The US state of Nebraska is situated within the Midwestern Area of the US on the Great Plains. The largest city in the state is Omaha, whereas the capital city is Lincoln. The area that is now part Nebraska was once part of the Great American Desert, is now a leading state in the sectors of ranching and farming. The Omaha and Ho-Chunk or Winnebago are federally recognized American Indian tribes, each with a reservation in Thurston County in eastern Nebraska, where they constitute the majority of population.
Bordering the state of Nebraska is the state of South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, while across the Missouri River; the state of Kansas lies to the south; Colorado sits towards the southeast; and Wyoming towards the west. There are 93 counties in Nebraska. The state of Nebraska is split into two time zones. The Central Time zone comprises the eastern half of the state of Nebraska, whereas the western half observes Mountain Time. Three rivers cross the state of Nebraska to east from west. The Platte River, formed by the confluence of the North Platte and the South Platte, runs through the central part of Nebraska, the Niobrara River flows through the northern region, and the Republican River runs across the southern part.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2010 was $89.8 billion. Per capita personal income during 2004 was $31,339, 25th within the country. The state of Nebraska has a large agriculture sector, and is an essential producer of beef, pork, soybeans and corn. Other important economic sectors comprise manufacturing, freight transport, by rail and truck; insurance, telecommunications and information technology.
In 1927, Kool-Aid was created in the city of Hasting by Edwin Perkins. The business celebrates an event called Kool-Aid Days, occurs each August on the second weekend. Clifton Hillegass of Rising City developed Cliff Notes. He adapted his pamphlets from Coles Notes, a Canadian publications.
Omaha is the home to Mutual of Omaha, ConAgra, InfoUSA, TD Ameritrade, West Corporation, Valmont Industries, Woodmen of the World, Kiewit Corporation, and the Union Pacific Railroad. Sandhills Publishing Company, Duncan Aviations and UNIFI Companies are based in Lincoln; The Buckle is based within Kearney. Sidney is the national head office for Cabela's, a specialty retailer of outdoor goods.
The Union Pacific's Bailey Yard situated in North Platte is the world's largest train yard. During the year 1924, the product Vise-Grip was invented by William Petersen. The product was manufactured within De Witt until the plant was closed in the year 2008, when operations shifted to China. Lincoln's Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing is the only Kawasaki plant in the globe to produce the Jet-Ski, ATV, and Mule lines of product. The facility employs more than 1200 individuals. The Spade Ranch, in the Sand Hills, is one of Nebraska's oldest and biggest beef cattle operations.