 By 1942, it had purchased all of the private electrical utilities in Nebraska outside of the immediate vicinity of Omaha; 
by 1949, the last of the private utilities had been bought up, making Nebraska the only state in the nation to be served entirely by public power.With the arrival of World War II, Columbus's boosters sought a war plant for Columbus.They persuaded the federal government to purchase in northeastern Columbus, and to build a railroad line to the site.