Knox County
Knox County, Nebraska was organized by the Territorial Legislature in 1857. The region was originally named L'Eau Qui Court. The name was given by the Niobrara Indians, meaning "running water." The name was changed in 1873 in honor of Major General Henry Knox, who was appointed as the Secretary of War by President George Washington in 1789.
Although Knox County no longer means running water, many rivers including the Niobrara and the Missouri continue to flow along the northern boundary of the county. Today, the county is home to nearly 9,000 residents, and the county seat is Center, Nebraska. Citizens from Bloomfield, Creighton, Niobrara, Wausa, and Winnetoon came together in the interest of thinking regionally in Knox County and teamed with the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative to pilot a program called Dialogues Across Nebraska (DAN). DAN is a unique model that focuses on youth leadership and community development while ensuring many voices are heard through the dialogue process. The goal of the project was to encourage dialogue through an intergenerational approach, while focusing discussion on one real regional issue.
Two student interns with the Rural Initiative worked with adult partners in Knox County to prepare for the dialogue event. The process included building community capacity by training youth leadership teams and adult partners. Youth leaders are an important link in the dialogue process, and their newly developed skills build the foundation for a stronger future in the community. The youth leadership team was trained how to facilitate the dialogue and are prepared to facilitate dialogues in the future.
The leadership team in Knox County invited twenty-five community volunteers who represented five generations in communities across the county. The volunteers participated in the dialogue event by talking with members of their own generation as well as in other generational groups. The dialogue encouraged the exchange of ideas in a way that can lead to positive action in the county and region. Knox County volunteers are beginning to work together in positioning themselves as a region to maximize the benefits of working collectively to solve rural issues, particularly economic development. Volunteers at the dialogue felt promotion of Knox County for its rural amenities was a great place to start the area thinking regionally.
Most importantly, Knox County volunteers shared new ways of thinking about bringing people to the area and acknowledged a need to have an open attitude toward working together as a region.
- Regional Point of Contact
Dewey Teel, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Extension
- Adult Partners
Amy Salmen Thomas
Terry Johnson
Joe Skriven
- Youth Leadership Team
Andrew Conn
Justin Cunningham
Amy Doerr
April Fitch
Ali Laflan
Cheyenne Mackey
Keith Mecke
Darrin Roeber
- Student Interns
Jill Klepper
Aaron Raymond
- Community Sponsors
Great Plains Communications
Knox County Development Agency
- Rural Initiative Support
Sandi Sattler Weber, Director of DAN
Kim Peterson
