Omaha District News

Blast from the past: Omaha District supports emergency response in Blizzard of 1949

Delanie Stafford — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:36:08 GMT

The winter of 1948-49 brought a series of powerful storms that blanketed much of Nebraska, Wyoming and the Dakotas with heavy snow, extreme cold and blinding winds. Snowdrifts reached as high as 30 feet in places, isolating towns, ranches and farms. Millions of livestock were at risk of being lost to starvation and dangerously cold temperatures. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alongside the Fifth Army and 10th Air Force, led a massive disaster response known as Operation Snowbound, mobilizing more than 6,200 personnel and 1,665 pieces of heavy equipment, including bulldozers, snowplows, graders and Army M-29 cargo carriers, known as Weasels.

Workshop emphasizes budget-driven design-build project delivery

Delanie Stafford — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 18:14:00 GMT

A three-day workshop was held at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District headquarters building, Jan. 21–23, that brought together more than 40 professionals from across the USACE Northwestern Division to strengthen collaboration and understanding of the design-build to budget project delivery method.

Fort Peck breathes new life into two butterfly valves

Lisa Crawford — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:10:42 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, is overseeing the rehabilitation of two 65-year-old, 216-inch diameter, 135,000-pound butterfly valves inside Powerhouse 2 at the Fort Peck Dam in Montana.

Herd Highlight: Scott Sterling, natural resources specialist and piping plover preservationist

Delanie Stafford — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:15:00 GMT

Meet Scott Sterling, a natural resources specialist at the Garrison Project in North Dakota, and one of only two Omaha District specialists trained to capture and relocate piping plover chicks and their adult parents from flood-prone islands to higher ground during adverse environmental conditions.

Hydraulic models guide design of Garrison Dam spillway, mega dam safety project

Delanie Stafford — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:30:00 GMT

Engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha and Huntington districts and Risk Management Center are advancing the Garrison Dam Spillway Modification Project using scale models to enhance safety and improve the performance of the dam’s spillway near Riverdale, North Dakota.

Walking the line: USACE team ensures safe terrain for future soldiers

Makenzie Leonard — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 14:45:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Military Munition Response Program is working to clear a 416-acre swath of property for the Oregon National Guard at the former Umatilla Army Ammunition Depot that had been identified in 2023 as potentially containing unexploded ordnance derived from the destruction of stockpiled munitions at the adjacent demolition range.

Omaha District towboats set to power up with new engines for 2026

Delanie Stafford — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:59:00 GMT

Two Missouri River towboats operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, are undergoing major engine overhauls to ensure reliable navigation and river maintenance operations ahead of the 2026 season.

District employee charts final course toward master boat pilot license

Delanie Stafford — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:12:47 GMT

Larry Morgan Jr. has worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District since 2000. He has served at the Missouri River Project Office and on the Missouri River most of his career as a deckhand, equipment operator and maintenance supervisor. One title that has eluded him is master towboat pilot. Inspired by an early mentor, and with the help of an accomplished towboat pilot, that will soon change, as he nears completion of an unrestricted master of towing vessel license.

Ellsworth runway reopens, strengthening U.S. long-range strike readiness

Pentagon News — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 18:21:58 GMT

Ellsworth Air Force Base marked a major milestone Dec. 3 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of its $129.5 million runway reconstruction project, a critical upgrade that strengthens the nation’s long-range strike readiness as the installation prepares for the B-21 Raider.

Conservation programs improve outlook of threatened piping plover

Delanie Stafford — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 14:40:00 GMT

The Missouri River Recovery Program’s Emergent Sandbar Habitat Program and Tern and Plover Monitoring Program, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District’s Threatened and Endangered Species Section, continues to improve habitat and reproductive outcomes for the threatened Northern Great Plains piping plover and formerly endangered interior least tern.

Construction on second project under Tribal Partnership Program has begun

Delanie Stafford — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:01:00 GMT

Construction on a second U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District project under the Tribal Partnership Program has begun. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe North Ecosystem Restoration Project will help mitigate shoreline erosion along Lake Sharpe in Lower Brule, South Dakota. It is being funded through a cost-sharing agreement between USACE and the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, or LBST, under program requirements.

Vietnam veterans of Bravo Company receive long-overdue Bronze Star Medals

Andrew Nystrom — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 20:01:00 GMT

More than half a century after their service in the jungles of Vietnam, 14 veterans of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, were formally presented Bronze Star Medals during a ceremony Sept. 18, 2025, at American Legion Post 1 in Omaha.

USACE Omaha District continues modernization mission at U.S. Air Force Academy

Lisa Crawford — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 13:32:02 GMT

As the U.S. Air Force celebrates its 78th birthday this year on Sept. 18, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, continues to play a pivotal role in supporting modernization efforts, including expanding facilities at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Herd Highlight: Russell Somsen, Oahe Project natural resource specialist

Delanie Stafford — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:55:00 GMT

Meet Russell (Russ) Somsen, a natural resources specialist at the Oahe Project in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Russ has worked 35 years for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District in a variety of roles to include work with the Emergent Sandbar Habitat Program, threatened and endangered species, noxious weed control, ecosystem mitigation, visitor services and the processing of real estate and regulatory actions. He also serves as a contracting officer representative for multiple contracts.

Garrison Dam team meets a paddling pal

Joshua Plueger — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:58:00 GMT

Kyle Parker, a Wisconsin native and canoe enthusiast, reached the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District's Lake Sakakawea Marina boat ramp, July 17, 2025. Parker is paddling from the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to the southernmost tip of Florida.

Herd Highlight: Patricia Gilbert-Ball, natural resource specialist and district’s only beekeeper

Delanie Stafford — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 13:01:00 GMT

Patricia Gilbert-Ball, a natural resources specialist and park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District’s Fort Peck Project in Montana, is also the district's only beekeeper.

Serving on two fronts: Civilian deployments in combat and crisis

Pentagon News — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 14:54:00 GMT

Civilian employees who work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do not have deployment requirements as active-duty service members do. However, many of them voluntarily choose to, such as Ryan Williams, a longtime Omaha District employee.

Sheridan celebrates creek revival, eyes downtown transformation

Andrew Nystrom — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 20:20:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 10, 2025, to celebrate the completion of a three-year ecosystem restoration project at Little Goose Creek near Sheridan, Wyoming, which reestablished historic oxbows, reconnected fish passage and revitalized riparian habitat once lost to mid-century flood-control efforts.

Fort Peck Interpretive Center marks 20th anniversary with decade-high attendance

Lisa Crawford — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 17:55:00 GMT

A grand total of 452 guests – the greatest single-day turnout of the past decade – visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum in Fort Peck, Montana, June 21, 2025, during its 20th Anniversary celebration.

Omaha District dam safety inspection season in full swing

Delanie Stafford — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 19:02:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, Dam Safety Section performed the first of two periodic tributary dam inspections scheduled for 2025 beginning with the Branched Oak Dam located northwest of Lincoln, Nebraska June 2.