Quality of Life

Citizens in a growing community need to have fun and enjoy life as much as they need to work hard and work well. Quality of life is not just a buzzword in Kearney. It’s real.

To spend some carefree moments with friends and family, come to the Big Apple Fun Center for bowling, mini-golf, go-karts, bumper cars, sand volleyball and video games. A variety of recreational activities are available at Cottonmill Park, where you can swim, fish, hike, ride your bike, roller blade and visit a nature center.

Kearney Dragway hosts racing competitions throughout the summer. Scheduled races run from March through October.

Twelve parks in Kearney offer a variety of opportunities. There are basketball courts, tennis courts, swimming, a water slide, baseball diamonds, picnic areas, playgrounds, archery range, boating, camping, fishing, nature trails, volleyball courts, sand volleyball courts, nature barn, horseshoe courts, soccer fields, sledding hills, in-line hockey and skating, dirt bike racing, frisbee golf, paved hiking and biking trail, indoor ice skating at the Kearney Events Center and The Pond, a night-sky observatory and summer concerts in the park.

The E.K. and Mary Yanney Heritage Park, located at 2020 11th Street, is the place to go for a view of the Kearney community and the Platte River Valley. The Gottschalk Observation Tower, located in the center of this 80-acre public park, has an elevator that goes all the way to the top, providing spectacular views.

There are also other things to enjoy at this newly developed park, such as the four-season picnic pavilion, the 12-acre lake, the hiking and biking trail and splash park. You can even catch an event at the Cope Amphitheater!

Activity and exercise facilities in Kearney include the YMCA. Facilities include a swimming pool, aerobic center, gymnasium, track, weight room, racquetball courts, fitness center, game room, preschool room, a Super Gym, family center and Cope Child Care Center. Additional facilities include the Good Samaritan Healthy Lifestyles Facility, Vitality Center, Curves for Women and Fitness 101.

For a relaxing evening, try one of Kearney’s theatres: the Hilltop 4, World Twin, Kearney Drive-In (seasonal), Kearney Community Theatre and University Theatre. Kearney’s churches, which represent more than 45 congregations of denominations, contribute to the prosperity of the community as well.

Kearney’s Technology Learning Center is located at the Library and Information Center, and provides computer-based instruction on hardware, software and new technology. The learning center is the site for a local bulletin-board service that provides access to the Internet.

Annual celebrations include the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic, Sandhill Crane Migration, Craft Shows, Kidz Explore, Wagon’s West at Trails and Rails Museum, July 3rd Fireworks Extravaganza, Art in the Park, Cruise Nite, Buffalo County Fair and the Downtown Christmas Walk.

Summer recreation programs include slow-pitch, baseball, arts and crafts, gymnastics, children’s theater, and swimming. Programs include YMCA programs, Little League baseball, soccer leagues, football, swimming lessons, bowling leagues, and in-line and ice hockey leagues. Men’s and women’s slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball are also available.

Programs for Kearney senior citizens include weekly card games, craft sessions, bowling, monthly covered-dish meals, daily noon meals Monday through Friday, service organizations, exercise programs, musical and singing groups, dances and bus trips. A Senior College and the Central Community College Adult Education courses offer educational opportunities for all ages.

Fort Kearny, one of the early U.S. Army posts of the west, is a 40-acre state park located six miles southeast of the city. A museum, stockade, blacksmith shop and ammunition building are among park highlights. Facilities for overnight camping, swimming and picnicking are also available.

The Cottonmill Lake Recreation Area, operated jointly by the city and county, includes 98 acres of land and 30 acres of water for fishing, paddle boating and swimming. Picnicking, walking the exercise trail and visiting the nature barn are other activities enjoyed by visitors.

Cultural activities include university and high school musical and dramatic productions, two University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) art galleries, UNK Lecture Series, Kearney Area Art Council, Kearney Community Concert, Kearney Artists’ Guild, Rotary Club Travelogue, and Kearney Community Theatre.

Clean, safe water greatly impacts a community’s quality of life. The municipal water system in Kearney is supplied by 12 wells at the Platte River well field and five city wells. The system serves 99.99 percent of the city’s population. The water is clear and the hardness in parts-per-million is 365. The average tap water temperature varies from 56 degrees in winter to 61 degrees in summer.

Kearney has a municipal sanitary sewerage system and a storm sewer system. The sewerage treatment plant was built in 1972 and has a daily capacity of 4.8 million gallons. Municipally-owned solid waste removal service is also available in Kearney. The disposal site, located five miles from the city, is owned by the Kearney Area Solid Waste Agency and has an estimated life of 35 years.

More than 1,400 residents participate in a curbside recyclables collection program. The sanitation division provides 90-gallon containers free of charge to residents who wish to recycle. The city also maintains recycling drop-off boxes at three locations.

Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, glass, tin, aluminum, plastic and cardboard are all acceptable items to be collected and processed. The residential recyclables, drop-off boxes and corrugated cardboard are processed at the city’s new recycling building. The recycling building processes over 150 tons of material each month.