The May 21st Weekly Market Report

Nicole Buntgen, Contributing Writer

Shredders Pizza plans to open a restaurant in the former Mootz pizzeria space at 8725 Shamrock Road in Countryside Village. An opening date has not yet been announced, but interior work is underway and the business is under consideration for a liquor license.

Zaska! Beer Co. plans to open a taproom in early June at 3548 Center Street in the former Bull Moose space in the Field Club neighborhood. The brewery currently operates a production facility in Seward, Neb., and serves its beer at Junto Wine in Seward.

Duck Duck Bottle Shop, officially opens this week at 4917 Underwood Avenue in Dundee, although a soft opening took place last week. Described as “a backyard bar and tea hangout,” Duck Duck Bottle Shop also functions as a café in the mornings. All seating is outdoors behind an historic house, but a bottle shop is set up in the basement. Food and beverages are served through a concession-style window at the back of the building. The backyard also includes a small performance stage.

Clio, the popular Mediterranean restaurant in the Old Market, opened its second location in west Omaha today – Thursday, May 21. Clio is replacing Blatt Beer and Table at 2835 South 170th Plaza in the Shops of Legacy. Both brands are owned by Omaha-based Flagship Restaurant Group.

L.L. Bean plans to open its first Nebraska store in Omaha’s Avenue One Good Life District. The famous outdoor clothing and recreation retailer will open in 2027 in a 15,000 sq. ft. space to be constructed southeast of 192nd & West Dodge Road. Based in Freeport, Maine, L.L. Bean has 54 stores in 21 states. The closest existing ones are in Minneapolis and Chicago. Other retailers coming to Avenue One include Trader Joe’s, West Elm, Arhaus, Pottery Barn and others.

Drybar plans to open a blowout salon this fall at Village Pointe Shopping Center. The space is immediately north of Early Bird restaurant. Drybar has an existing Omaha location at Regency Shopping Center near Borsheims.

Signage has been installed and interior renovations are now underway at Nebraska’s first Fiiz Drinks location at Tiburon Pointe in Gretna. The “dirty soda” concept will operate in a 2,400 sq. ft., former Tropical Smoothie Café space at 10215 South 168th Street. Based in Salt Lake City, Fiiz Drinks has 75 locations with the closest existing ones in Oklahoma City and Denver.

Mina Grocery will open this summer at 8717 Countryside Plaza in Countryside Village between KOJI (north side) and Countryside Wellness Studios. The business is currently seeking partnerships with Midwest bakeries and restaurants.

Sapri Liquor Store in the Park Drive Shopping Center has changed ownership. Dilip Sathu purchased the business last month at 8524 Park Drive. The 3,100 sq. ft. store originally opened in 2017.

Urban Abbey will relocate from 1026 Jackson Street to 1516 Jones Street in the Old Market. The nonprofit coffee shop, bookstore and church will remain at its Jackson Street location during construction. The groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremony has been rescheduled from May 18 to May 31.

The Escape Game is opening its first Nebraska location in Village Pointe. This week, a building permit was filed for $700,000 in renovations to remodel a space at 17304 Davenport Street. The Escape Game is based in Nashville and has nire than 50 locations featuring themed, 60-minute escape rooms. The closest current location is in the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo.

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Au Courant Finds the Sweet Spot Between Upscale & Welcoming

By Chris Corey

Au Courant opened in 2016 in the former España location at 6064 Maple Street in the heart of Benson. España was a Spanish restaurant and tapas bar, owned and operated by Carlos Mendez. Au Courant has spent a decade making fine dining feel accessible without losing its sense of occasion. It’s certainly upscale, and it’s most definitely not pretentious. Mendez owns the restaurant with chef Ben Maides.

The neighborhood restaurant serves thoughtful food in a warm, narrow dining room with exposed brick, dark wood, soft lighting and enough energy to keep the experience from feeling stuffy. The menu changes weekly, built around ingredients from local farmers and suppliers.

Mendez says Au Courant has endured by continuing to change its menu, adapt new techniques and stay as current as possible.

“Ten years nowadays is a long time for restaurants,” Mendez said. “We’re literally almost opening a new restaurant every Thursday.”

