A special use permit was submitted to operate a mineral extraction operation a property located near the intersection of 160th Road and Poole Road.
KEARNEY — Neighbors raised several questions and concerns regarding a special use permit to allow for resource extraction on a property northeast of Kearney during the Buffalo County commissioners meeting on Tuesday, July 8.
Craig Bennett, with Miller & Associates appeared on behalf of JK Land, LLC, who had filed an application for a special use permit to operate a mineral extraction operation on a parcel of property located near the intersection of 160th Road and Poole Road.
Bennett said that JK Land, LLC, intends to operate on the 24 acres of land and extract clay from the hillside with the plan to return the topsoil to the extraction site after its use has been ceased.
Cory Banzhaf, with JK Land, LLC, also appeared and said the plan is to extract the clay for various project needs around the Kearney area.
Several neighbors who live on Poole Rd. appeared and expressed a variety of concerns, such as the increased truck traffic and how it would degrade the condition of the road.
JoAnne Majer said that Poole Rd. turns into a “slide and slide” after the road becomes wet and worried about what truck traffic will do to the condition of the road.
Amanda Majer, also a resident on Poole Rd., opined that the permit violates various zoning stipulations and this type of operation would be disruptive to native grass and species in the area.
There were others who expressed concern about the future of the site, with some saying that a feedlot could be added to the site following the completion of the resource extraction.
Dennise Daniels, Zoning Administrator, spoke following the public comments and noted that the county’s planning commission had voted in favor of the permit 5-2 with certain stipulations, including the restoration of the vegetation at completion.
Bennett and Banzhaf appeared again to address the concerns and noted that the only use for the site at the moment will be resource extraction.
Banzhaf said the site is “not intended to be a feed yard,” for cattle and noted that stipulations surrounding the approval of a feed lot are strenuous.
When asked about the resource extraction operation by the commissioners, Banzhaf said that he had three trucks with side dump trailers that would be used. It was noted that the activity at the site would depend upon the need for material.
The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the permit.
During the road discussion, Highway Superintendent John Maul, presented an agreement for professional services with Olsson, Inc. regarding the intersection of 56th and Antelope Ave.
The study of the intersection was sought after a number of accidents and concern from residents about the intersection.
The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office investigated accidents numbers from three different intersections on E. 56th St., these included the Highway 10 intersection, E. 39th St. and Antelope Ave.
At the E. 56th and Highway 10 intersection, between 2022 and 2024, there were eight accidents, six of which resulted in injuries.
At the E. 39th and Antelope Ave., between 2022 and early 2025, there were 13 accidents, of which five resulted in injuries.
At the intersection in concern, E. 56th and Antelope Ave., between March 2022 and May 2025, there were 22 accidents, nine of which resulted in injuries.
As recently as Tuesday, May 6, there were two separate accidents at the intersection, one at 1:04 p.m. and 7:32 p.m.
The board approved the agreement for the traffic study.
Another item on the agenda was authorizing the signature of a Congressional letter regarding Nebraska Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
On April 20, 2022, Governor Ricketts signed the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act, LB 1144 (2022), which requires the Nebraska Public Service Commission to create and maintain an official Nebraska location Fabric Broadband service access map.
The funding for this requirement was tagged to BEAD. Governor Pillen signed LB683 on May 26, 2023. This bill moved the responsibilities of the official Nebraska Map as well as the stewardship of the BEAD money to the Nebraska Broadband Office.
It was noted that in the past the BEAD program, the goal had been to extend fiber optic cable to more locations to help with access to quality broadband. However, there are concerns about the future of the BEAD program.
“There’s been speculation online and by the Wall Street Journal that the BEAD program could undergo dramatic changes by shifting up to $20 billion of the grant funds to the StarLink satellite internet service,” per the Nebraska Examiner.
The was high support from all Nebraska counties regarding the expansion of fiber optic access and the Congressional letter would reflect that.
