Nebraska is a midwestern U.S. state encompassing the prairies of the Great Plains, the towering dunes of the Sandhills and the panhandle’s dramatic rock formations. Lincoln, the capital and a vibrant university town, is distinguished by its soaring state capitol. The city of Omaha is home to the Durham Museum, which honors the state’s pioneering past in a converted railroad depot.   Abbreviation: NE Capital: Lincoln Temperature: 68, partly cloudy Time: 1:00 (CT, 1 hour behind us) Nebraska spans two time zones. The eastern two-thirds of the state is in the Central Time Zone and the western third is in the Mountain Time Zone. When traveling on Interstate 80, the time change occurs  between the Sutherland and Paxton exits . Nickname:  Cornhusker State Nebraska's official nickname is the " Cornhusker State ," which comes from Nebraska athletic teams — the Cornhuskers — also a method of harvesting corn by hand. Before 1945, it was the "Tree Planters' State" bec...