The constant menu change ties into the restaurant’s name. Au Courant roughly translates to “in the current.” The restaurant’s name speaks not just to the present moment, but to staying current with ingredients, techniques and the seasons.

Mendez came to Omaha from Caracas, Venezuela, 26 years ago to study English at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He went on to earn degrees in accounting and business management. He grew up around business in his family’s accounting firm and did bookkeeping for a fast-casual restaurant early in his career. Today, he operates behind the scenes, connecting culinary ambition with the business discipline needed to sustain it.

Au Courant offers both an à la carte menu and a tasting menu. Mendez said that when they first opened, diners were less comfortable ordering a chef’s tasting menu. Today, he estimates that close to 60 percent choose that experience. What made Au Courant unusual was that it didn’t limit the tasting menu to a chef’s table. Instead, the restaurant was designed so the experience could happen at every seat, whether guests were at the bar or in the dining room.

“The chef tasting menu was always scary,” Mendez said. “But that was a challenge we wanted to put on the table. It was that ideal place where you go and try a new meal every single time you go.”

One menu item is always there in name and basic concept only. Chovy’s Egg is a nod to a former chef whose nickname was Chovy. Before service, he would bring boiled eggs to work and boast that he made the perfect egg. When Au Courant opened, they made an egg dish part of the menu in his honor. Like the rest of the menu, its preparation changes weekly. While Chovy is no longer at Au Courant, he remains a part of the restaurant’s extended family.

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Summerfest Returns to Council Bluffs Riverfront

The City of Council Bluffs will kick off the summer season with Summerfest on Friday, June 5, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park. This free event will feature live music, a drone show, food trucks, local vendors and other activities.

Summerfest has become one of the metro area’s signature summer events, drawing thousands of attendees to the Council Bluffs riverfront each year.

The evening’s highlight will take place at dark, around 9:40 p.m., when Fantasy Drone Shows will launch a 20-minute drone show featuring 400 drones lighting up the night sky. The best viewing area is near the amphitheater stairs.

Summerfest activities include:

• A foam party and giant bubbles hosted by the Council Bluffs Public Library
• A live art and creativity zone hosted by Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment
• Recreation activities including baseball, football, soccer and yard games provided by the Parks and
• Recreation Department and the Charles E. Lakin YMCA
• A mobile exhibit from the Kiewit Luminarium
• A Summerfest Pop-Up Market featuring more than 20 local vendors hosted by the CB Chamber
• More than 20 food trucks
• Free skateboarding activities with Skatefest Omaha
• Disc golf activities hosted by Nebraska Disc Golf
• A live music lineup featuring:
  • Little Rooms | 6-6:45 p.m.
  • Matt Cox | 7:15-7:45 p.m.
  • Hector Anchondo Band | 8:15-9:30 p.m.

Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets, water bottles and snacks. Dogs are welcome as long as they remain leashed, cleaned up after, and well-behaved.

More than 700 parking spaces are available in the parking garage at 4250 River’s Edge Parkway. An additional 1,000+ spaces are available in the lot near Stir Cove and Dodge Riverside Golf Club at Harrah’s Boulevard and River Edge Service Road. Attendees can also walk or bike to Summerfest using the local trail system or Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Bicycle parking will be available on site. Limited street parking is also available in nearby neighborhoods. Please expect traffic delays due to large crowds.

Summerfest is free thanks to the support of many community partners including the City of Council Bluffs, the Iowa West Foundation, Back to the River, the Council Bluffs Public Library, Kiewit Luminarium, Charles E. Lakin YMCA, the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce and Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment.

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Isaiah Ang, Contributing Writer

The U.S. Census Bureau has released population estimates for cities and incorporated towns for 2025. As of last July, the City of Omaha had an estimated population of 488,797, which was down from 489,247 in 2024, a .01 percent drop. The broader Omaha metro area grew by 9,570 people during that time to a total of 1,009,836.

Ford Storage and Moving Company is building a 300,000 sq. ft. warehouse in the Infinity Industrial Park southwest of 156th & Schram Road in Sarpy County. Developed by Hubbell Realty Company, the 156-acre industrial park will eventually have 10 buildings. Rotella’s occupies the first building and plans to build a second one immediately to the west. Construction on Ford Storage’s building is underway with concrete wall panels now going up. The targeted completion date is the end of this year.

