Grain Management, LLC (Grain), a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the communications sector, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Great Plains Communications - the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska.
"We are enthusiastic about the outstanding performance Great Plains Communications has delivered for its customers, and we are thrilled to partner with the current management team to continue pursuing their vision of being the region's leading provider of high-quality, fiber-based telecommunications services," said David Grain, Founder & CEO of Grain Management. Grain will acquire Great Plains Communications from its current owners, whose families have led the company's growth since 1910, when it began as a local telephone company. Throughout its long history, Great Plains Communications has strategically transitioned itself into a leading regional provider of fiber-based services through significant investment in its state-of-the-art network and facilities. The company offers residential services, such as digital phone, high-definition cable television, and broadband Internet through DSL, cable modem, satellite or fiber to more than 90 communities across the state. It also provides business services ranging from traditional voice and data products to installation and support of large business networks with scalable Ethernet solutions. "We were committed to choosing a buyer that would support the family's dedication to delivering high-quality services to our customers," said current owners, the Garrigan and Jensen families, who are third and fourth generation descendants of Founder E.C. Hunt. "Great Plains Communications' capable employees, led by CEO Todd Foje and the management team, will continue to carry on the mission of the family and Grain Management." "This acquisition is a positive step forward in our vision of providing the best telecommunications services to sustain and advance Nebraska," said Great Plains Communications CEO, Todd Foje. "Together with Grain Management, we will be able to expand our network and enhance our offerings to benefit our customers, employees and the local communities we serve. Our team looks forward to partnering with Grain Management and utilizing their deep experience in regional fiber investment." Upon completion of the acquisition, Great Plains Communications will operate over 9,500 route miles of high-quality network architecture. With additional resources from Grain Management, the company intends to enhance its presence throughout the Midwest, extending and improving its network for both customers and their communities. TD Bank served as financial advisor to Grain Management. Alston & Bird LLP served as legal counsel to Grain Management. UBS Investment Bank served as exclusive financial advisor to Great Plains Communications in the transaction. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal counsel to Great Plains Communications with assistance from Kutak Rock LLP and Woods & Aitken LLP. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, following the satisfaction of customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About Grain Management Grain Management, LLC is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the communications sector. The firm was founded in 2007 with the objective of bringing a differentiated approach to the industry characterized by expansive sector knowledge, rigorous analytics, and dedicated, in-house operating and financial professionals. Grain is directed by a team of highly experienced investment professionals with deep industry knowledge and a specialized skillset, marked by extensive operating history, deep quantitative and analytical proficiency, and regulatory expertise. For more information visit www.graingp.com. About Great Plains Communications Great Plains Communications is the largest privately-owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska, delivering high speed Internet, cable television, and voice services to over 90 communities across the state. The company also prides itself on their progressive approach to accommodating the unique needs of all regional and national telecommunications carriers, LECs, ISPs, wireless carriers and other service providers utilizing superior engineering and custom build strategies. At the core of its service offering is an extensive 9,500-mile regional fiber network including over 300 fiber miles in the Omaha Metro area. The network extends beyond Nebraska into Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyomingoffering community access rings, last-mile, and middle-mile solutions, all fully supported by their 24x7x365 Network Operations Center. For more information visit www.gpcom.com. Contact: Lina Francis, PR@graingp.com Press Release from: Grain Management, LLC Olympic gold medalist and former Husker wrestler Jordan Burroughs will be in Elgin this Saturday night in conjunction with a grand opening event.
The Elgin Men's Charitable Corporation (EMCC) and the Elgin Community Club will host an open house for the EMCC Professional Building on Saturday, March 10. The event will be held at the Elgin Knights of Columbus Hall with the doors opening at 6 p.m. A free meal will be provided. Located at 109 S. 2nd St. in Elgin, the EMCC Professional Building is home to Cornerstone Chiropractic Center - Dr. Derek Scholl, Shawn Beaudette of Lammli, Locke and Beaudette and Elgin Dental Clinic - Dr. John Williams. Burroughs has agreed to sign autographs at the event. He will arrive at approximately 7 p.m. The event will likely conclude at 8:30 or 9 p.m. This January, National Blood Donor Month, the American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood donors of all blood types to make an appointment to give now and help address a winter blood donation shortage.
