BEATRICE, Neb. - It’s a special day for the future of Southeast Community College.

SCC celebrated the groundbreaking of their new Agriculture Technology Center on the Beatrice campus. It’ll be a 20,000 square-foot facility that aims to give students the tools, technology and techniques to meet the everyday demands of agricluture. SCC President Paul Illich says it also aims to accomplish one main goal.

“This is part of about a decade of transformation that SCC has been going through with one very specific directive,” Illich said. “That is solving the skilled-workforce problems we face in southeast Nebraska and we’re doing that through capacity expansion.”

With agricultural programs being a big part of SCC’s foundation, Illich hopes the technology centers continues to grow enrollment.

“We think we’ve had this tremendous demand for what we do… Weave +80 career technical programs, what we didn’t have is the space that we need,” Illich said. “We’re excited to be doing this, again, it’s been a decade of transformation at the college.”

A unique feature of the Ag-Tech center will be flexible labs, which will expand what can be taught by the college.

“We’re going to have drone training spaces, flexible lab spaces, new lab spaces to bring in new equipment as its evolving, new technology,” Illich said. “The spaces will be designed to be fixed with not one type of technology, but to be equipped and ready to add technology as it evolves.”

Beatrice Mayor Bob Morgan, who spent over 30 years as director of the SCC Beatrice campus, says he hopes it adds a boost to the city.

“Southeast Community College is a blessing to the city of Beatrice,” Morgan said. “We’re glad to have them here, having a new building is going to be another step for more students and it is an economic driver for the city of Beatrice so we’re happy to work with them and we’re happy they’re here today.”

A possible Frozen Four first: All 4 starting goalies are freshmen

Angels' Jorge Soler and Braves' Reynaldo López receive 7-game suspensions following brawl

Wyoming man gets probation for hitting wolf with snowmobile, bringing it into bar

Pure Cycle: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot