Community Engagement

Upcoming Event

FREE Sneak Peek | Working Fires: The Volunteer Firefighter Crisis

Tuesday, Oct. 24
7 p.m. MT (8 p.m. CT)
Midwest Theater

1707 Broadway, Scottsbluff, NE 69361 (map)

In Gering and more than 450 Nebraska communities, volunteers answer calls for help – but the system is sounding alarms. What happens if people stop volunteering for your local volunteer fire department?

Watch a sneak peek of the new Nebraska Public Media documentary Working Fires, which features the Gering Fire Department and Carter Canyon Fire, followed by a community discussion with:

• Bill Kelly, Nebraska Public Media Senior Producer/Reporter
• Nathan Flowers, Gering Fire Chief
• Brandi Ehler, Minatare-Melbeta Fire Chief

This free community event is presented in partnership with the Midwest Theater.

Past Events

NOVA Weathering the Future: Screening & Panel Discussion

Monday, July 17
Screening at Scottsbluff's Midwest Theater

This free screening of the NOVA documentary Weathering the Future was followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr. Martha Durr, director of the Nebraska State Climate Office, Mitchell Stephenson, associate director of the UNL Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center, and local rancher Joseph Burford.

Watch the Film

The full episode can be watched on NOVA's website or through the PBS app.

Explore More

For thousands of years, pallid sturgeon have thrived in the murky waters of the Missouri River, but infrastructure built 70 years ago for flood control and river navigation are endangering the survival of this ancient fish. This Nebraska Public Media story was produced in collaboration with NOVA's Science and Society initiative.

Aging in Nebraska | Planning for Your Future

Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021
Rewatch our live event and explore resources below

If you could see your future, what steps would you take now to prepare for your next chapter? Join us for an online conversation on aging focused on caregiving and end-of-life planning, with information about all the resources available in Nebraska. This event featured clips from Fast Forward, a new PBS documentary that takes a proactive look at aging.

Our panelists are:

• Michael Eric Hurtig, Director/Producer of Fast Forward
• Susan Woodruff, Nurse and Caregiver featured in Fast Forward
• Margaret Schaefer, Managing Attorney, Centralized Intake Unit, Legal Aid of Nebraska
• Dr. Lakelyn Hogan, Gerontologist and Caregiver advocate, Home Instead (moderator)

Representatives from Nebraska’s eight Area Agencies on Aging will also be available in the chat during the event to share local resources and answer your questions.

Presented in partnership with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and the University of Nebraska Omaha's Department of Gerontology, with additional support from Nebraska's eight Area Agencies on Aging.

Unladylike2020 Screening and Discussion
Feb. 18, 2021

Learn more about the unsung women who changed America, including groundbreaking Nebraskans Grace Abbott and Susan LaFlesche Picotte (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska), as well as film pioneer Anna May Wong. Unladylike2020 creators Charlotte Mangin and Sandra Rattley join Amy Helene Forss, chair of the history program at Metropolitan Community College, for a conversation about these fascinating women and the process of bringing their stories to the screen.

Major funding for UNLADYLIKE2020 is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. Support is also provided by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Wyncote Foundation, California Humanities, HumanitiesDC, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Made in New York: Women Film, TV, & Theater Fund, the Harnisch Foundation, Humanities Nebraska, Humanities Montana, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with New York State Council on the Arts, South Dakota Humanities, Virginia Humanities, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, Utah Humanities, Ohio Humanities, South Carolina Humanities, Humanities New York, JetBlue Foundation, Awesome Without Borders and IFP. Any views expressed in this series do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or other supporters. The views expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.