Community Builders toured Lindsay on Nov. 12. Tour stops included Tavern 1888, Lindsay Academy and Event and Wellness Center, a 14-unit apartment complex, Lindsay Corporation, and Jarecki Physical Therapy.
Community Builders is a group that supports local communities and businesses by sharing ideas and resources. Partners are Central Community College, Cornhusker Public Power District, and Loup Power District. All tours are open to the public.
TAVERN 1888
The tour began with lunch at Tavern 1888. Tim Wiese and his partners have owned the business since 2022. He said the Lindsay community as well as surrounding towns have been great at patronizing the bar and grill.
“We are very appreciative of all the support we get,” he said.
WELCOME BY FRED HOEFER
Lindsay Board Chair Fred Hoefer welcomed the group during lunch with a brief history of the town.
Settlers moved to the area following the Homestead Act of 1862. A large share of pioneers from Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, found the fertile land near Shell Creek to be ideal for a settlement.
They named the settlement Lindsay after their hometown and the village was incorporated on March 7, 1888.
By the early 1900s, Lindsay had electricity and a water system. Before the turn of the decade, the village had numerous businesses including hotels, an opera house, livery barn, shoe shop, barber shop, jewelry store, an implement dealership, feed mill, and more.
The Albion Line had 115 miles of track that went through Lindsay, carrying freight train and two passenger trains daily.
Lindsay reached its peak population in the early 1900s. The 1920 census counted 490 residents. The current population is about 280.
WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE PROJECTS HAPPEN
Jenny Korth is one of the founding members of Lindsay Area Development (LAD). During lunch, she described how LAD formed and how the group found success.
Korth, who also serves as HR/Business Manager for Lindsay Academy, later gave a tour of the new facility. Learn more HERE.
LINDSAY CORPORATION
In 1955, Paul Zimmerer began a farm equipment business in Lindsay and developed the first successful irrigation towline for rough field terrain. In the 1960s, Zimmerer’s sons designed the Zimmatic center pivot.
Today, Lindsay Corporation is a worldwide force in irrigation, with locations in Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, China, and Europe.
In January 2024, Lindsay Corporation announced that it was investing more than $50 million to expand and modernize its largest global manufacturing facility right in Lindsay.
Since then, the company has implemented Industry 4.0 technologies, including data connectivity, analytics, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Mark Bloom, Senior Operations Manager Irrigation, said Lindsay Corporation implemented a barcode system about six months ago. Every product that comes into the receiving dock gets a code. The pickers or shippers can go pull a part, and scan barcodes for a real-time transaction.
“It’s been a good investment,” he said. “We’re still working through some bugs, but it’s going good so far. It’s been a big win.”
Bloom also told the tour group that Lindsay’s local employees build main panels for all the corporation’s sister companies throughout the world.
“We take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “We do all the painting, welding, assembly, and shipping right from the Lindsay plant.”
One of the newest projects is a new 56,000-square-foot galvanizing building that is under construction. The current galvanizing operation can dip about 15 pipes at a time using an employee operated crane rated at 6,000 pounds.
The automated crane in the new facility will be rated at 20,000 pounds with capacity to dip 30 pipes at a time. To accommodate this, the building is 60 feet tall.
Although the business continues to implement automated technologies, Bloom doesn’t foresee a decrease in employment. With automation comes increased capacity that employees will need to keep up with.
He said he’s also proud of the company’s quality control.
For example, every electrical panel goes through a test that mimics a pivot’s field use. Other items are visually inspected and checked.
“Nothing leaves here without a test,” he said.
14-UNIT APARTMENT COMPLEX
Quinten Rowley is just a little busy.
He’s a realtor with rental properties who also flips houses.
“I got a few things going on,” he joked.
But he still added a new project to his plate — construction of a 14-unit apartment complex.
The project wasn’t something he planned on. When he purchased an open lot abutting his property, Rowley started wondering what he could do with the space. One of his ideas was additional housing.
LAD sent him some of their studies that showed a need for rental housing in the community.
“That gave me the push to pull the trigger,” he said.
The apartment complex is still under construction. There are seven units on both the ground floor and second story. All have two bedrooms and one bath.
Rowley said he is expecting to have occupants early next year.
JARECKI PHYSICAL THERAPY
Steph Jarecki opened her physical therapy practice in downtown Linday in August. She was hoping to have 35 visits a week.
Just a few months later, the clinic has about 20 visits per day.
Jarecki has been a physical therapist for 10 years. She worked in several clinics, but jumped at the opportunity to open her own clinic in Lindsay — her husband’s hometown.
She remodeled the interior and exterior of a former convenience store. The back half of that building is occuped by a gift shop — Past the Fence Posts.
Soon Jarecki was holding early-morning workout classes that catered to all ages. She also began visiting Lindsay Academy to help student athletes dealing with injuries.
It wasn’t long before she hired physical therapist Samantha Harris to help with the patient load.
“It’s been a really awesome journey so far with just three months under our belts,” Jarecki said.
Jarecki and Harris offer a variety of services in addition to traditional physical therapy such as cupping, exercise prescription, and dry needling. They can help customers get relief from vertigo, aches and pains, and migraines.
The pair also offer free consultations for patients seeking treatment options.
Jarecki said she is blessed to have so much support from area patients and organizations. The mom of four credits her family for her success.
“It is a family affair because I couldn’t do it without them,” she said.