The Wakefield Republican -

The Ekberg family of Wakefield will be one of the feature stories in this season’s “Nebraska Stories” set to premiere on Thursday Feb. 9 on Nebraska Public Media.
The featured story interviews Lyle and Marvene Ekberg and his family – son, Nick, and grandson, Virgil, and their participation in the “Sandhills Open Road Challenge,” near Arnold, their classic Corvette they participate with, and interviews and video of the event.
The NPM crew came to Wakefield to film the Ekberg family, their garage and hold interviews about the event. The crew also traveled out to the stretch of road near Arnold with the Ekbergs and took a ride for the experience.
The “official” release for the Nebraska Stories series, with show times and episode information, follows:
Stories about fast cars, fast feet and founding the South Omaha Stockyards are featured in the new season of the award-winning, local television series “Nebraska Stories,” premiering at 8 p.m. CT, Thursday, Feb. 9, and continuing Feb. 16 and 23 on Nebraska Public Media.
The Feb. 9 episode opens in Arnold, Neb., following racers from across the country as they speed along a scenic stretch in the Sandhills Open Road Challenge. In another new story, a multimedia artist explores the intersections of race, gender and identity as she works to represent the dignity of Black and multi-racial people.
On Feb. 16, the series shadows a Lincoln woman who lives life in perpetual motion, helping everyone from elite athletes to couch potatoes up their fitness game. Plus, unpack the history of how the South Omaha Stockyards overtook Chicago as the nation’s largest livestock market.
The Feb. 23 episode explores the Nebraska landscape moving through time and space by canoe, train, bike, car and horse. Photographer Mike Forsberg and filmmaker Pete Stegen follow a mythical drop of water from the mountains to the plains, a Union Pacific steam locomotive lets off some steam and Nacho Ride bikers peddle food and fun.
Two other stories in the episode reveal Nebraska’s role in construction of the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway and 4-H trail riders enjoying the scenic splendor of the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, Neb.
Other favorite stories from past seasons feature community leaders in Minden, Neb., who are working to revive Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village, 200 volunteer and career firefighters from Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota participating in wildfire suppression training in the Wildcat Hills and the 19th century Anti-Horse Thief Society in Kearney.
Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m. CT, repeating at 9 p.m. CT, Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. CT, Fridays on World.
“Nebraska Stories” is funded in part by The Margaret and Martha Thomas Foundation, as well as Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. The series is also funded in part by the Nebraska Soybean Board, the Nebraska Tourism Commission, Phelps Memorial Health Center and Re-Bath Omaha.
The series is on Facebook, NebraskaPublicMedia.org/nebraskastories and the Nebraska Public Media App.