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Demographics

Climate:
The mean temperature is 24.2° in the month of January and 89° for July. The average annual rainfall for Keith County is 18.58 inches, and snowfall is 28.20 inches.

Communications:
Keith County is home to three radio stations and one newspaper. There are three additional radio stations in North Platte that serve the Keith County area. The primary television station, which carries local news, is KNOP-TV out of North Platte, Nebraska. Allo Communications and Qwest Communications provide telecommunications services to the area with a digital central office served by T-carrier and fiber. Local Internet service is provided by Allo Communications, Charter Communications, Lakemac, Megavision, Qwest Communications and Wild Blue. Wireless telephone service is provided by Alltel, Viaero, and US Cellular.

Transportation:
Keith County is served by a main line of the Union Pacific Railroad with 80 freight trains daily. Interstate 80 is located within the city limits. U.S. Highway 30, U.S. Highway 26 and Nebraska Highway 61 intersect in Ogallala. Expansion of a four-lane highway between the interstate and downtown Ogallala was completed in August 2000. In 1999, a new Highway 26/61 truck route was completed west of Ogallala. There are no local road restrictions. Searle Field, Keith County’s municipal airfield, has two paved and lighted runways (5,100 feet and 3,700 feet), hangars, on-site av gas and jet fuel, pilots lounge, maintenance shop, tie down, VOR, VASI and Unicom. Charter service is available. Keith County is served by Arrow Bus Lines with two buses daily and Trailways with one daily bus. The City of Ogallala provides a public transit bus for the elderly, children, handicapped and anyone else interested.

Government:
County – The County, with a population of 8,024, consists of five townships and has a commission form of government. The operating budget for 2007/08 was $9,697,000 and the primary revenue sources included: property tax (42.48%), state support (27.47%), local fees (21.14%) and federal fees (8.9%).

Ogallala – The city of Ogallala, population 4,649, has a council/city manager form of government. The operating budget for 2007/08 was $10,061,467 and the primary revenue sources included property tax (6%), sales tax (11.8%), utilities (14.3%), state (8.3%), federal (10.6%) and other (49.3%).

Brule – The Village of Brule, population 330, has a Village Board consisting of a mayor and four board members elected to four-year terms.

Paxton – The Village of Paxton, population 542, has a Village Board consisting of five board members elected to four-year terms with an appointed chairman.

The 2007 tax rate in Ogallala was $2.047707 per $100 of actual value. A 1.5 percent city sales tax is imposed in Ogallala. There are no local personal income taxes or inventory taxes.The Ogallala Volunteer Fire Department consists of 30 volunteer members and one paid staff member. The fire insurance classification inside the corporate limits is 6; outside it is 8/9. The ambulance squad consists of 16 EMT’s, of which 16 are trained on the automatic defibrillator and 12 are Airway Management and IV certified. OVFD also has one EMT Intermediate and one Paramedic. All qualify as Advanced Life Support Service providers. Their normal response time is 3-4 minutes from dispatch to leaving the fire hall, depending on the time of day. Rural fire departments in Brule, Keystone, Lemoyne and Paxton are all volunteer.

The Ogallala Police Department has 11 certified law enforcement officers and one civilian employee. The crime rate per 1,000 population in Ogallala in 2000 was 24.8, compared to the state rate of 41.93 and the national rate of 42.67. The Keith County Sheriff’s Department is staffed by eight sworn officers and seven support personnel. The Nebraska State Patrol has five patrolmen, two pilots and one investigator stationed in Keith County.

The City of Ogallala and Keith County have a joint enhanced 911 system.

Other – Elevation 3,250 feet; Mountain Time Zone; Top three revenue producing businesses are: Agriculture (Farming/ Ranching), Manufacturing and Tourism.