Hwy. 20 is officially named as Medal of Honor Highway

SOUTH SIOUX CITY — Highway 20 through Nebraska was officially designated last week as the Medal of Honor Highway.

On Thursday the Nebraska Department of Roads unveiled the first sign at South Sioux City celebrating the change.

Laurel veteran Gene Twiford played a large role in getting the Highway named.

“I got it started I guess. I got 31 towns on Highway 20. I got their ‘yes’s. Then all 12 counties. I got all the ‘yes’s” from them,”Twiford told KTIV News. “I didn’t have much trouble, no body said ‘no’. That was a good project, it was an easy project.”

Gov. Pete Ricketts approved the name change in January, making Nebraska the fifth state to adopt it for the highway which winds from coast to coast.

“This is something that we owe to our veterans, to be able to acknowledge that highest medal of honor, that’s given to 73 people from the state of Nebraska,” said Sen. Joni Albrecht.

The Nebraska Medal of Honor Highway is the longest named state highway, with 432 miles in Nebraska.

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