Severe winter weather has had a tremendous impact on blood donations already this year, with more than 150 blood drives forced to cancel causing over 5,500 blood donations to go uncollected. This is in addition to seasonal illnesses, such as the flu, and hectic holiday schedules collectively contributing to more than 28,000 fewer donations than what was needed in November and December. “Even temporary disruptions to blood donations can diminish the availability for hospital patients,” said Clifford Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Blood Services. “It’s the blood on the shelves that helps save lives in an emergency, and that’s why we’re asking eligible individuals to make an appointment to give blood today.” While serving local hospitals is the first priority, the Red Cross can move blood products to where they’re needed most. This allows generous donors throughout the country to contribute to the national blood supply and potentially help patients locally and in storm-affected areas. While all blood types are urgently needed, there is a more critical need for the following blood and donation types right now:
How to help Eligible donors can find a blood donation opportunity and schedule an appointment to donate by using the free Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donation appointments and completion of a RapidPass are encouraged to help speed up the donation process. RapidPass lets donors complete the pre-donation reading and answer the health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, by visiting redcrossblood.org/rapidpass from the convenience of a mobile device or computer, or through the Blood Donor App. Who blood donations help Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood – a need that is all too real for Heather Hrouda and her family, of Columbus, Neb. Hrouda was 25 weeks pregnant with her fourth child when she began bleeding. An emergency cesarean section was performed, but Hrouda hemorrhaged during surgery. She received 14 units of blood and seven units of plasma before she and her newborn son, Rusher, were flown to a nearby hospital. There, she received additional transfusions, and Rusher was moved to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he also received a blood transfusion to increase his red blood cell count. “My family and I are so thankful for all the blood donors,” said Hrouda. “It is safe to say that without their time and donations, Rusher and I would not be here today. Because of donors, I get to watch my kids grow up and become the adults they dream of being.” The Hroudas are just two examples of the many patients who depend on blood donors. Accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease may all require blood to save their lives. The Red Cross must collect more than 13,000 blood donations every day for patients at approximately 2,600 hospitals across the country. Upcoming blood donation opportunities Jan. 8-31 Antelope Orchard 1/9/2018: 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., St. Peters Lutheran Church, 202 Cherry St. _______________ Boone Albion 1/15/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Boone County Fairgrounds Casey Community Building, 100 W Fairview _______________ Butler David City 1/31/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., David City High School, 750 D Street _______________ Cuming West Point 1/10/2018: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Valmont Coatings - West Point Galvanizing, 1700 South Beemer Street _______________ Dodge Fremont 1/13/2018: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Fremont Mall, 860 East 23rd Street 1/17/2018: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Fremont Bergan High School, 545 E. 4th St 1/24/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., ATI Physical Therapy Fremont, 410 E 22nd Street 1/29/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Fremont City Auditorium, 925 N. Broad St 1/30/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Midland University Hopkins Arena, 900 N Clarkson 1/30/2018: 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Fremont City Auditorium, 925 N. Broad St 1/31/2018: 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Fremont High School, 1750 N. Lincoln Street Scribner 1/29/2018: 12:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Mohr Auditorium, Highway 275 _______________ Madison Madison 1/10/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., City Auditorium, 209 S Lincoln Norfolk 1/9/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., American Legion, 105 E. Norfolk Ave., Suite 400 1/11/2018: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Marathon Press, 1500 Square Turn Blvd, PO Box 407 1/15/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Lutheran High Northeast, 2010 N. 37th St 1/16/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., American Legion, 105 E. Norfolk Ave., Suite 400 1/17/2018: 1:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., Norfolk NE YMCA, Norfolk YMCA, 301 West Benjamin 1/22/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Norfolk Public Library, 404 N 4th St 1/23/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., American Legion, 105 E. Norfolk Ave., Suite 400 1/27/2018: 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Walmart, 2400 Pasewalk Ave 1/28/2018: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., St. John's Lutheran Church, 1300 West Benjamin Ave 1/29/2018: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Norfolk Daily News, 525 Norfolk Ave 1/30/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., American Legion, 105 E. Norfolk Ave., Suite 400 1/31/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Hy-Vee Store, 120 East Norfolk Ave. 1/31/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Faith Regional Health Services-West Campus, 2700 West Norfolk Ave Tilden 1/22/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Tilden Community Library, 202 S. Center St _______________ Merrick Palmer 1/25/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Methodist Church, 1012 Commercial St _______________ Nance Genoa 1/12/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 313 Willard Avenue _______________ Pierce Osmond 1/30/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Osmond City Hall, Main Street _______________ Platte Columbus 1/9/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., US Bank Columbus, 2221 23rd Street 1/10/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., St. Luke's United Church - Christ - Columbus, 1072 21st Avenue 1/11/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., United Methodist Outreach Center, 3602 16th Street 1/17/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., BD West Plant, 1852 10th Avenue 1/18/2018: 6:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., BD East Plant, 605 E. 23rd Street 1/18/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., United Methodist Outreach Center, 3602 16th Street 1/25/2018: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., United Methodist Outreach Center, 3602 16th Street 1/26/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Dynamic Life - Columbus, 3763 39th Ave., Ste.100 1/27/2018: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., United Methodist Outreach Center, 3602 16th Street Humphrey 1/17/2018: 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Humphrey Community Hall, 500 460th ST _______________ Polk Osceola 1/11/2018: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, 531 S Polk Shelby 1/24/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., American Legion, 204 Main Street _______________ Saunders Cedar Bluffs 1/23/2018: 12:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 300 S 2nd St Wahoo 1/18/2018: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wahoo High School, 2201 N. Locust _______________ Stanton Stanton 1/10/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Stanton NE VFW, 1106 Veterans Ave _______________ Washington Blair 1/8/2018: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., St Francis Borgia Catholic Church, 2005 Davis Dr 1/12/2018: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Walmart Blair, 1882 Holly Street 1/13/2018: 7:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Blair City Hall, 218 South 16th Street A recently purchased Nebraska pickup came with quite a surprise — a live grenade.
According to the Nebraska State Patrol, Hazardous Device Technicians disposed of the grenade in Snyder. The grenade was found Wednesday in a truck which had recently been purchased from the family of a deceased individual. While the new owner was cleaning out the truck, he discovered the grenade in the back seat and alerted authorities with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. After securing the scene, the Sheriff’s Office called-in the NSP Bomb Squad to dispose of the device. NSP Hazardous Device Technicians determined that grenade was live. They safely removed it from the vehicle and used counter charges to destroy it in an empty field. “This is a great reminder for anyone who comes across anything resembling a grenade or an explosive device to call 911,” said Lt. Jim DeFreece, NSP Hazardous Device Coordinator. “We’ve had people find them when cleaning out storage areas, garages, or in this case a vehicle. The safest thing to do is to avoid touching the device and call the authorities.” The NSP thanked the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this operation. |