Mormon Church Increases Holdings in Nebraska

The Mormon church is coming close to media mogul and bison baron Ted Turner for owning the most private land in the state of Nebraska.

Associated Press/October 5, 2004

Lincoln, Neb. -- The Mormon church is coming close to media mogul and bison baron Ted Turner for owning the most private land in the state of Nebraska.

Last month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought more than two-thirds of the 126-thousand-acre Eldred Ranch in Garden and Morrill counties for its cattle operations.

Garden County Assessor Janet Shaul told the Lincoln Journal Star that the Mormon church paid nearly 16-million dollars.

It's expected the Eldred family will also eventually sell the last 38-thousand acres to the church.

When the sale is complete, the Mormon church will owns nearly 270-thousand acres of ranchland in five Nebraska counties.

Turner raises bison on his Nebraska ranches. He's the state's largest landowner with about 320-thousand acres.