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A Visit with the Voters of Broken Bow, Neb.

With the presidential campaigns focused squarely on "battleground states" such as Florida and Ohio, Nebraska is getting scant attention. It's not just that the Cornhusker State has only five electoral votes. There's also no doubt where they're headed: directly to the Bush-Cheney column. Nebraska has voted Republican in every presidential race since 1968.

But that doesn't mean the voters in Nebraska are unconcerned with national events. The townspeople of Broken Bow have seen several neighbors go off to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq. Economic concerns are reflected in the recent closing of the Ben Franklin variety store. And such events are discussed on a regular basis, as groups of longtime friends gather at the Arrow Hotel to sip coffee and ponder life.

NPR's Liane Hansen visited Broken Bow to learn what the heartland feels about the events of this election season.

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Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.