Downtown Kearney early on Jan. 8, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — After the recent snowstorm, shovels and snowblowers came out across the area. Kearney Mayor Stan Clouse spoke about the snow removal the city undertakes during the Community Connections event hosted by the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce.
The National Weather Service – Hastings reported that Kearney received 8.5 inches of snow during the January 8 winter storm, one of the higher amounts in the central Nebraska area. Winds gusting up to 30 mph led to drifting snow and travel was hazardous Monday night into Tuesday morning.
The City of Kearney Street Division declared a parking ban downtown to allow for snow removal starting on Thursday, Jan. 11.
“Businesses in the Downtown area should make plans to have their walks scooped by midnight so that the snow can be hauled in connection with the snow removal operations,” the city noted.
Clouse said that snow is first piled up down the middle of Central Ave and is later removed during operations like what is occurring Thursday.
Just as the work was being done to clear downtown the posted emergency snow routes, Clouse said Kearney is one of the few communities that also clear’s residential streets.
“We spend a lot of money to take care of residential (streets),” Clouse said during the event.
Clearing the community of snow can take time and Clouse asked residents for patience. He noted they have a limited amount of equipment and staff must work in shifts to allow some time for them to rest.
“We’ve had worse storms, worse winters and we’ve had better winters,” Clouse said, citing the upcoming winter weather that could drop additional snow across the area on Thursday.
Community Connections
“Community Connections is a roundtable discussion with elected officials from Kearney City Council, Buffalo County Commissioners, and the Kearney Public School Board,” per the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce (KACC) website.
“Community Connections is typically the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 a.m. and is held at the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce board room or is available via the Chamber’s Facebook page live. This monthly event is sponsored by NorthWestern Energy,” KACC stated.