Construction should start soon on a multifamily project in South Omaha. Named QMetro, the $25 million project consists of a 5-story, mixed-use apartment building on the southeast corner of 29th & Q Street. The site is across the street from Metropolitan Community College’s South Campus. According a building permit filed for the project, the building will have 77 apartment units. The Tax Increment Financing application that was approved last year by the City, indicated that the building will also have around 18,000 sq. ft. of ground floor commercial space.

The Council Bluffs City Council approved an extension of the South 24th Street Trail in this week’s meeting. There is currently a gap in the trail between the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex at 2900 Richard Downing Avenue and the South 24th Street Bridge that goes over Interstate 80. The approved $400,000 extension project will fill that gap and connect the complex to the trail north of the interstate.

Crews have started working on the second and third floors of The Carnac Apartments in the Blackstone District. The Carnac is a podium building, meaning the first floor consists of reinforced concrete, while the upper floors are wood framed. Located at 35th & Farnam Street, the project is going up on the former WOWT building site. GreenSlate Development is developing the $45 million, 180-unit building. The name “Carnac” is an ode to Johnny Carson, who started his television career on the site in 1950.

The Simple Foundation will start extensive renovations of their location at 3003 Q Street in South Omaha. According to a building permit, renovations will include restrooms, a fitness room and teen tech center. Additionally, the organization will renovate the existing theater and open a new administrative office wing. The Simple Foundation is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing services and resources, including academic assistance, mentorship and mental health resources, to refugee, immigrant and migrant youth in the Omaha.

Steel beams are now going vertical at Nebraska Medicine’s Farnam Health Center on the southeast corner of 42nd & Farnam Street. The construction project consists of a 4-story, medical office building with a pedestrian walkway to the parking garage to the south. The existing parking garage will have a new elevator lobby to connect to the pedestrian walkway. The Farnam Health Center will provide space for dermatology, general internal medicine, outpatient gastrointestinal program and behavior health.

The Midwest Basketball Showcase will bring thousands of athletes, families and coaches to Omaha for three days of competition over Memorial Day weekend. According to Visit Omaha, 160 boys and girls teams from eight states will compete at CHI Health Center Omaha May 22 through 24. Organizers expect roughly 5,900 attendees, with about 90 percent traveling from outside Omaha.

IAMS Wealth Management is expanding their office space at the Waterford Building near 192nd & West Dodge Road. According to a building permit for tenant finishes, the expansion entails creating an additional 1,600 sq. ft. of office space. IAMS Wealth Management is a local firm that provides back office support to financial advisors.

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Woodhouse Auto Family has sold Porsche Omaha to Hanania Automotive Group of Jacksonville, Fla., according to W.G. Nielsen & Co, an investment banking firm involved in the deal. The dealership is located northwest of 180th & West Dodge Road. Woodhouse, which had owned Porsche Omaha since 2005, has 25 dealerships. Hanania now has 18 dealerships.

Formerly known as 101.9 The Keg, local radio station KOOO-FM is now a non-commercial public radio signal. Nebraska Public Media bought the license from NRG Media earlier this year. The format switch occurred last week. The station broadcasts NPR news/talk programming during the day and music at night.

Allegiant Travel Company will offer nonstop flights between Omaha’s Eppley Airfield and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida starting October 2. The Las Vegas-based, discount airline already offers nonstops between Omaha and Destin, Fla.; Gulf Shores, Ala.; Las Vegas; Orlando (Sanford); Mesa, Ariz.; Punta Gorda, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; and St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bankers Trust honored its Omaha branch with the 2025 Bankers Trust Teamwork Impact Award, which recognizes one team across the company each year for outstanding collaborative volunteer efforts. Twenty-two team members were recognized. The Omaha team focused its 2025 volunteer efforts on causes including child abuse prevention, family support services and strengthening local community resources. Bankers Trust’s Omaha office is at 19202 Davenport Street.

