Nebraska’s Electric Chair

Arthur Kirk's death during a 1984 standoff with a SWAT Team became intertwined with America's farm crisis, but the real story is more complicated. Economic collapse, political decisions and growing desperation collided in one of Nebraska's most tragic chapters of rural history.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

When an Ashland police officer reported an encounter with a mysterious craft in 1967, the story made national headlines. Newly uncovered research adds another chapter to one of Nebraska's most enduring and debated UFO mysteries.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

The electric chair was introduced as a modern, humane alternative to hanging. Decades later, Nebraska became the last state to rely on it exclusively before declaring the practice unconstitutional. The story traces changing ideas about justice, punishment and what society considers cruel.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

The TV Dinner changed how Americans ate, but the famous origin story isn't quite true. Behind one of Nebraska's biggest food innovations is a story of marketing, convenience and the frozen meal that transformed kitchens across the country.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

Nebraska's Legislature is unlike any other in America. In 1937 Senator George Norris’ envisioned a Unicameral that eliminated partisanship and made government more accountable. Nearly a century later, it remains a one-of-a-kind experiment in American democracy.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

The center pivot irrigation system transformed agriculture around the world. It began when Nebraska farmer Frank Zybach started looking for an easier way to water his crops. When Valmont Industries began mass producing the invention, it reshaped farming and created a multi-billion-dollar industry in the state. It also raised questions about water use, irrigation and the future of agriculture.© 2026 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

Mexican immigrants first arrived in Nebraska to harvest sugar beets in the early 1900s. For over a hundred years, the demand for their labor and policies to turn them away have shaped parts of Nebraska's economy. In this episode of Once Again, we visit Scottsbuff to talk with those familiar with history and people who worked in the sugar beet fields.We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast! Please answer a few questions in this short survey: NebraskaPublicMedia.org/podsurvey© 2025 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

In 1962, homes and businesses in Nebraska received electricity generated by nuclear energy for the very first time. The Hallam nuclear power plant, known as Sheldon Station, was a demonstration project of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in partnership with Consumers Public Power. It was one of the first nuclear plants in America. Its unique design made it the first and only sodium-graphite reactor to work in tandem with a traditional coal-powered generator. In this episode of Once Again, we share the story of a power plant that was shut down after only two years, which could be considered either an innovative experiment or a technological failure. The remains of the reactor are buried just a few miles from the state capital. Now, the science behind the Hallam plant is being revisited as the Nebraska Public Power District considers expanding the availability of nuclear power with a new generation of small reactors.We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast! Please answer a few questions in this short survey: NebraskaPublicMedia.org/podsurvey© 2025 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved. Discover images and additional information about the series at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

In the 1990s, a Methodist Church in Omaha began blending talk of religion with talk about sexual orientation – a conversation far out of the norm. Next came a controversial wedding. Normally a happy occasion, it quickly turned ugly, and the pastor who performed the wedding ended up on trial, cracking the foundation of the Methodist Church. The fight within the church spanned months with Reverend Jimmy Creech front and center. In this episode of ‘Once Again’, Nebraska Public Media’s Bill Kelly shares the story of how that same-sex wedding in Omaha led to the Methodist denomination breaking apart internationally. We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast! Please answer a few questions in this short survey: NebraskaPublicMedia.org/podsurvey© 2025 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved. Discover images and additional information about the series at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.

Since the tracks were built, trains have moved goods across America around the clock – traveling through big cities and small towns alike. But the history of passenger rail in the United States is not so cut and dry. People have long shown interest in hopping aboard a train, and in the early 1900s, it was the only way to get from one coast to the other. Through the middle of the century, a trip by rail was viewed as glamorous. But by the 1970s, the business turned so unprofitable that the government was forced to take it over, creating the Amtrak service. Now, demand has Once Again increased for rail travel, with more and more people thinking of punching a ticket. Nebraska Public Media’s Bill Kelly climbs aboard the California Zephyr to explain the history of passenger rail in America and how its future might hang in the balance.We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast! Please answer a few questions in this short survey: NebraskaPublicMedia.org/podsurvey© 2025 Nebraska Public Media Foundation. All rights reserved.Discover images and additional information about the series at https://NebraskaPublicMedia.org/onceagain.