KEARNEY, Neb. - The Kearney/Buffalo County Law Enforcement Center co-location is celebrating its 30th anniversary. 

It’s been more than 30 years since the previous Kearney Police Department Chief, Steve Lamken, and the Buffalo County Sheriff, Neil Miller, created history by being the first in the state to move their departments into the same building.

“He (Lamken) had an idea, we both needed space, the police department was crammed in, we were crammed in, so he said 'how about we do this together and we co-locate in one building.'" Miller said. "There was a lot of discussion about that you know, it was kind of new back then to do something like that.”

Since then, both agencies have shared not only a building but also police resources, 911 services, police records, evidence and more. Bryan Waugh, Kearney Police Chief said that while maintaining individual organizational identities, the partnership has benefited the community and the departments. 

“It’s amazing when you see a person wearing blue and a person wearing brown but we’re all are doing the same job for the same reason." Waugh said. "That’s pretty special, and I believe our community sees that every day and that not only inspires us to keep doing what we’re doing for the community but it also inspires our officers and deputies to do great work to protect the city and to protect the county.”

Timothy Loewenstein, who was Chairman of the county board more than 30 years, said this is something special. 

“I think that we started something that set an example for other counties and cities to say ‘wow let’s take a look at working together,’ and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about,” Loewenstein said.