Generation Z Learning Center has purchased at 5,250 sq. ft. building at 3207 North 90th Street, according to Mary Purcell of NAI NP Dodge, who represented the childcare provider business in the transaction.

The Greater Omaha Chamber has named ProsperSpark as its May 2026 Business of the Month. Founded nearly seven years ago, ProsperSpark delivers customized solutions ranging from Excel and VBA development to AI-powered integrations, workflow automation, Airtable consulting, Salesforce optimization and data visualization.

The Metro Omaha Builders Association will hold groundbreaking ceremony for the next year’s (2027) Street of Dreams on Thursday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. in the Blondo Point development at 209th & Blondo Street. The ceremony will officially kickoff preparations for next year’s event. The 2027 Street of Dreams will feature six luxury homes built by some of Omaha’s premier builders, all located on a single street within Blondo Pointe.

Creighton University’s Rural Mainstreet Index dropped below growth neutral for the fourth straight month. Under the direction of Dr. Ernie Goss, the index is derived from a survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and energy. The region’s overall May reading dropped to 45.7 from April’s 47.9. This marks the 15th time since January 2025 that the index has moved below the 50.0 growth neutral threshold.

Kansas City celebrated the grand opening of the $62 million KC Streetcar Riverfront Extension. The project adds 0.7 miles of track to the existing KC Streetcar line and is the second streetcar extension line in Kansas City to open in the past seven months. For the Riverfront Extension, Omaha-based HDR completed final design, provided construction support, and helped with startup testing.

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The Joslyn Castle’s Carriage House Cafe opens today – May 21. The Carriage House Café is a social enterprise designed to provide meaningful workforce development experiences for young adults served by the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe Meyer Institute.

Omaha-based Sunflower Grant Writers is launching Sunflower Scholar School, a five-week, cohort-based grant training and coaching program designed to help nonprofits confidently pursue grant funding. The program officially launches June 2 with an educational open house and kickoff event at Forge Event Hall in The Catalyst in Omaha.

A proposed city ordinance aims to “reverse the prohibition against city employees fundraising during work hours.” The ordinance would allow city employees to fundraise for nonprofits at work five times a year, given that the nonprofit’s mission aligns with the public safety, community welfare or public health and be consistent with the mission of the City of Omaha. The city council plans to vote on the ordinance on June 2.

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Cole Young, Contributing Writer

Creighton baseball was set to open play in the Big East Championships against top-seeded St. John’s on Wednesday, but due to inclement weather, that game was moved to Thursday at 11 a.m. The winner will face the victor of UConn and Xavier on Friday, while the losers of each first-round game will meet in an elimination game on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Union Omaha was defeated 5-1 on Saturday by USL Championship club Louisville City FC, in its second match of the four-match group stage of the USL Cup. Omaha’s next match in USL Cup play will come on Saturday, June 6, against USL League One foe Fort Wayne FC. The Owls will return to action in USL League One play on Saturday when they host Chattanooga Red Wolves SC for a match kicking off at 7 p.m.

The Omaha Storm Chasers won games on Friday and Saturday against the Toledo Mud Hens to secure the series, 4-2. This week, the Chasers are on the road for a series against the St. Paul Saints, currently tied at one game apiece. First pitch on Thursday is set for 6:37 p.m.

Four Creighton baseball student-athletes earned All-Big East honors when the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday. Nate McHugh (DH), Ben North (SS) and Isaac Wachsmann each earned First Team honors, while Connor Capece (C) earned a Second Team nod from the Big East coaches.

Seven Omaha baseball student-athletes earned 2026 All-Summit League honors, announced on Tuesday. Jackson Trout (1B) and Tyler Bishop (RF) earned First Team honors, while Chase Diggins (SS), Henry Zipay (3B), Cardel Dick (Utility), Maddox Meyer (P) and Tanner Foertsch (P) earned Second Team honors. Sam Beck (P) and Nate Moquin (P) were also named Honorable Mention selections.

Five Omaha softball student-athletes earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Midwest All-Region honors. Maddia Groff (P) was named to the First Team All-Midwest Region, Marra Cramer (CF) was named to the Second Team and Katherine Johnson (2B), Taylor Sedlacek (SS) and Bailey Sample (3B) were named to the Third Team. The five selections were the most All-Region honors for the Mavericks in head coach Mike Heard’s tenure.

