Milan Austin, 73, one of the organizers of the state’s first soil conservation district, has died in an Omaha hospital.

Austin, while living in Blair from 1935 – 1952, assisted in organizing the district. He later headed similar district in Newman Grove, then Columbus.

He had a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and a master’s degree in rural economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In 1947, he started the Austin Co., a real estate and farm management business that now has offices in Lincoln, Basset, Grant and Columbus.

Austin was active in the Republican Party, first as the Platte County chairman and then as a member of the party’s center committee, according to the Associated Press.

Survivors include his wife, Florence, and daughter, Jeri, of Lincoln. Services were scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday in Columbus.

The exact date of death was not listed.