News Flash

Western history author and lecturer Jeff Barnes brings the life and legend of the notorious Jesse James to patrons of the Kearney Public Library on Tuesday, December 6, at 7:00 p.m.

“A Bad Man in a Better Place: Jesse James in Nebraska” covers the outlaw and his family’s several visits to the Cornhusker State, from the 1860s until just before his assassination in 1882. “Jesse James typically isn’t thought of in connection with Nebraska, but he was here,” said Barnes, now researching and writing the first travel guide to the outlaw’s associated sites. “Nebraska was where the outlaw could find family and friends. It was where he could plan amazing robberies, make a recovery or an escape, and even sit for his most famous photograph. He wanted to buy a farm here and some even say he started a family here.”

The 45-minute presentation includes rarely seen images and seldom-heard stories of James, with the opportunity for questions afterward. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Barnes writes and lives in Omaha. He is a board trustee with the Nebraska State Historical Society, former chairman of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission, and a frequently requested speaker with Humanities Nebraska. He is the author of "The Great Plains Guide to Buffalo Bill", "The Great Plains Guide to Custer", "Forts of the Northern Plains", and "Extra Innings: The Story of Modisett Ball Park". He recently completed a centennial history of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, published in September 2016

This program is free and open to the public. The Kearney Public Library is located at 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, NE.