Dorchester Times: Nebraska Ranked No. 1 In 'Happiness Index'

Monday, April 6, 2009

Nebraska Ranked No. 1 In 'Happiness Index'

We at the Times thought our fellow Dorchester residents could use a little good news considering the 24-hour doom-and-gloom coverage provided by the drive-by mainstream media. It put a smile on our faces when we read that Nebraskans are happier than other Americans, according to MainStreet.com’s new Happiness Index.

The Cornhusker state was awarded the top ranking because: it ranked 2nd overall in lowest number of foreclosures; it ranked 2nd in lowest unemployment rates; it ranked 5th in lowest percentage of non-mortgage debt by income.

According to MainStreet.com, the new Happiness Index is a “fresh take on the old and tired Misery Index, made popular in the 1970s.” The Happiness Index “is all about which states are best weathering the current economic storm.”

MainStreet.com goes on to report: “Contrary to popular wisdom that densely populated urban areas of the country have ‘recession-proof’ housing markets and boast impressively high average salary ranges, The Happiness Index suggests that the Midwest is the main source of financial happiness. After Nebraska in the top spot, Iowa and Kansas came in at 2 and 3 on the list of the most financially happy states.”

To see ABC News' coverage of the story and a related video from the network's Good Morning America, click here.

6 comments:

Village DwellerApril 7, 2009 at 9:43 AM
'Edward':

Your comment has been rejected.

This post has nothing to do with gay marriage.
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Edward R. MurrowApril 7, 2009 at 10:15 AM
I would call it "subjective" editing. I have noticed that some comments are allowed even if they start out "on topic", but then fan out into different areas. I believe it depends on who is doing the editing at that particular moment.
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AnonymousApril 8, 2009 at 6:42 AM
to Edward

I agree 100000000000000000000 percent
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AnonymousApril 9, 2009 at 12:55 AM
I'm in Arizona and our news channel did a story about nebraska being the happiness state.By the way,Arizona came in 46th place.
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AnonymousApril 9, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Edward and anonymous need to sing that old Beatles song, Cry Baby Cry.
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AnonymousApril 9, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Maybe everyone should just focus on the fact that Nebraska is THE HAPPIEST STATE in the country. That's something that we should be HAPPY about. Every once in awhile our state gets recognized and I'm glad to see its for something like this. I am certainly proud to live in the state of Nebraska.
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."