Wel-done 🧑‍🏭

The Lincoln Ledger: December 27th, 2024

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The Lincoln Ledger
December 27, 2024

Happy Friday Ledgers,

By the time you open next week’s Ledger, it will be 2025.

After almost a year of writing this newsletter, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for spending your time with TLL each week, for submitting story ideas, and for your support. You have helped TLL grow in ways beyond a subscriber count in 2024.

Who would have thought that a project that began as a bit of fun for my friends would end up being something so much more? Have fun and stay safe in your holiday celebrations, see you back here in 2025.

In this week’s issue:

  • Welding: SCC to open nation’s largest student welding technology center

  • What To Do: Holiday hikes and New Year’s Eve

  • Sportz: The best bowl game ever

  • Neighborhood Watch: 🤌 A little bit of this, a little bit of that

The End of Year Push 🫶
Here’s the deal, team. We are close to our subscriber goal for 2024 but we’re ramping up before the clock even strikes midnight - new year, new me starts today. To get there, we need your help. The first 10 TLL subscribers to refer 10 new people to the ledger get a free TLL limited edition t-shirt. Consider it a Christmas miracle.

  1. Forward us along to someone you think would like this.

  2. Have them use your referral code at the bottom of the email

  3. Send us a screenshot of who you forwarded it to by replying to this email. Make sure to include the best address to send your tee.

  4. If you’re one of the first 10, we’ll send you a limited edition TLL t-shirt

Deal? Deal. 🤝

- Landon

WEL-DONE

SCC Welding Technology Center set to open in 2025.

Lincoln is about to have its industrial moment. Think Rosie the Riveter. Think denim overalls and Carhartt. Think - a little smudge of oil on your face. 💪

Next year, the largest student welding facility in the United States will open in Lincoln and call Southeast Community College home. Slated for a mid-2025 opening date, the $33M SCC Welding Technology Center will feature 80,000 square feet of state-of-the-art technology, providing students with hands-on training in its 180 welding bays, 1,800 sq ft testing lab, and 3,900 sq foot fabrication lab. The goal is to increase the number of students who can be accepted to its immensely popular welding program.

Aren’t robots doing the welding now?.. To the untrained eye, welding may seem to be a career field that is set to be automated in the future through robotics and AI. However, the reality is that there is a scarcity of welders and they will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. For the metalworking industry today, and the apocalypse tomorrow.

Industry expansion, new infrastructure projects, and most notably, a retiring workforce, are all driving the demand for skilled welding professionals in the United States. While growth for the role is expected to increase by 7% over the next ten years, the shortage of welders due to workforce turnover means the U.S. needs roughly 330,000 new welders to support growing industries such as manufacturing, construction, aerospace, green energy, and of course, Cybertrucks.

🔢 By the numbers:

  • $48,954 → The industry median salary for welders in the United States. Welders in specialized fields such as oil and gas, or underwater welding - can earn over $200,000

  • 55 → The average age of a welder today. Over half of skilled trades workers are over the age of 45

  • 100,000 → Nebraskans employed in the manufacturing sector (roughly 10% of Nebraska’s total workforce

  • $14.2B+ → The amount our manufacturing sector contributes to Nebraska’s total economic output

📌 Why it matters:
The development of skilled trades labor is vital to the growth of both our local and U.S. economy. Additionally, the growth of trades programs like Southeast Community College’s supports our growing community by providing fresh labor for hire..

🥟 Bonus: Algorithm Food
Tired of watching that one kid mow lawns for 10 minutes on your feed (no you’re not)? We highly recommend welding videos. They are satisfying to watch and give you a small peek into the skill and artistry that the trades provide.

Sources:
By the Numbers Data - Via NE Manufacturing Alliance website

Welding Technology Information Page - Southeast Community College Website

Do you think everyday people can pull off work overalls? Asking for personal vindication against my wife ...

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WHAT TO DO

Move your body, work that body, girl, after the holidays.☀️

🎺 Soul Music Friday Night
Tonight, you’ll head to Zoo Bar for a night filled with the sweet, soulful sounds of Josh Hoyer and The Soul Colossal. For the uninitiated, let this show be your first step into the world of soul music. Hoyer, a former contestant on The Voice, is a must-see for anyone with an appetite for live music. Show starts at 9:00 PM.

P.S. Get there early to make sure you get a spot.

☀️ Spring in December
After a week inside your childhood home eating more dairy than a newborn, it’s time to get outside and get a bit of air. Call it a mid-holiday stretch recharge. Both Saturday and Sunday are expected to be unseasonably warm, with highs in the 50s.

