1873: Bids "not to exceed $17,000" were being accepted by Lancaster County commissioners on a proposed new jail and sheriff's office. Built in 1874, the jail stood until removed for the County-City Building in 1969.
1883: Lincoln residents were asked to vote for street railroads, a convenience that backers said would cost residents nothing because out-of-state capital would be used to build the lines.
1893: Thomas W. Lowrey, a well-known pioneer and grain dealer, died.
1903: Land Commissioner Follmer began investigating records as to the valuation of educational land that had been taken by various railroads for rights of way. The railroads would be asked to pay after the valuation was determined.
1913: In order for the city of Lincoln to finance another shift at the fire department in 1914, present firemen had to submit to a pay cut of $15 per month.
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1923: A 60 to 65 mph gale hit Lincoln, breaking windows, tearing down power lines and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
1933: Nearly 100 new state laws were put into effect, including legalized sale of beer containing 3.2 percent alcohol.
1943: The Lancaster County levy fixed by county commissioners was the lowest in 17 years.
1953: Telephone rates for Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co. subscribers were increased an average of 14 percent by the State Railway Commission.
1963: The FBI arrested Melvin Richard Hayward in Baltimore in the theft of valuable paintings from University of Nebraska art galleries. The paintings, "Golden Age" and "Doune Castle," owned by the Nebraska Art Association, had been recovered.
1973: King's Ballroom, at one time a widely known dance hall in northwest Lincoln, burned to the ground. The building, used in recent years only for storage, was scheduled to be razed to make way for further housing development in the Capitol Beach area.
1983: Lincoln Correctional Center employees repaired worn-out locks following an escape attempt.
1993: Central Nebraska residents were inundated by crickets. Many found themselves using snow shovels to scoop the chirpers off their doors, walls and sidewalks. They were told the boom was caused by a summer of wet, warm weather and a relatively mild winter. Lincoln and Lancaster County residents were told to expect the brown-striped critters in two weeks.
2003: Warrant amnesty day brought in thousands of dollars for Lincoln and Lancaster County, but how much was directly related to the county's first amnesty day is unknown. More than $15,000 in fines was brought in by the County Court clerk's office, but that total was not separated from the day’s regular business. The amnesty day allowed residents to clear misdemeanor warrants without being jailed by paying fines on the spot, resetting court dates or pleading guilty to charges.