The first issue. Wow. I genuinely don't know how else to start this. I've been building toward this for quite a while, rewriting sections, changing the name, second-guessing pretty much every part of it. And now it's just… here. In your inbox. As of now, I'm a few weeks into college, and this is what I decided to build alongside it. I'm super excited to see where Omaha Circle goes and what kind of community we can build around it. I hope you are too, because you're not just reading this from the start, you're part of the story of how it started. Thank you so much for being one of the first people to actually see it.

I hope your week has been treating you well, now let’s get into it!

The sun's up at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 7:32 p.m., so we're officially getting into that time of year where the evenings start feeling noticeably shorter. At least the air is cooperating, with low pollen and really solid air quality heading into the week. The bigger story is the rain. We are already sitting at 4.06 inches for the month, and with a super rainy week ahead, that number could climb pretty quickly.

And finally, the Omaha Weather Betrayal Count is officially at 1. This is a very scientific number that goes up whenever I personally feel betrayed by Omaha’s weather. After that disgusting heat wave last week, Omaha earned its first point.

This week: Jeff Cooley, owner of Dent Crafters

Walking into Dent Crafters, a local dent and collision repair shop, doesn’t feel like walking into a normal office because you have to go through the entire shop to get there. As I made my way toward the back, the place felt alive. Technicians were working on cars around me, drills were running, and you could hear the banging that comes with dent repair. Then I opened the office door, and the whole feeling changed. There was a couch, a TV, a little kitchenette, artwork on the walls, and the first thing I saw was Jeff smiling at me. After all the noise and movement of the shop, the office felt homey and welcoming. That contrast ended up being a pretty good introduction to Jeff himself.

Jeff has been doing this for 37 years, but he talks about the business with the energy of someone who still enjoys being there. It started when he saw paintless dent repair being done and thought it looked interesting. “I like working with my hands, and I checked it out, and here I am still doing it to this day.” He didn’t expect that decision to turn into nearly four decades in business. But when Jeff talks about what’s kept him around, he talks about people. Customers became friends, those friends sent in their families, and those families kept coming back.

The cars coming through those doors have changed a lot. When Jeff started, most vehicles were steel and had nowhere near the technology packed inside them today. Now there’s aluminum, sensors, cameras, wiring and systems that often need to be calibrated after a repair. As Jeff put it, “You might as well be an electrician also.” He remembers headlights costing around $150 in the ’90s. Today, he said some can run around $4,000. It’s a simple example of how much the industry has changed.

Through all those changes, one thing kept coming up in our conversation: good people. He brought up Jason Moore, someone he works closely with at Dent Crafters, and described him as someone who knows the business inside and out. Then Jeff gave me one of my favorite lines from the conversation: “Sometimes you’ve got to hire people smarter than you.”

I also threw him something completely different. If Jeff were a type of weather, what would he be? His answer: “About 72 degrees, sunny. Little breeze. Piña colada.” I’m not sure there’s a better answer to that question.

I finished by asking what 37 years in business had taught him and what advice he’d give someone just starting out. His answer wasn’t some huge motivational speech. It was quite practical: “Make sure you have all your oars in the water.” Know what business you’re getting into, look at it closely, compare your options and understand what you’re buying before making big decisions. Basically, do your homework before jumping in.

It felt fitting coming from someone who has spent almost four decades in the same business and will still openly tell you he learns something new all the time. The cars have changed, the technology has changed, and the prices have definitely changed. But after sitting down with Jeff, it seems like the things he values most haven’t changed much at all: working with his hands, surrounding himself with good people and taking care of the customers who keep coming back.

Mixins Rolled Ice Cream
Mixins is one of those places I randomly tried and ended up really liking.

They make the ice cream right in front of you on a frozen plate, mixing everything together before rolling it up and adding the toppings. My go-to is the Cookie Monster, which has yet to disappoint me.

There are a lot of good ice cream spots around Omaha, but Mixins is one of those places that's just fun to go to, and the ice cream is seriously good too.

Inside Dairy Chef with Co-Owner Michael Ozum

I talked with Dairy Chef Co-Owner Michael Ozum and let me tell you. That little building is doing a lot more than it looks like from the outside.

During the busy season, Dairy Chef can go through around 1,000 2.5-gallon bags of ice cream every week, with roughly 100–200 of those going toward retail products sold in local Hy-Vee stores.

And the food side is no small operation either. The team preps around 900–1,000 burger patties every three days, cuts through 200–250 pounds of potatoes a day and can sell 150–200 cookie sandwiches in a single day.

On their busiest days, they’ve handled 800+ orders, with a normal busy-season day often landing somewhere in the 600–700 range.

All of that prep starts before the doors even open, with multiple employees arriving around 8 a.m. to cut vegetables, prep fries and burgers, make cookies, and make sure they’re stocked for the rush ahead.

Not bad for a place Michael describes as “chaos half the time.”

6:00 PM | Tunes on Town Square: Taxi Driver
A free outdoor concert in downtown Ralston, plus artists from the Heartland Plein Air Festival painting around the square. More info

7:30 PM | Come From Away
The Tony Award-winning musical is running at the Omaha Community Playhouse. More info

8:00 PM | Niko Moon: Back To My Roots Tour
Feel-good country artist Niko Moon takes over The Astro with Blake Proehl. The show is all ages. More info

5:00 PM | Friday Family Nights at The Union
A free evening of drawing, painting, printmaking and other creative activities at The Union for Contemporary Art. More info

6:00 PM | Midtown Mix: Sal & The All Nighters
Free live country music overlooking Turner Park and the downtown skyline. More info

7:00 PM | Creighton Volleyball vs. Kansas State
Creighton hosts Kansas State at D.J. Sokol Arena for its Powder Blue Out. More info

7:30 PM | Omaha Rodeo
Professional rodeo returns to CHI Health Center with two nights of competition and live entertainment. More info

3:00 PM | Omaha Volleyball vs. Kansas State
The Mavericks take on Kansas State at Baxter Arena. More info

4:00 PM | ACN Food Truck Festival
A free food truck festival at the Autism Center of Nebraska with several local food trucks and a community celebration. More info

6:00 PM | Music in Dundee: Rike
Dundee turns into a little outdoor music venue for two hours of free live music along Underwood Avenue. More info

6:00 PM | One Community Culture Festival Kids Market
Gene Leahy Mall fills with young Omaha entrepreneurs running their own mini businesses and selling what they've created. More info

8:30 AM | Run With A Heart 5k
Run, walk, or cheer at Miller’s Landing. The event supports Special Olympics Nebraska and Women’s Heart Health, with food, music, games, and local vendors. More info

11:00 AM | Mount Michael Fall Festival
A huge fall day in Elkhorn with food, a midway market, bingo, hayrack rides, live music, a kids area and more. General admission is free. More info

4:00 PM | Creighton Volleyball vs. Texas A&M
This might be the sports event of the weekend. Creighton welcomes defending national champion Texas A&M to D.J. Sokol Arena for a Royal Blue Out. More info