  • 🥾 Holiday Hike
    Layer up and hit the trails. Our choice this weekend? Elizabeth Rubendall Birding, Prairie, Ridge and Woodland Loop. This easy 2.7-mile hike/walk is located near the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. During your stroll, you’ll experience excellent views, potentially get a glimpse of wildlife, and enjoy the company of another (or maybe just a podcast).

  • 🥏 Christmas Frolfing
    Lincoln is home to several excellent disc golf courses. Grab your discs and head to Beal Slough Disc Golf Course (ranked #88 globally). It’s the perfect challenge for any frolfer boasting a mix of technical and long drive holes - and is sure to have you feeling it the next day in your “good” shoulder.

🏈 Bowl Game Bliss
For diehard Husker football fans, there’s only one thing to do on Saturday—watch Nebraska take on Boston College at Yankee Stadium. For one last time in 2024, you’ll cheer on the ‘Skers in their return to bowl season for the first time since 2016. It’s been a long time coming, so take a moment to enjoy the progress of your team (who is 1000% getting the natty next year, we might add).

The game starts at 11:00 AM tomorrow (where to watch).

Final Callback: TLL Guide to the Holidays
We’ve always been told that the holidays don’t end after Christmas. Check out the TLL Guide to the Holidays for a few more ideas to keep the party rolling till the very end of 2024.

The TLL Guide to the Holidays

The Lincoln Ledger: December 13th 2024

thelincolnledger.co/p/tll-holiday-guide-2024

🎊 New Year’s Eve:
Need a couple of ideas for New Year’s Eve? We’ve got you covered.

  • NYE at The Grapevine
    For a neighborhood bar NYE vibe reminiscent of the show “Cheers,” we recommend The Grapevine. Packed, affordable, and an all-around good time, this little bar punches above its weight class when it comes to bringing in the New Year. You’ll want to get there a bit early to make sure you snag one of the elusive bar tops or stools.

  • The Raw Nerve - Black and White Ball
    In search of a classic NYE bash filled with live music and dancing? There are few better options than the annual Raw Nerve – Black & White Ball. This Lincoln NYE staple is friendly for ages 21-101, and is the easiest way to spend your evening. Purchase your ticket, don your best black or white attire, and head to The Graduate. Dinner, dessert, live music, and a champagne toast are included.

SPORTZ

Sporting headlines from around the capital.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

🤌 A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Some homes exist outside the bounds of standard design vocabulary. Not modern, not colonial, not cottage, cape cod, Victorian, or Spanish; this home appears to hold elements of all the above and yet does not belong to any one style. An exciting iconoclastic design that feels refreshing in a more traditional neighborhood.

From the stone exterior and flat pitched roof to the interior that reminds us of a lot of other homes from this era, it makes us wonder: who designed this and what did their neighbors initially say? In 1900, was it an instant hit with the neighbors, who admired its cute, boxy stature? Or perhaps it was an eyesore to the neighborhood, the original case of “way over the top” modern design amongst a line of traditional homes.

In either case, we’re here for this boxy boy and all it offers. For someone who wants to inch into DIY territory with a property that has a ton to offer, this could be a great buy.

The Details:

  • 3 beds, 3 baths

  • 2,529 sqft

  • Built in 1900

  • Millennial gray features just begging for your interference

  • A pool? 🏄🏾‍♂️

❤️ KEEP:
The unique styling, the second garage with alleyway access, the recessed lighting (this is rare in old homes), the garage doors on the front of the home, and overall the layout of the house.

🗑️ TOSS:
The wood floors that need refinishing, the scratchy-looking living room carpet, the kitchen (floor, cabinets, and countertop), the driveway (which has more cracks than my clean eating commitment I made pre-holidays), and toss some new paint on those walls.

CHECKLIST

An over-ambitious weekend to-do list.

  • Return your returns, and exchange your exchanges. Don’t be afraid to ask for that gift receipt - you’re very brave

  • Recycle your old Christmas tree and lights (you can recycle for free here) 

  • Get at least one more fun holiday drink

  • Do a sauna and cold plunge session (here’s where)

  • Make a fire for a cozy evening

HEADLINES

More news from around the capital.

🐯 Weekly Wildcard:
One headline (or post) we never saw coming.

ABOUT TLL

We created this sliver of the internet to make it easy for no-coasters to keep tabs on what’s happening in Lincoln and to give you new ideas on how to spend your time.