1. In 1928, Nebraska Governor Adam McMullen signed the Blue Sky Highway bill into law. This legislation provided for the designation and improvement of a highway from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, passing through Nebraska, and was an important step toward the development of the modern U.S. interstate highway system.
2. On June 11, 1907, the city of Omaha witnessed one of its most notorious mass lynchings. Will Brown, a black man accused of assaulting a white woman, was seized from the county jail by a mob of thousands and hanged from a lamppost in the courthouse square. The incident prompted national outrage and led to reforms in Nebraska's criminal justice system.
3. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln honored one of its most distinguished alumni on June 11, 1993, when it dedicated the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues in honor of former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn E. Thompson Jr. The forum hosts speakers on a wide range of topics related to world affairs and attracts thousands of attendees each year.
4. Nebraska's first major solar power plant began operations on June 11, 2013. The 5-megawatt project, located near the town of Venango in southwest Nebraska, consists of over 200,000 photovoltaic panels and provides enough electricity to power over 900 homes. The plant was built by a subsidiary of NRG Energy, one of the largest power companies in the United States.
5. The Omaha Royals, a minor league baseball team that has since been rebranded as the Storm Chasers, made franchise history on June 11, 2008, when they rallied from a 10-4 deficit to defeat the Memphis Redbirds 12-11 in 11 innings. The game featured a grand slam home run by Mitch Maier and a walk-off double by Kila Ka'aihue, and remains one of the most memorable games in the team's history.