on a par with other major national
monuments and attract 3.9 million visitors
annually.
“hi this case we already have 12 million
people driving by and we just need to get
them to pull off,” he said. The park could
generate $8.7 million a year in tourism
spending, he said.
“It will make Kearney a tourism desti
nation, rather than a spot people pass by at
75 mph,” said Craig Link, director of sales
and marketing at Ramada Inn and chairman
of the Kearney Area Hospitality Group.
A June survey of 635 interstate travelers
at rest areas near Kearney found that 85
percent said they would stop at the proposed
monument.
Tillery said a feasibility study would be
conducted by an Orlando, Fla., firm to de
termine exhibits, the archway ’s environmen
tal impact, its design and funding options.
When the idea was first made public in
March, supporters said the monument would
include an archway across the interstate,
supported by pavilions resembling frontier
outposts. The goal would be to pique the
interest of interstate travelers and get them
to see Nebraska attractions.
UNO Chancellor
calls for better
college retention
OMAHA (AP) - The chancellor of the
University ofNebraska at Omaha urged fac
ulty members Wednesday to work to reduce
the university’s dropout rate and keep stu
dents at the school.
“Each college, each academic depart
ment and each individual must work to
make a difference in the student’s effort to
succeed,” Del Weber said in his welcome
back speech to about 200 faculty members.
“The most important element in the reten
tion process is the effort each and every one
of us makes,” he said.
Forty-five percent of UNO freshmen in
the 1995-96 school year had not returned
for the school year that started Monday, said
Ernest Peck, a UNO vice chancellor who
spoke after Weber.
Statistics presented to the NU Board of
Regents this year indicated that only 7 per
cent of black students at UNO, 9 percent of
Hispanics and 25 percent of whites gradu
ate from UNO within six years.
* Weber encouraged faculty members to
bear down oir the problem.
“This is not a new phenomenon, and I
am afraid that all of us have accepted the
Please see UNO on 10
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Correction
The URL for the Study WEB service profiled in Wednesday’s Daily
Nebraskan was incorrect.
The site is at <http://www.the-acr.com/studyweb/studyweb.htm>.
What is the function of the
cosine of the angle of
Hie slope squared?
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calculators work harder.
To help you work smarter.
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