Missouri River Outdoor Expo

Celebrate 100 years of Nebraskaland Magazine by visiting the exhibit in the Resource and Education Center. Visitors will have a chance to meet a Nebraskaland writer/photographer and learn more about their career and the legacy of the magazine between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Originally launched as “Outdoor Nebraska” in 1926, the publication was created to inspire appreciation for Nebraska’s natural beauty and promote conservation through education. One hundred years later, “Nebraskaland” continues that mission through award-winning photography, journalism and stories about the state’s outdoors.

Voices of Nebraska Speakers

Saturday, Sept. 19

10-11 a.m. – Adam Lindquist, “Theodore Roosevelt, The Wilderness Warrior”: Theodore Roosevelt will share his insights and speak to his commitment to the land and Animals of America during his Presidency.  Along with more than doubling the National Parks, he created what became the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Forests and National Monuments. Hear the amazing story of one of our most effective leaders.

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – David Wells, “Nebraska and the Civil War”: Few people realize that Nebraska was involved in one of the most tragic events in our history, the Civil War, from 1861-1865. The territory sent 1/3 of its male population to the war, and more than 200 died or were killed. After the war, thousands of veterans came to Nebraska. By 1890 more than 100,000 veterans lived here, and they played a major role in the development of Nebraska from a territory to statehood. They helped found many of the cities. This presentation looks at these early settlers and the role they played—geographically specific to the program site.

12:30-1:30 p.m. – Sam Matson, “Ashfall Fossil Beds: A Vivid Snapshot of the Evolution of North American Grasslands”: Located one hundred miles west of Sioux City, Iowa, and seven miles north of Highway 20 in northwest Antelope County, Nebraska, the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park has proof-positive that the subtropical savanna existed.  Complete, articulated skeletons of several kinds of prehistoric mammals lay entombed there in a thick bed of volcanic ash. In all, over two hundred complete, or nearly complete skeletons have been exposed with the possibility of many more as excavation continues.

2-3 p.m. – Rayma Volkmer, “She Claimed the Wilderness – Women, Children, and the Promise of the Homestead Act”: This powerful living history program explores the lives of women and children who endured the realities of homesteading on the Nebraska prairie and across the Great Plains. 

3:15-4:15 p.m. – Marci Broyhill, “Nebraska’s Outlaw Trail: HWY 12”: When forces of the good and bad, past and present intersect: outlaws, vigilantes, lawmen, wives, and horses. Stories are presented in rhythm, rhyme, and PowerPoint.

Sunday, Sept. 20

10-11 a.m. – Joan Wells, “History of Trick Roping and Wild West Shows”: Wells uses the vanishing folk art of trick roping to bring the color and history of the Old West alive. South of the border in Old Mexico, the charros created rope spinning – making intricate flower designs with ropes. When Vincente Otopeza introduced this trick roping tradition to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1894, he gave American cowboys a different perspective on trick and fancy roping. Wells follows the evolution of trick roping through the heyday of Will Rogers and his affiliation with the Texas Jacks Wild West Show and the Ziegfeld Follies in the first decades of the 20th century.

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Adam Lindquist, “Theodore Roosevelt, The Wilderness Warrior”: Theodore Roosevelt will share his insights and speak to his commitment to the land and Animals of America during his Presidency.  Along with more than doubling the National Parks, he created what became the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Forests and National Monuments. Hear the amazing story of one of our most effective leaders.

12:30-1:30 p.m. – Jeff Barnes, “Forts of the Missouri River Valley”: What was it about the Missouri River north of the Platte that attracted Native peoples, trappers, traders, and eventually the frontier army? William Clark called this land “the Council Bluffs” and its valley pulled together the highest concentration of frontier army forts of any other place on the Great Plains, promoting peace, trade, supply and protection. Author Jeff Barnes shares the stories and – using new AI technology – first-time illustrations of these forgotten “posts of the plains.”

2-3 p.m. – Joe Starita, “I am a Man – Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice”: Joe discusses the legal, social and political importance of the landmark 1879 decision in which a judge declared that Ponca Chief Standing Bear was “a person” within the meaning of the law and entitled to the same Constitutional protections as white citizens.

3:15-4:15 p.m. – Sam Matson, “Ashfall Fossil Beds: A Vivid Snapshot of the Evolution of North American Grasslands”: Located one hundred miles west of Sioux City, Iowa, and seven miles north of Highway 20 in northwest Antelope County, Nebraska, the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park has proof-positive that the subtropical savanna existed.  Complete, articulated skeletons of several kinds of prehistoric mammals lay entombed there in a thick bed of volcanic ash. In all, over two hundred complete, or nearly complete skeletons have been exposed with the possibility of many more as excavation continues.

Show off your grilling skills on Saturday, Sept. 19 by participating in the ultimate Barbecue Challenge! Wild Game Contestants can choose to grill select meats during designated time slots: poultry at 2 p.m., pork at 2:30 p.m., beef at 3 p.m. and wild game at 3:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the best grill masters.

No pre-registration is needed! Questions can be directed to Tyler Uthof at 402-369-2530.

This delicious culinary challenge will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20. Don’t wait — space is limited to the first 12 participants who sign up for the contest. Participants must be at least 16 years of age. The person to quickest consume an 11-ounce burger, mountain of fries and large drink wins a two-night stay at a Ponca State Park mini-lodge.

Kids age 15 and younger are invited to test their duck calling skills! Volunteers from Delta Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited will be available to provide assistance with the calls, using a minimum of 3 call variations. This activity will take place at the Riverfront. At the end of each ~45-minute session, a participant’s name will be drawn to win a pack of duck decoys.

Registration

Parents or guardians can pre-register a youth up for a 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday (limit 15 callers per session). Those attending the event will also be able to sign up in person, if spots are available.