What is up with North Platte? (Omaha, Lincoln: transfer to, to buy, movies)

[Steel`09]

I moved here 1 1/2 ago and am amazed at the lack of shopping. Walmart and shopko? why is their not more stores here. I went to Kearney last weekend. They have much more than NP. NP is right off the freeway. I just don't understand this cities problem. I wouldn't have a problem if there were a few more stores like a target and best buy or anything besides Walmart(that's a seperate rant) And the mall here is pathetic. I was born in a similiar size town in SD and it has many more stores, activities than here. Sorry for the rant.

[Trailhiker]

Yes, I agree. I work for Target and wish we had a store there. Scottsbluff has one, and its a lot more isolated.

Back in the late 90s, Target went through a period where it was opening stores in less populated Great Plains cities that seved regional areas. They opened stores in Scottsbluff, Kearney, Norfolk, NE, Watertown, SD, Aberdeen, SD, Fort Dodge, IA, Salina, KS, Hutchinson, KS, and Garden City, KS.

It's like they just skipped over North Platte.

[Steel`09]

Originally Posted by Trailhiker

Yes, I agree. I work for Target and wish we had a store there. Scottsbluff has one, and its a lot more isolated.

Back in the late 90s, Target went through a period where it was opening stores in less populated Great Plains cities that seved regional areas. They opened stores in Scottsbluff, Kearney, Norfolk, NE, Watertown, SD, Aberdeen, SD, Fort Dodge, IA, Salina, KS, Hutchinson, KS, and Garden City, KS.

It's like they just skipped over North Platte.

Like I said, just a few more stores and restuarants would be great. I went to the target in Kearney. My wife commented on how they had a bigger and better selection of toddler clothes and toys than walmart.

[Trailhiker]

Unfortunately, it looks like Target is now focused more on building stores in suburban area of larger cities and renovating older stores.

In fact, excluding suburban Omaha, they have not opened a store in a new city that was in ND, SD, NE, WY, or MT in quite a while.

Hopefully this will change soon.

[Go Ne]

Kearney is a far more White Collar town than North Platte and it has a medium sized university too, plus it has been growing at a good rate for about 2 decades now.

[dhmunoz]

I'm in North Platte too, and I agree. There aren't nearly enough places to shop for the size of the town. Way too many fast food places too! Some nice actual restaurants would be good. We're moving to Omaha next summer when I transfer to UNO and I've gotta say, I'm really glad about it.

There's also no diversity here whatsoever, and if you aren't exactly like everyone else, people here can't handle it!

[kibitzjoe2]

The problems with North Platte:
1. The High Tax rate. Really, I think the problems come down to this. North Platte has the highest tax rate in Nebraska, yes, higher than Omaha, Lincoln, Bellvue, Grand Island, and Kearney. I think this keeps out businesses.

2. Drugs. The drug problem here is huge. Everywhere I go I encounter. I've been told by people who would know that there are people in high places involved.

3. The terrible roads. If North Plate grew much more, traffic would be disastrous. There is only one road in North Platte that goes from North to South uninterrupted. There is a main thouroughfare from east to west, but it's in the less populated part of town; you have to go over a viaduct to get to it. Right now, the roads are barely adequate to handle the population but if it were to grow much more, it would not be pretty. I think that if NP is to see much more development it will be south of the interstate.

4. Very little for young adults to do. I swear, everyone in my age group (college age) in North Platte can't conceive the concept of "fun" without alchohol and crazy parties. There's the bowling alley, movies, some parks. But there are very few young adults here that I've met who don't hate North Platte and seek a way out. Why?

5. The government. Fortunantly, North Platte just elected a mayor who is finally trying to do something about the tax rates and ridiculous budget. Unfortunantly, the police and fire chiefs, dept. of roads, etc. are NOT cooperating. The Mayor asked them to cut their budgets by five percent. Instead, everyone RAISED their budgets.

North Platte needs to improve the look and feel of the town. It's not just up to the government, it's up to the people. Elect officials who get this. Keep your yard in shape. Find constructive things to do. Care about your kids. Stay away from drugs. Otherwise you're going to start losing population for the first time since the 80s.

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Originally Posted by Go Ne

Kearney is a far more White Collar town than North Platte and it has a medium sized university too, plus it has been growing at a good rate for about 2 decades now.

This sums it up nicely. Add that Kearney is closer to two larger towns (GI and Hastings) and gets more regional shopping traffic than NP, and you'll see why they have more retail variety.

[Mr Miker]

The problem with North Platte is that they don't want change, they fear it. They are trying to expand the town as a whole, but they can't let go of the small town mentality. The whole place is just too plain and drab to support any real commerce or businesses like a Whole Foods or a Target. Maybe those places are just too liberal for a conservative town.....

[SCGranny]

I met with the Whole Foods corporate management in a previous life, and the one thing they are adamant about is that the area where they locate a store must have a university or college nearby, and they want at least 60+% of the population to have a college education. Why? Because their prices are higher to reflect their particular niche of organic foods and more naturally raised produce. Not to mention that most folk, who can get home-grown or local produce and eggs, and grass-fed local beef, at home-grown prices, why would they spend money for higher priced 'organic' produce?

As far as Target and Wal Mart, I avoid them whenever possible. The cheaply made clothes and imports are just not attractive to me or to someone who makes clothes last for years, not weeks or months, and who prefers quality to quantity. I don't go to North Platte or Chadron to shop at Wal Mart, although a lot of people I know do - I prefer to buy American and locally whenever I can. And THAT might be the reason places like North Platte aren't overrun with all sorts of competing Chinese and Korean products and their big-box stores - because many folks prefer to try to keep jobs and money here, not floating overseas. If that's close-minded and objectionable to change - well, not all change is good. Shrug.

There used to be a Target in Rapid City SD (which is closer to me and easier to get to than North Platte) in the Rushmore Mall, but it has left. But the Western Wear outlet there is doing a booming business. Wal Mart is there right next to Sam's Club and seems to be doing well, though. Guess it's all about the area and what people want. Taxes do make a difference - and Wal Mart won't build a store any more unless they can get a guarantee that they will pay no property taxes for 10 years. Think about who else has to pay those taxes just to bring a Wal Mart or any other chain store in, and you might rethink the value of the big-box stores.