Nebraska - an update

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

N.S. 2019 Article 40, §§29-4001 through 29-4014.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 working days for initial reg. and updates before changes.

Visitors: Presence in the state for 3 working days triggers an obligation to register. §29-4001.01(6). Per Nebraska SOR office, partial days count & 3rd day triggers! Temporary employment lasting 14 days or an aggregate of 30 days in a calendar year. §§29-4001.01, 4004.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None, and Nebraska has a statute preempting local residency restrictions except in certain narrow circumstances (e.g., 500 ft. exclusion zones applicable to SVPs).  §29-4017.

Duration & updates:

Fifteen years to life. Updates: Tier 1 – annual; Tier 2 – 6 mo; Tier 3 – 4 mo. Homeless – 30 days. §§29-4004, 29-4006.

Just a few of the exhibits at the Harold Warp Pioneer Village, 

as seen from the back porch of the main museum building

Most recent visit: August 2023

Nebraska wasn’t my destination in August 2023, I was just passing though on my way home to Iowa from my Colorado scenic train rides trip.  However, I had a few hours of extra time on my hands and intended to stay over one night there, so Nebraska’s very short three business day registration trigger was a consideration.

As in many states, partial days also count in Nebraska.  However, there appears to be no limit on return trips per month or year.  I would be out before noon on the second business day which was well within the allowable limit.  Plus I will be able to make more brief visits to Nebraska if need be any time this calendar year.

On this trip I used some of my extra time to visit what turned out to be the largest and most extravagant “Pioneer Village” I’ve seen yet, in the little town of Minden.  Apparently a local businessman named Harold Warp (no, the Warp Drive is not named after him) took over an old furniture store and surrounding property and created a truly remarkable private museum and pioneer village, moving literally dozens of historic structures to the site.  When he died his children deeded this incredible collection to the town to run.

I now consider it to be a Nebraska must-see! 

Buffalo Bill's Home & Ranch in North Platte

Previous visit: May and June 2022

In Spring 2022 I embarked on a one week adventure to see two states – Nebraska and Kansas – which I had driven through before but never slowed down enough to really see any of.  When I did slow down I was pleasantly surprised.

My plan was to allocate three days for each state.  However, both of these states’ laws trigger their registration requirements on the third business day in-state, which is a very short time period, and as in many states partial days also count.  In Nebraska, however, there appears to be no limit on return trips per month or year.  

To get around the time problem I planned my trip to include Memorial Day weekend, which meant I’d have three non-business days to split between the two states to lengthen my stay in each.  I entered Nebraska from Iowa early on Friday morning, so that was my only business day in-state.  Saturday and Sunday wouldn’t count. 

There is some good news for registered travelers in both of these states – neither has state-wide presence or residency restrictions, and both have statutes preempting local residency restrictions (except in certain narrow circumstances in Nebraska only).  That means you can visit these states without fear of tripping over any state or local laws.

Thus began a long day’s journey across northern Nebraska.  It really was beautiful but there weren’t many stops to make other than Neligh Mills, a historic site turned into a museum. Like much of the Great Plains, the climate in Nebraska gets more arid and remote as you travel from east to west.  Once you leave the Missouri River basin it’s very flat with corn and wheat fields, but about halfway across the state you enter the Sandhill Region, which consists of sandy grassy hills that seem to go on forever.

I was therefore surprised to arrive in far northwestern Nebraska and find that it’s forested and hilly.  The Museum of the Fur Trade paints a rosy and, I thought, white-washed picture of the relationship between fur traders and native peoples.  I stayed my first night at Charon State Park which was crowded on a holiday weekend but I snagged a campsite.  Nice shower house.

Carhenge - Yes it's in Nebraska!

My second day: Toadstool Geologic Park, Fort Robinson State Park (where Crazy Horse was murdered), then on to Carhenge! – a must-see near the town of Alliance.  Made it to Scottsbluff National Monument (very impressive) and even Legacy of the Plains Museum before everything closed up for the afternoon.  The closest state park campground was completely full but they were allowing “overflow camping” in a big open field next door.  No facilities, however, other than an outhouse.  Thank goodness for that!

BTW, the North Platte River runs across Nebraska from Scottsbluff all the way to Omaha, and the Oregon Trail followed the river the entire distance, so you’ll see lots of Oregon Trail sites and lore the whole way.

Third day: Chimney Rock, Nebraska’s most famous Oregon Trail landmark.  What a disappointment!  It’s on private property so you can’t get anywhere close to it, and the visitor center was closed (well, it was early Sunday on a holiday weekend …).  Courthouse and Jail Rocks turned out to be way more accessible and impressive.  

From there I zoomed across I-80 to North Platte, home of Scout’s Rest, Buffalo Bill’s home and ranch which was open on Sunday afternoon and well worth the stop.  Also in North Platte is Golden Spike Tower, but don’t get any ideas about this being where the actual Golden Spike was placed – that was in Utah.  This is an eight story tower overlooking “the largest railyard west of the Mississippi.” You can sit and watch the trains coming and going and loading and unloading as long as you like.  That evening I snagged the very last open campsite at Red Willow State Recreation Area and counted myself lucky.  Another nice clean shower house.

The next morning, Memorial Day, I set off mad early to spend as much of the day in Kansas as possible.  Still, even as a partial day it was my forth in Nebraska – but only one of them had been a business day that counted toward any registration requirement.

But that wasn’t the end of my time in Nebraska on this road trip.  When I left Kansas three days later I had to pass through the southeast corner of Nebraska on my way back to I-80 and my home state of Iowa.  That was on a Wednesday afternoon, a business day that counted toward their registration requirement.  However, because I’d been out of state for 2 1/2 days Nebraska’s clock restarted and I was only in-state for one partial day.  

I spent part of an evening in Omaha.  The Old Market really is great, and a redevelopment project is underway that will connect it to a new riverfront park and add hundreds of new residential units to pump new life into downtown.  Got to return next year and see that!