Omaha's Holiday Cheer, OPPD Lawsuit Dropped, and Metro Hiring Stays Strong

Good morning, this is Omaha Local Pulse for Thursday, December twenty fifth, and we hope our listeners are easing into the holiday morning with something warm in hand. We start with a big development in local energy news. Omaha Public Power District is getting a Christmas gift of its own. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is dropping the lawsuit against OPPD over its rate structure, according to KIOS in Omaha. That means less uncertainty around how our utility plans future projects and rates, and we can expect OPPD’s long term plans for reliability and clean energy to stay on track without a court fight hanging over them. From city hall, we are in a bit of a holiday pause, but the focus remains on street maintenance and public safety staffing as we head into the new year. City offices are operating on limited hours, and some court and probation offices across Nebraska are closed through Friday. So we plan ahead if we need in person services downtown around the Douglas County Courthouse or the City County Building. Weather wise, we are dealing with dense fog again this morning across much of the metro. KETV reports that fog is hanging over I 80, Dodge Street, and out toward Eppley Airfield. We want to take it slow on those bridges and along Abbott Drive. Temperatures stay chilly but near freezing today, with light winds and a gray, quiet feel. The rest of the day looks mostly dry, so holiday travel around town should be manageable if we build in some extra drive time. On the job front, local recruiters say we still have around ten thousand open positions in the metro, with health care, logistics, and tech support leading the way. Major employers near the Aksarben area and out by 132nd and Center are posting steady hiring, which is good news as we head into January. In real estate, agents say the median home price in the Omaha area is holding around three hundred thousand dollars, with slightly fewer new listings this week as sellers wait for the holidays to pass. West Omaha and the Millard area continue to see quick sales, while downtown condos near the Old Market are taking a bit longer but often closing with small price cuts. Culturally, the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum are quiet today, but we have holiday concerts and family shows returning this weekend. Many local restaurants in the Blackstone District and Benson are planning live music nights tomorrow and Saturday, so we can make some post holiday plans close to home. Looking ahead to community events, we have free public skating times at the Moylan Iceplex and youth basketball tournaments restarting at the Salvation Army Kroc Center on Saturday. Libraries along Dodge and in South Omaha pick back up with kids programs early next week. For schools, several Omaha area high school teams wrapped up winter tournaments this week with strong showings, including OPS and Millard programs in holiday basketball classics, giving our student athletes some momentum before cla This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.