Creighton softball sophomore Tara Vandewater was named to the NFCA Midwest All-Region Second Team. The unanimous All-Big East First Team selection started each of Creighton’s 24 conference games at second base and led the Bluejays this season with a .366 batting average.

Upcoming Events

• Creighton baseball vs. St. John’s | Thursday, May 21 | 11 a.m.
• Omaha baseball vs. Oral Roberts | Thursday, May 21 | 12 p.m.
• Omaha Storm Chasers at St. Paul | May 19 – 24 | 6:37 p.m. Thursday
• Union Omaha vs. Chattanooga | Saturday, May 23 | 7 p.m.

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The Flying Saucer Building

By Patrick Wyman

Sitting at the edge of downtown is a building called the “cupcake” when it was first built. There was nothing like it in Omaha.

The building sits at the northeast corner of 19th & Dodge Street and was designed by Frank (Nes) Latenser of John Latenser & Sons, one of Omaha’s most prominent architectural firms. His grandfather, John Latenser Sr., founded the business in 1885, and by the 1930s the firm had designed at least one building in 89 of the 98 blocks that composed downtown Omaha.

John Latenser Sr., an immigrant from Liechtenstein, brought his sons John Jr. and Frank into the practice in 1915, renaming it John Latenser & Sons. Frank, a prolific architect in his own right, designed more than 300 buildings in Omaha and became the firm’s second president in 1936 following his father’s death. He retired in 1971 and passed away in 1973.

Nes, Frank’s son, became the firm’s third president in 1966. He left Central High School early to complete an accelerated engineering degree at Iowa State University before serving in the Navy during World War II. Following the war, he pursued graduate studies in city planning at MIT and Notre Dame before joining the family business.

Family member Paul Latenser said in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald in 2015 that Nes was likely looking into the future when he designed the structure. The space race, which culminated in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, provided inspiration. Paul said, “Basically, it was a metaphor for automation of the future. That’s how I imagine his intent when he designed the building.”

The cupcake’s circular shape and sweeping lines were no accident. They were meant to contrast with the buildings nearby. Achieving the correct arc for its double-curved concrete shell required the use of a computer, which made news in 1968. Lueder Construction Company handled the build of the two-story structure, incorporating floor-to-ceiling glass panels that covered nearly a third of the building’s exterior wall area.

More commonly referred to as the “flying saucer” today, the framework of the 6,500 sq. ft. building resembled a spiderweb. A bridge leading to its entrance from Dodge Street went over a dry moat landscaped as a Japanese garden below. Its futuristic design won a City Beautification award in 1969 from the Women’s Division of the Chamber of Commerce.

Built for Omaha National Bank, the building at 1818 Dodge Street followed a developing trend of utilizing closed-circuit television for tellers to service its seven or eight drive-through windows. Up to this point, banks had people stationed at each individual teller window.

The branch first opened in 1969 but only served its designed purpose for five years. Omaha National Bank utilized the nearby Omaha Building at 1650 Farnam Street as its headquarters until around 1970, when it moved to the brand-new Woodmen Tower. The saucer then served as a location for Western Union until 1985. Black Hills Energy, which owned the connected high-rise building to the north, used the saucer for training purposes until 2011.

The building sat empty until NuStyle Development bought the high-rise at 1815 Capitol Avenue in 2012. The high-rise had originally been home to Travelers Insurance before becoming Peoples Natural Gas and then Black Hills Energy. The saucer building was part of the purchase.

While NuStyle renovated the high-rise into Slate Apartments, they envisioned the saucer as either a restaurant or coffee shop. It remained empty until 2015, when Bike Union, a nonprofit whose aim was to train and mentor at-risk youth, was looking for a space to operate.

Founded by Miah Sommer, a South Omaha native who grew up in poverty and dropped out of high school, he sought to hire young adults who had aged out of the foster care system. According to Jim Casey of Youth Opportunities Initiative, one in five will end up without a home and fewer than half will find steady work by their mid-20s. The young adults trained as bicycle mechanics and baristas as they learned new skills and received mentorship to help them thrive.

