Happy Friday, Omaha. You know the drill – grab your coffee (or whatever you sip in the morning), kick back, and let Omaha Brief serve up everything you need to know for the weekend ahead.

📰 In the news

Local happenings: Historic child welfare agencies unite, neon paint takeover at UNO’s Pep Bowl lights up the night, and CLAAS unveils a high-tech machinery research hub — catch up here.

State-level stories: Bruce Springsteen’s restored Electric Nebraska sessions, a new ranking of Nebraska’s top workplaces by employee survey, and fresh cropland soil health baseline data — see what else is brewing.

National headlines: Mortgage rates are trending down, investors catapult gold above 3500 an ounce, and a tropical wave eyes the Antilles — peruse the best of the rest.

Highlights this week

• Master emotional intelligence at Omaha workshop
• Build Excel skills with Excel-erate
• Adoptive and guardianship families find support
• Experience painted sails with Sarah Rowe
• Community gardening with free produce garden club
• Anxiety about debt? Get a free consultation

🫶 We got your back

Trails: Need a break from screen glow? From gentle lakeside loops to sweeping prairie views, these nearby trails give you the fresh-air fix you crave. Check out our favorite Omaha hikes.

Benefits: Navigating Nebraska’s benefits system can feel like solving a Rubik’s Cube in the dark. Our 2025 eligibility guide breaks down every program you could qualify for so you’re not wandering through the maze alone.

Taqueria: From perfectly charred tortillas to fillings that demand a double order, Taqueria Tijuana West brings the kind of flavor that requires extra napkins and zero regrets.

Bargain shopping: The best finds aren’t always on store shelves. Amazon’s Deals Page is like a never-ending treasure hunt where the good stuff costs less, with new discounts dropping daily.

Save: The average driver pays $175 a month for car insurance, but most of us are paying way more than we should. If it’s been a while since you shopped around, you’re likely part of that “most of us.” This comparison tool may save you hundreds.

👀 Why just read it when you could be in it?

Own or manage a local business? Thousands of your future fans read our emails and advertising with us is as easy as it gets. Fill out this quick form and we’ll get you in an upcoming edition!

📆 Around town this weekend

All events are subject to change without notice. This is entirely outside our control. Please check official event pages and social media for the most up to date information.

Have an event to share? Submit it here for free →

Today

🎩 Reimagined: Night of Illusion @ Joslyn Art Museum | Friday (9/5) at 8:00pm – Swap your usual bar crawl for a moonlit museum takeover, where art, cocktails, and live performances collide under hushed galleries. Dress to impress in cocktail attire, hit the cash bar, and mingle with fellow 21+ art buffs for a night you’ll brag about Monday.

🌟 Melanated Magic “Finding Me” @ Reverb Lounge | Friday (9/5) at 8:00pm – Zhomontee’s debut solo show is turning Reverb Lounge into part concert, part therapy session, all heart. It’s a night of familiar love-song bops, candid tales of self-discovery, and enough uplifting vibes to make your inner critic grab a drink and chill.

This weekend

🏺 Ceramics Workshop: Nature Bowl @ The Union for Contemporary Art | Saturday (9/6) at 2:30pm – Whether your pottery pedigree includes wheel-thrown masterpieces or ended at kindergarten play dough, this one-off workshop transforms Abundance Garden leaves into functional art. Press real foliage into hand-built slabs, learn Trudy Swanson’s slab technique, then glaze a nature-inspired bowl.

🎶 The Impulsive Debut EP Anniversary @ Reverb Lounge | Saturday (9/6) at 7:00pm – Reverb Lounge is lighting up for The Impulsive’s debut EP anniversary, with The Tale Untold, Your Last Breath, and Escaping The Eclipse tearing through your playlist live and loud. It’s the perfect excuse to ditch home karaoke and claim you were there first.

🎨 Rockbrook Village Art Fair @ Rockbrook Village | Sunday (9/7) at 10:00am – It’s the 54th annual shindig with 120+ artists showing off everything from ceramics to canvas. Catch live music on the plaza and kid-friendly art activities from Doodle Art Studio while you browse. Free, outdoors, and ultra family-friendly—make a whole day of it.

🍂 Harvest Party @ Mulhall’s | Sunday (9/7) at 11:00am – Nothing says autumn like 402 BBQ, Cedar Creek brews, and Daniel and the Deliverance rocking the pumpkin-dusted greenhouse. Drag the kids through a straw maze, peruse the fall plant sale, sample Fathead honey, then stash your extras in Plant to Give. Pie bragging rights await.

🐉 Dragons Love Tacos: The Musical @ Rose Theater | Sunday (9/7) at 2:00pm – Dragons Love Tacos: The Musical is rolling into town with Robbie, his dog Kodi, and a bunch of taco-obsessed dragons. They promise zero heat, but someone definitely lost the spice memo. Expect catchy songs, friendly mayhem, and just enough small fires to keep things interesting.

Next week

🐕 Leashes @ Lauritzen Gardens | Monday (9/8) at 5:00pm – Forget crowded pubs, leash up Fido for a stroll through gardens draped in blooms, where your dog can sniff out new pals, pose by peonies, sip from water stations, and swap nods with fellow dog lovers. Included with garden admission, dog tickets are free.

🎤 Brooke Alexx: Big(ger) Mouth Tour @ Reverb Lounge | Tuesday (9/9) at 8:00pm – In need of a midweek pick-me-up? Brooke Alexx stomps into Reverb Lounge for her Big(ger) Mouth Tour, with Rosemary Joaquin sharpening the wit in support, and trust me, jokes land harder than your second cup of coffee. Tickets are a steal, so don’t miss out.

🌌 Cosmic Charlie – High Energy Grateful Dead @ The Waiting Room Lounge | Tuesday (9/9) at 8:00pm – An evening at the Waiting Room Lounge means cosmic jams with a sly wink at the Dead. These Athens imports channel Jerry’s spirit without any soundalike slump, just freewheeling solos, friendly faces, and that ’70s magic you forgot you needed.

Wanna see more? Browse our full events calendar →

🎶 Live music & entertainment

• 9/5 Dragons Love Tacos: The Musical @ Rose Theater – 6:30 pm
• 9/6 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and more @ Heartland of America Park – 2 pm
• 9/6 Iced Wrist and more @ Slowdown – 8 pm
• 9/7 Jordy Searcy @ Reverb Lounge – 8 pm
• 9/8 Marcey Yates and more @ Slowdown – 8 pm
• 9/8 Brooks Nielsen of The Growlers @ The Waiting Room – 8 pm
• 9/9 Cosmic Charlie @ The Waiting Room – 8 pm
• 9/9 Wade Forster @ Slowdown – 8 pm

🏠️ Price is right – Omaha edition

How it works: We’re going to give you some facts about a home for sale, including a picture of the outside, the kitchen, and one additional room. Your job? Guess how much it’s listed for (preferably before you click to find out).

Listed by: Mayce Bergman (BHHS Ambassador Real Estate)

Golf course views, a poolside oasis, and a chef’s kitchen make this 1.5-story home anything but ordinary. Intricate woodwork, custom ceiling treatments, and a showpiece primary suite with its own fireplace and private deck access set the vibe. The main floor layout feels bright and open, with soaring ceilings and windows framing the 16th hole at Shadow Ridge.

Upstairs, a loft offers flex space for a gym or office, while the pool house adds 750 square feet and three more garage bays. Out back, a shady pergola and a 20,000-pound concrete deck overlook the pond and wildlife, perfect for watching golfers or sunsets.

Make your guess, then (and only then)… see how much it costs →