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Corps completes 100-bed alternate care facility in Kalispell, Montana
5/29/2020
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, completed construction on an alternate care facility in Kalispell, Montana, May 24, two days earlier than required. The ACF also came in more than 10%...
USACE employee receives award due to new contracting process deployed during flood efforts.
5/28/2020 UPDATED
A 25-year employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, was awarded the Omaha-Lincoln Federal Executive Association 2019, Federal Employee Leadership Award in the...
Dam safety remains top priority amidst COVID-19 challenges
5/19/2020 UPDATED
Despite the challenges of social distancing due to COVID-19, dam safety remains a risk management practice for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Omaha District. Recently a dam safety inspection team...
Combat veteran’s transition from service to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
5/18/2020 UPDATED
Many service members who retire or separate from the military continue to serve their country as Department of Defense employees because they possess specialized training and experiences highly sought...
USACE helps Montana, FEMA prepare for COVID-19 future
5/15/2020
In the three and a half months since the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in the U.S., the state of Montana has the second lowest number of total cases, and the lowest number of cases per capita of...
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  • November

    On November 1, 2015, Joe Chamberlain finished the New York City Marathon with a time of 3:10:20. His advice to himself upon leaving Omaha was simply “finish strong”. As Chamberlain reached the south end of Central Park, the noise went from deafening silence to a deafening roar from the crowd. “I couldn’t believe I was there,” he said. “Their cheers echoed off the buildings. They really did carry runners to the finish, I wanted to keep running as soon as I saw the buildings and heard them. Usually, the last 3 miles are tough but those 3 miles were fantastic and I’ve won races.”

    Persistence, Patience, Inspiration of marathon running (Part 4)

    On November 1, 2015, Joe Chamberlain finished the New York City Marathon with a time of 3:10:20. His advice to himself upon leaving Omaha was simply “finish strong”. Little did he know what that would mean.

  • October

    At about the midway point of the 2014 Boston Marathon. Chamberlain finished the Boston Marathon, having run not 26.2 miles but 26.43 with a time of 3:01:01.

    Persistence, Patience, Inspiration of marathon running (Part 3)

    This is the third article in a four part series on Omaha District Electrical Engineer, Joe Chamberlain, who competed in the Boston Marathon in 2014 and is training to run the New York City Marathon this November.

  • September

    Steve Rothe (left), Omaha District Project Manager, receives the Superior Civilian Service Award from Omaha District Commander Colonel John Henderson (right) upon his retirement after nearly 40 years of public service.

    Omaha District project manager, Steve Rothe, retires after nearly four decades of public service

    Omaha District project manager, Steve Rothe, retires after nearly four decades of public service. Over the past 36 years, Steve Rothe’s contribution to the Omaha District’s ecosystem restoration mission has been second to none. Drawing on his undergraduate and graduate-level education in Biology and experience as a Biology Teacher with the Peace Corps in Kenya, Steve launched his career with the Corps as an Environmental Resources Specialist in the Environmental Analysis Branch of the Omaha District’s Planning Division in 1979.
  • A tradition for runners to ensure they have everything they need for the day of their race, is to set out their gear the night before. The wrist bands help motivate during a run. "For Boston" bands like the one in the middle were sold to raise funds for the victims of the 2013 bombing. The "INSPIRE" band is a gift from his friend Maria who is among those who inspired him to run the Boston Marathon and the purple band has the word "Hope" inscribed on it. Chamberlain wore the purple band at the request of his brother's wife, Irene, for his brother and coworkers whose spouses were battling cancer.

    Persistence, Patience, Inspiration of marathon running (Part 2)

    This is the second article in a four part series on Omaha District Electrical Engineer, Joe Chamberlain, who competed in the Boston Marathon in 2014 and is training to run the New York Marathon this November.