NuStyle appreciated the mission and offered Bike Union a good deal on the lease. The shop essentially served as a place where customers could get their bicycle repaired while enjoying a cup of coffee. NuStyle’s downtown conversion projects had added a large number of residents nearby who would benefit from the shop’s services, and the Slate had a significant number of cyclists among its tenants, making it an added amenity.

In 2022, Bike Union changed its name to Astute Coffee after it dropped the bicycle repair component of the business as it shifted focus to its core mission of workforce development. The signage on its wall says it best: “Astute Coffee connects young adults to the workforce and supports their self-sufficiency through personal and professional development programming. When you purchase your coffee from Astute, you are supporting an organization with a purpose.” Well received for both its coffee and its mission, Astute Coffee opened a second location in the Atlas Apartments at 29th & California Street.

While this may be one of the lesser-known buildings in the family’s architectural legacy, it remains one of the city’s most unique structures. Nes Latenser looked into the future when he designed it. Now it’s the young adults serving cups of coffee inside it who are doing the same.

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Taste of Omaha is coming to Heartland of America Park May 29 through May 31 starting at 5 p.m. Friday. Celebrating its 29th year, Taste of Omaha brings together a selection of great foods and culinary delights, attracting people from throughout the Midwest to taste, relax and enjoy. Watch cooking demos, several live performances including music and wildlife encounters, browse vendors, amusement rides, balloons, face painting, a great view of the Festival from the Big Ferris Wheel and much more! Details here.

Opera Omaha will present UnShakeable June 5 through June 7 at Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center at 1001 South 6th Street in Council Bluffs. This production, blending opera and audience interaction, imagines a world where memory has fractured after a mysterious epidemic, leaving two actors to reconstruct their relationship through the works of Shakespeare.

Opera Omaha will partner with Old School Shakespeare Omaha to present a special performance “Shake Night” Saturday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m. It will begin with the opera and will be followed by an immersive performance of Hamlet in the lobby. There will also be a Relaxed performance the same day at 2 p.m. Surrounding the production, Opera Omaha will also host free community events including a youth art show, open conversations exploring themes of memory and identity, and pre-performance discussions with librettist Andrea Fellows Fineberg. Tickets and information can be found on their website.

The Rose Theater will present Frozen starting June 5 at 6:30 p.m. and running through June 28. Based on the iconic Disney film directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, this classic story has been reimagined as a full-length musical, bringing its iconic music to the stage such as “For The First Time in Forever,” “Do You Want To Build a Snowman” and the award-winning “Let It Go.” It will include “spectacular set designs, dazzling special effects and puppetry to bring lovable characters to life.” Frozen is a story about sisterhood, self-discovery and the enduring power of life, making it a heartwarming experience for all ages. Visit their website for tickets.

The Omaha Art Fair will be coming back to the Aksarben Village June 12 through 14, starting at 11 a.m. on Friday. Organized by local artists, the art fair’s mission is to bring creativity, community, accessibility and inspiration to all ages. The festival brings together 160+ artists from across the nation, showcasing a wide range of artistic mediums and styles.

Visitors can enjoy live demonstrations, several local crafts and creations, live entertainment, a children’s activity center with plenty of activities and various food and drink vendors. Making its debut in 2025, it carries on the legacy of the beloved Summer Arts Festival, which ended in 2024 after a 50-year run. Details here.

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Did you know downtown Omaha attracted 2.8 million visitors in 2025?

Did you know the “world’s largest Hy-Vee” in Gretna employs approximately 500 people?

Did you know that the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s original campus was located at 24th & Pratt Street from 1908 to 1938, when it moved to its present location?

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All Your Friends — Happening May 22
All Your Friends brings an indie sleaze dance party to Slowdown with bloghouse, post-punk revival and early 2010s nostalgia. Expect a high-energy night of synths, sweat and throwback tracks from artists like LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT and more.

Spring Movies at Falconwood: Shrek — Happening May 22
Falconwood kicks off 10 years of outdoor movies with Shrek under the stars. Before the movie, families can enjoy swamp-themed games, pre-show fun, specialty snow cones and themed drink specials.

