Daily Minute: Drought worsens in Nebraska; construction begins at old Pershing; Stars scoring at frantic pace

Good morning, Lincoln. Here's what you should know today.

Drought worsens in Nebraska

Drought is continuing to get worse in Nebraska thanks to unseasonably warm and dry weather, leading to high fire danger in many places.

According to the latest Drought Monitor, almost half of the state is now in at least a moderate drought. That's up from just over 40% last week and less than 6% just two months ago. That includes more than 14% in severe drought, up from about 9% last week and less than 1% two months ago.

All of Lancaster County is now in moderate drought, and a tiny sliver of the southwestern part of the county is in severe drought. As recently as the second week of August, the county was drought-free.

Construction begins at old Pershing site

Construction workers have begun to fill the giant hole left by Pershing Auditorium in downtown Lincoln and the mixed-use building that will replace it will be done by December 2025 .

White Lotus, the Omaha-based company the mayor chose to redevelop the property, is building a mix of residential and commercial space in the five-story building. The top four floors will include 90 apartments affordable to people with various income levels. The first floor will include a lobby and the commercial space will include health care services.

Developers have named the project MURAL, a tribute to the giant mural that graced the front of Pershing for more than half a century.

Stars scoring at frantic pace

And, last season, it took the Lincoln Stars 10 games to reach 20 goals. This season, it took four.

The Stars are off and running , winning three of their first four games and scoring at a breakneck pace. That includes a whopper of a home opener in which Lincoln scored nine times to beat Green Bay on Sept. 28.

Lincoln plays Sioux Falls on Saturday in its first true road game of the season. Lincoln opened its season at a neutral-site event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

That's it for Friday, Oct. 4. Stay in the know with Lincoln's longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com and we'll see you back here on Monday.