  • August

    The River Basin Balancer Game offers insight into an inland waterway and a system of reservoirs, which are operated with a goal for serving each of the benefits, flood control, navigation, hydropower, irrigation, water supply, recreation, fish and wildlife, and water quality, for which many USACE reservoirs are authorized and constructed. Users can take charge of river operations and experience the unique challenges presented when managing reservoir operations in a variety of weather conditions across a geographically diverse basin.

    Managing a river is dam challenging

    In 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District Leadership Development Class developed a video game that invites players to plan and make releases from two inland waterway dams. The Omaha District, with class members as project managers, awarded a contract to the U.S. Army Game Design studio to design the game. The game allows players to take charge of river operations and experience the unique challenges presented when managing reservoir operations in a variety of weather conditions across a geographically diverse basin. Like the real world, the weather forecast isn’t always accurate, presenting an additional challenge.
  • In 1978, the South Dakota State University Cross Country Team won the NCAA Division II National title. Chamberlain, a 17-year-old freshman is at far left. Six of the runners in the photo, including Chamberlain, were NCAA Division II All-American. Two of the runners in the photo ran in the Olympic trials including fourth from the right, Dick Beardsley, who finished second in the Boston Marathon in 1982 with a time of 2:08:53. The story of Beardsley's second place finish to Alberto Salazar is known as the "Duel in the Sun".

    Persistence, Patience, Inspiration of marathon running (Part 1)

    This is the first article in a four part series on Omaha District Electrical Engineer, Joe Chamberlain, who competed in the Boston Marathon in 2014 and is training to run the New York City Marathon this November.

  • June

    South Dakota National Guard Warrant Officer and Powerhouse Electrician Trainee Kenneth Podzimek works full-time at Fort Randall Dam. He received the MacArthur Leadership Award for his military leadership.

    Power Plant Electrician Honored by Army Chief of Staff for Leadership

    During a standing-room-only ceremony at the Pentagon auditorium on May 29, Army Chief of Staff Gen.
  • Posing at the ribbon cutting are (from the left): USACE Civil Engineer Mark Nelson, Schuyler City Council Member Ted Marxsen, Omaha District Commander Col. Cross Joel Cross, City of Schuyler Mayor David Reinecke, and Mike Murren from the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District.

    Levee Completion Marks New Era of Flood Protection for Schuyler Residents

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, in partnership with the city of Schuyler and the

  • May

    This map shows the locations of the series of dams along the Salt Creek watershed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Rainfall on May 6, 2015, set new records at several of the Salt Creek Dams.

    “Worst flooding in years,” isn’t most destructive

    Flooding, with record flood stages in the Salt Creek basin struck Lincoln, Nebraska on Thursday, May 7. Heavy, unpredicted rain fell overnight on May 6, with rainfall totals at nearly 7 inches in Lincoln and up to nearly 10.5 inches in Fairbury, Nebraska near the Little Blue River nearly 70 miles southwest of Lincoln. As the Salt Creek and nearby tributaries reached flood stage, the state of Nebraska and LPSNRD requested technical assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Public Law 84-99, which authorizes USACE to provide assistance when waterways are in or forecast to be in or above flood stage.

  • April

    An interesting feature of Montana’s T.rex is that it was found with a third digit, demonstrating that T.rex had a vestigial third finger. For decades Tyrannosaurus rex was thought to have had only two fingers at the end of its tiny arms.

    What’s the Army Doing with Dinosaurs? Redux

    On April 11, Montana State University’s, Museum of the Rockies publicly opened a new permanent exhibit in its Siebel Dinosaur Complex called “The Tyrant Kings.” At the center of the exhibit is a nearly 12-foot-tall, 40-foot-long fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. The fossil, known by many names: “Peck's Rex” because it was found in 1997 near Fort Peck Dam and Reservoir in Montana and scientifically, “MOR 980” the specimen number assigned to the fossil when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entrusted it to the Museum of the Rockies in 1998. With the opening of the exhibit, it will become known as “Montana’s T.rex.”