Night Market Presented by Veridian Credit Union — Happening May 29
Omaha’s Night Market returns to Turner Park with live music, glow yoga, local vendors, lawn games and adoptable dogs. The free evening event brings together shopping, food, drinks and community fun in the heart of Midtown.

Touch-A-Truck — Happening May 30
Kids can climb aboard big vehicles, honk horns and meet the people who operate them at this free family event at Nebraska Furniture Mart. A “No Horn Hour” from 11 a.m. to 12 noon creates a quieter experience for children with auditory sensitivities.

OCM’s 50th Birthday Celebration — Happening May 30–31
Omaha Children’s Museum is celebrating 50 years with a big birthday weekend to kick off a summer-long celebration. Families can join the museum for two full days of fun as OCM marks this major milestone.

Paws at the Park — Happening May 31
Bring your pup to Gretna Crossing Dog Park for a free, tail-wagging afternoon with vendors, dog games, giveaways and off-leash play areas. Dogs should be leashed in vendor areas and have updated vaccines to help keep every pup safe.

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Noddle Companies welcomed Matt Smith as an assistant superintendent. In this role, Smith will support superintendent-level responsibilities on Noddle’s Omaha-area construction and development work.

Consulting-Specifying Engineer has selected two HDR professionals for its 40 Under40 program. Lisa Lyons joined HDR in 2016 and was later promoted to section manager and, in May 2025, to lighting business class lead. Eric Rushenberg is an associate market lead for the technology, media and telecommunications sector.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. reported that director Carmen Tapio retired from the company’s board of directors effective May 12. Tapio founded North End Teleservices, where she served as CEO. She has held leadership roles in Omaha-area organizations including the Greater Omaha Chamber and Omaha’s Inland Port Authority.

The Greater Omaha Chamber is a catalyst and connector, advocating for businesses small and large. Learn, share and grow with more than 12,000 professionals from 3,000 member businesses across Greater Omaha. Click HERE to see our latest events.

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

America’s highest-paying jobs, according to Visual Capitalist, are 1. Pediatric Surgeons; 2. Cardiologists; 3. Surgeons; 4. Orthopedic Surgeons; 5. Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons; 6. Radiologists; 7. Dermatologists; 8. Anesthesiologists; 9. Emergency Medicine Physicians; 10. Ophthalmologists. Yep, the entire top 10 are medical professions!

Forty-one percent of U.S. adults say they feel lonely at least some of the time, according to the 2025 Social Connection in America Report as reported by CNBC. When they feel those pangs of loneliness, many don’t immediately turn to the people around them. Fifty-four percent watch TV, movies or online videos, another 54 percent listen to music, 44 percent sleep and 38 percent turn to social media.

Minnesota has banned prediction markets, making it illegal to host or advertise markets in the state beginning in August, according to The Hustle. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US agency that regulates derivatives markets, is now suing to block the law. While Minnesota is the first state to ban prediction markets, 14 other states have introduced related bills, with two, Hawaii and North Carolina, also seeking full bans.

Omaha has one of the smallest millennial-to-boomer homeownership gaps among the 100 most populous U.S. metros, according to Clever, a real estate data company. In Omaha, Gen Zers own homes at a rate of 6.8%, millennials own at 57.9%, and baby boomers own at 74.4%. This means the homeownership gap between Gen Z and boomers in Omaha is 67.6%, while the gap between millennials and boomers is 16.4%.

Nationally, just 4.5% of Gen Zers own homes compared with 73.1% of boomers — a 68.6% divide and the largest generational homeownership gap on record. About 44.1% of millennials own homes, a gap of 29% with boomers. Notably, the under-30 homeownership rate has fallen 36% since 2005, even as the overall U.S. rate hit a 20-year high of 46.8%.

SALES

As a general rule, I recommend sales pros avoid or work around the procurement department as often as possible. Procurement departments are populated with “professional buyers,” people who are highly trained and experienced. That means they have a built-in advantage over sales professionals.

No disrespect to procurement people, but you’re almost always better off prospecting end users and decision makers. Don’t look at procurement as an enemy, but they aren’t one of your close friends either.

