LINCOLN — As the sun rises this month on the “Great American State Fair” in Washington, D.C., for the nation’s 250th birthday, various Nebraska businesses and moments will be among those represented.
Nebraska is one of dozens of states and territories where leaders are designing pavilions to go up on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a 16-day honor beginning June 25. Some states have pulled out of designing exhibits, some citing fiscal concerns, but Pillen and leaders from some of the largest Nebraska businesses said Monday they’re excited to show off.
The first-term Nebraska governor said Monday that the Cornhusker State booth will feature a “ton of bragging” about the state’s culture, traditions, ideas and innovations.
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And possibly, Pillen suggested, the event could lure back or attract new Nebraska residents.
“Any Nebraskan that goes in, whether they’ve not been back, they grew up or were born here, they go in and they go, ‘Holy cow. I’m moving back to Nebraska. I miss it so much,’” Pillen said. “Or, anybody from anywhere say, ‘This is a cool place, and that’s all because of the people.’”
More information on the Great American State Fair, including daily programming themes and information for those wishing to attend the fair, is available here.
Partner organizations
Pillen said it was a “full-team approach” in deciding participating Nebraska organizations. Though, as the self-described state “chief bragging officer,” he joked he was “certainly involved.”
“We thought it was really, really important that we make sure that anybody that’s walking through comes away with a very, very, very clear picture of what’s made Nebraska who we are,” Pillen said.
Nebraska partnering organizations announced Monday: Union Pacific, Werner Enterprises, Tenaska, Valmont Industries, Boys Town, Nebraska Public Power District, Nebraska State Fair and the Nebraska State Historical Society.
“We view Werner’s participation in this historic event as a natural extension of our corporate value of community, a way to honor our roots and give back to the place that has supported our company for 70 years,” said Nathan Meisgeier, president and chief legal officer of Werner.
“This milestone reminds us that America’s story is not shaped only in its state capitals and along its coasts, but through the quiet, hard work, entrepreneurism and determination that’s reflected in Midwest values,” said Delette Marengo, vice president of government and public relations at Tenaska, created by the late Howard Hawks, a former University of Nebraska regent who served with Pillen.
Courtney Dentlinger, Nebraska Public Power District vice president of customer services and external affairs, said some people take for granted energy being on and affordable. As Nebraska has the only fully public power model in the nation, she said the state will show off its formula for success.
“This is an incredible opportunity for us to show why the people matter, because public power in Nebraska is governed by the people,” Dentlinger said.
Some of the organizations will host interactive exhibits, too, such as Union Pacific, with a simulator for children and adults to see what it takes to “build America” and mimic operating a train as an engineer or conductor, and Valmont Industries, with a way for visitors to explore how modern farms use smart farm technology to conserve water and other resources.
Many highlighted industry leaders, with Pillen standing behind them, also affirmed Monday that they intend to stay rooted in Nebraska. This includes Union Pacific and Tenaska, both of which state lawmakers and Pillen openly flirted with this spring, with new tax incentives and data center laws coming onto the books.
Honoring Nebraska
Jaime Parr, the executive director of the Nebraska State Fair, said while not every barn, exhibitor and livestock usually shown off at Nebraska’s annual fair in Grand Island can go to Washington, Nebraska will offer a “glimpse” via lifesize champion livestock photo displays.
“Every exhibit, every champion, every blue ribbon represents hard work, determination, early mornings, family traditions and the next generation of Nebraska’s ag leaders,” Parr said of the local annual celebration that honors agriculture and brings together Nebraskans.
The 2026 Nebraska State Fair begins Aug. 28 and lasts 11 days. Parr said it will celebrate Nebraska and America this time around.
Former Nebraska Adj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, who is now the director of the Nebraska State Historical Society, said the national event will also highlight two early events in Nebraska with an “enduring effect until today and, we would think, forever, actually, in some respects.”
The first is to honor Chief Standing Bear and his fight in one of the earliest civil rights moments in the nation. The second will honor the roots of Arbor Day in Nebraska.
Other celebrations
Though some states have pulled out of the event, including Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Connecticut and Rhode Island, national organizers told the Rhode Island Current that all states and territories will still be represented.
Bohac credited the generosity of several donors, both fiscally and with in-kind donations, such as staff, that have allowed Nebraska to work on and design its pavilion.
For anyone who can’t make it to the Great American State Fair, Bohac said the Historical Society will open an exhibit June 30 — ”Our Nebraska” — that will showcase notable Nebraskans and their impacts. The exhibit will remain open for a year.
As part of national festivities, Nebraska was also provided a small box — 5 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches — to put into a national time capsule to be opened at the nation’s 500th anniversary.
Bohac said given the limitations, the state’s Semiquincentennial Commission took a theme from past celebrations to include postcards representing the state across different industries and events. Postcards featuring Lake McConaughey, the Omaha stockyards “from their heyday” and a sugar beet factory from Grand Island were included, Bohac said.
Those opening the time capsule will also see a “message from Nebraska” written by a historian on the commission and a poem from Nebraska State Poet Jewel Rodgers. Rodgers excels in performance poetry, Bohac said, but organizers couldn’t figure out a device to preserve her performance that could last the next 250 years.
The state commission hosts a website with state-level events. Bohac said the goal is events in all 93 counties, with events already planned in about half of the counties as of Monday morning.
Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly and Pillen will both be in Washington, D.C., on the nation’s birthday, so the Nebraska reins will pass down the legislative line of succession, beginning with Speaker John Arch of La Vista.
Kelly said Monday that the world moves so fast, with 24-hour or shorter news cycles, and he hopes this summer offers a point of reflection and a moment to slow down and look ahead.
“I’m hoping that a lot of us here in the United States can take a little time this summer and see something like these exhibits … and take a moment to just think about where we’ve been and where we’re going,” Kelly said. “I think we’re so lucky and so blessed to be in this great land.”
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
