If you are in town for business or have some free time to explore, here's how to make the most of your 24 hours in Lincoln, Nebraska. Several events are held annually in and around Lincoln, including the Lincoln Film Festival, Nebraska State Fair and the Omaha Art Museum. If art is not on site, spend a few hours exploring the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum, which is also nearby. This summer, the new Lincoln Museum of Art opened, as did the annual Lincoln Art Festival.

Look at the campus, but be aware that some computer areas have limited public computers, such as the computer lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Union often features a computer room with free Wi-Fi and free internet access, as well as access to the Lincoln Library.

The largest metropolitan area has 285,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Lincoln has no contiguous suburbs, so there is very little development within the city limits, but there are some that fluctuate and some are considered suburbs.

The fastest growing group of refugees in Lincoln are the Karen, who have come from Thailand and Burma to escape ethnic and political wars. In 2011 alone, 738 refugees from 13 countries reached Lincoln, and there are now thousands of Karen in the state. The official figures only refer to people who have been officially resettled in that state, not to those who have moved to the area after being housed elsewhere. It is estimated that 1500 of them have arrived in our state since 2000, but Lincoln is now home to more than 2000 of these refugees, which is about 1% of the total population.

Performing arts venues include Lincoln Community Playhouse, where you can see a community theater, and the performing arts of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln Public Library and Lincoln High School.

There are also a number of other sports teams that call the city home, including the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Nebraska State University and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Lincoln High School Performing Arts Center and Lincoln Community Playhouse perform throughout the year. That has led to a long-standing friendly rivalry between Nebraska and Iowa State in football, basketball and baseball, as well as baseball and football.

The city's position as a university city has also helped shape the city's political culture. The university and the state government have attracted many rural Nebraska residents to the city and strengthened its small-town flair. Unlike Omaha, which wants to show the rest of the country the tallest building and its Fortune 500 companies, Lincoln wants them to be known for what they have. It also has its share of ageing hippies, warm correctness and leftist - leaning university towns.

Most of Nebraska has seen a decline in population over the past decade, with most of the growth concentrated in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island and Kearney. But Nebraska and Lincoln are growing as more people move to the area to find work, in a state that consistently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

The census estimates Nebraska's population grew by 1.5 million people a year in 2011, compared with 0.9 million in 2010. While the US population grew by 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011, Nebraska grew by 1 percent.

The University of Nebraska - Lincoln has the largest weight room in the United States, covering 3.4 hectares, and the stadium has a capacity of more than 80,000. The Lincoln-Beatrice area was ranked one of North America's ten most polluted cities by the American Lung Association in 2014. If you are in Nebraska, or possibly South Dakota or Iowa, this is not the place to visit. On game day, the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and their fans will be on the field.

It is often cheaper to catch a train to Lincoln, where you stop at a large hotel, and then fly to Omaha, Omaha - St. Paul or Omaha and Omaha. Amtrak serves Lincoln as an Amtrak stop and as a bus stop in downtown Lincoln. The Northwest Downtown offers great views of the Nebraska State Capitol and Lincoln - Omaha International Airport.

Lincoln City has over 100 city parks, including Lincoln Park and Recreation Center, Sunken Oak Park and many others. There are a large number of recreational bike, horse riding and hiking trails, some of which are now open to the public, such as the Nebraska State Trail and the Omaha - St. Paul Trail.

The local music scene is extensive, with live bands playing in many bars in the city centre. Live music is also common at the Pershing Auditorium, where major tours and national acts regularly perform. All interiors are smoke-free and you will be able to enjoy smoke-free restaurants and bars.