Sometimes the decision maker or end user will send your proposal to procurement for approval and final negotiation. When that happens, don’t assume anything. You still have to actively shepherd your deal. Procurement will likely have less of a sense of urgency than you do.

Negotiation expert, Ray Makela identifies five negotiation tactics procurement departments use to commoditize your offering and get concessions from you:

1. Procurement attempts to discredit or decouple all of the value you worked to build with the business unit buyer. Procurement’s goal is to demystify your value proposition so that they can then compare prices among vendors. Procurement would like to focus on discrete units instead of the overall deal so they can compare least common denominator pricing.
2. Procurement likes to control every aspect of the sale so they can do an apples-to-apples comparison with your competition, thus commoditizing you. The problem is, your “apples” are special right?
3. Procurement flexes their power to control by limiting access to other people in the company. They want to keep the end users out of the process.
4. Procurement wants as much ammunition as possible in their arsenal to use against vendors in an effort to drive down prices and negotiate a commodity deal. They research background information on each vendor to determine if there is information that could be used against a vendor.
5. In order to maintain their leverage, procurement might bring in additional decision makers or create hoops to jump through late in the process. This keeps you guessing. Vendors are then often forced to renegotiate the deal late in the game when the clock is ticking to get it done.

Despite your best efforts, sometimes you’re going to be sent to procurement. Whether you negotiate with procurement or the decision-maker themselves, one thing is always true: don’t go into negotiations lacking confidence.

The number-one reason salespeople are in a week position at the negotiation table is an empty pipeline. When you don’t have enough opportunities in your pipe, you feel desperate. As the old saying goes, you can smell desperation in a sales rep’s breath. “Commission breath” is like blood in the water to procurement sharks.

WISDOM

“The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” – Elbert Hubbard

To my parents’ generation, financial security meant working for the same company your whole life. Then, when you turned 65, they gave you a gold watch, and once a month, you trundled out to the mail box to get your lousy pension check. The size of the check never changed, and you hoped like hell that the company you devoted your life to didn’t go broke. And if you were the breadwinner of the family, and you died, good luck to your heirs.

In 1978, all that began to change. That was the year the 401k program came into being, and it was both revolutionary and evolutionary. It took the responsibility for providing for one’s retirement finances out of the hands of the employer and put it in the hands of the employee. For some, this was fantastic news, and for others, it was a non-event.

A recent study by the University of Texas documents how dramatically different the program impacts individual account owners. The Texas study took data from 401k participants between the ages of 50 and 60 and found some revealing results; The average account balance for this group was $843,742, but the median figure was only $158,272.

As they dug deeper into the numbers, the researchers found that the average balance was skewed upward, because a small number of the account owners had significantly larger balances than those of the majority of their pears. The numbers also revealed that more than half this group had a 401k balance smaller than 20 million 401k participants half their age.

Next, the researchers analyzed the investment choices of the 50-to-60 age group. They discovered that 78 percent of the accounts with larger-than-average balances were concentrated in stock mutual funds, predominantly index mutual funds. Those accounts with balances below the median had a higher portion of their assets in target-date funds. Those funds hold a mix of stocks and bonds, and as the owner ages, the stock portion declines, while the bond portion increases.

There are two factors that contribute to the growth of a 401K account. The first is the employees’ payroll contribution. Next are the investment decisions made by the account owner, and here the employer has not been totally removed from the picture. They have the responsibility for determining the mutual funds listed in the plan’s investment menu.

While it’s impossible to determine the exact impact the investment choices have on asset growth, both parties – employers and employees – must do their homework in order to optimize the outcome.

Your 401k is the gift that keeps on giving. How long and how much it gives depends on how wisely you manage your investment dollars. For more on 401k investment choices, visit my podcast, 401k Investing for Newbies and Nerds. It can be found on Apple Podcast and iHeart.

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Quantum Fiber in Omaha, Nebraska, is super-fast, reliable internet. We did away with data caps, bundles, and pricing gimmicks because you don’t want them. Instead, you get game-changing customer service, transparent pricing, and a powerful app for freedom, simplicity, and control over your internet. Quantum Fiber is what internet service looks like when it’s built for the world of you.

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