He said that's why Grand Island has gained residents over the past 10 years. Just like Kearney and Hastings, Grand Island is a magnet for people living in nearby communities who travel here to work, he said. But Nygaard noted that truly rural areas in Nebraska continue to lose population despite the efforts of a succession of proposals by governors and state senators to spur rural economic development. But Nygaard is not doing any second-guessing. Reynolds said diversification of the job base is a key for many rural towns.
Farms keep getting bigger, which means fewer farmers working the land over the decades.
Reynolds said towns must diversify their economies so they have a mixture of ag and non-ag jobs. Or it happens very rarely. Looking at only the population gains in the Tri-Cities area may still be too narrow a focus. Increasingly, Nebraska's population is becoming concentrated in its eastern metropolitan areas. With an increase of more than 54,000 people during the 1990s, Omaha gained more residents than live in all of Hall County.