Midlands Business Journal August 9, 2019 Vol. 45 No. 32 issue

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AUGUST 9, 2019

THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS

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VOL. 45 NO. 32

TranSystems opens Omaha office amid infrastructure opportunities

THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:

by Richard D. Brown

Concentric Corp. focuses on networking to find ideal job candidates.

– Page 2

40 er d Un 40 Family, military helped shape career for Leo A Daly’s Suhr.

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How to leverage and protect wealth of data at heart of service provider, client partnerships. – Page 4

Kansas City-based TranSystems, an architectural planning, design and construction solutions company specializing in transportation infrastructure, has opened an office serving Nebraska and Iowa based on optimism that the firm’s historical relationships in both the private and public sectors are the ideal foundation on which to build.

“As a transportation-focused consultant for clients, we’re building our business by humanizing large transportation projects that tend to be thought of as concrete and steel,” said Vice President/ Freight Business Leader Kevin D. Hicks.

Hicks, who is opening the TranSystems Omaha office with two employees in Suite 300 of the Landmark Building at 1299 Farnam St., said remodeling that is now underway is to house 12 employees. Positions of bridge engineer, railroad engineer and construction specialist are among those to be filled in upcoming months.

The previous Omaha office of Continued on page 9.

Vice President & Freight Business Leader Kevin D. Hicks … Opening regional office to meet needs (Photo by MBJ / Becky McCarville) of both private and public sectors.

Nebraska Spine and Pain Center grows footprint, explores medical applications

by Michelle Leach

Nebraska Spine and Pain Center continues to evolve in its 56th year with brick and mortar clinics, telemedicine to enhance access and coverage in rural and underserved areas, and consultative services with an eye on high-deductible health insurance plans.

“We saw a lot of patients who needed something other than surgery, but there weren’t other peo-

ple who specialized in the spine; you go see a cardiologist for heart problems, but you may never have been to a ‘spineologist’ for spine problems,” said Orthopedic Spine Surgeon and Physician Partner Dr. Michael C. Longley.

While the National Institutes of Health estimate around 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point, Longley Continued on page 8.

President and CEO Meaghan Walls … Solving human access problems using engineering, assistive technology and universal design.

Assistology combats accessibility barriers for those with disabilities

by Becky McCarville

From left, Orthopedic Spine Surgeon/Physician Partner Michael C. Longley and Executive Director/CEO Mike Leatherman …. Organization leverages tradition of multidisciplinary care, treatment options including but not limited to surgery for conditions affecting the spine.

Meaghan Walls, founder, president and CEO of Assistology, LLC, grew up immersed in conversations about the challenges and barriers faced by people with disabilities. Her mom, Theresa Fitzgerald, was one of the founding CEOs of Children’s Respite Care Center in Omaha in 1990, now known as CRCC. “I was, from a very young

age, in an environment where I was able to see those challenges and think about different ways to do things, and then that kind of led into the direction of my education and professional [career],” she said. “[Product design] and that consideration of the human experience, whether that’s with a product or with a service in a physical environment is really at Continued on page 22.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Concentric Corp. focuses on networking to find ideal job candidates

by Savannah Behrends

Nebraska’s 3% unemployment rate has undoubtly challenged growing companies to look for unique benefits to attract talent but Omaha-based Concentric Corp. argues that it shouldn’t be about benefits but rather people.

Concentric Corporation Phone: 402-991-8400 Address: 14216 Dayton Circle, Suite 1, Omaha 68137 Founded: 2004 by Andy Hawkins Service: Connecting companies looking to fill IT, marketing, sales and executive management positions with candidates that fit their culture, price-point, environment and goals Employees: 12 Industry outlook: A low unemployment rate hasn’t dampened operations since the firm pulls potential employees from a network of passive candidates. Technology jobs continue to be in high demand.

Website: concentriccorp.com

“I’ve been recruiting for executive searches since 1998,” said Concentric President Andy Hawkins. “It has and hasn’t changed in Omaha. It’s still a very tight knit community that’s all about relationships.”

Hawkins staked his career on the importance of relationships when he founded Concentric in 2004. Fifteen years later

Founder and President Andy Hawkins … Company emphasizes finding the right candidate for a job by having open, honest conversations. the operation has tacked on 11 employees before he started, the development of onwho help a mix of large companies find line job boards has created a “less personal, the right IT, marketing, sales and C-Suite more transactional” environment. management employees.

He noted that just because someone “The biggest change has been the ad- has the right qualifications doesn’t mean vancement of technology,” Hawkins said. they’re the right fit; every potential emWhile he admits that technology has ployee has different priorities — from been evolving at a break-neck pace since culture, to health insurance, to salary.

Business Minute

Michael Nelson

Executive Vice President, Sales and Account Management, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Education: Bachelor of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

How I got into the business: Started as an entry-level agent at Mutual of Omaha in Washington, D.C. First job: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Biggest career break: Promotion to CEO of Coventry Health Care, Inc. The toughest part of the job: Helping employers control health care spending.

The best advice I have received: Focus on the business levers that drive success!

About my family: I have a beautiful family! My wife Kyle and our children

Connor, Christopher, Sarah and Emily.

Something else I’d like to accomplish: I would like to identify a post-retirement niche that would prove to be helpful to the community as well as inspiring for me personally.

Book I finished reading recently: “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.”

Something about me not everyone knows: I’m addicted to boats and fishing.

How my business will change in the next decade: Health care will need to be a more collaborative venture — the traditional divisions of the physician, hospital and insurance companies need to change in order to deliver outcomes and costs that employers, government agencies and patients will demand: patients will expect more convenient access and transparency; the clinical and financial models will be required to show efficiency in patient outcomes and satisfaction; there will be more focus on addressing

the social determinants of health.

Mentor who has helped the most in my career: Michael Bahr. Mike was the COO at Coventry Healthcare and SVP at Aetna — An honest, direct supervisor with the ability to simplify complex challenges.

Outside interests: Family, travel, and larger boats.

Pet peeves: Bad manners.

Favorite vacation spot: There are so many fantastic places from which to choose, so I would say it is that last place where we took our annual family vacation: Vancouver and the San Juan Islands.

Other careers I would like to try: None.

Favorite cause or charity: Food banks and charities focused on women and children in crisis.

Favorite app: NOAA.gov, the app for offshore weather and water conditions around the country.

Interested in being featured in the Business Minute? Email news@mbj.com for more information.

“That’s where we come in,” Hawkins said. “If you work with a network you know these people. You know this candidate only wants to drive 20 minutes a day.

You know he’s only looking for health care. You know he wants to work in a certain environment.”

For example, Concentric is currently helping Canary & Coal President Randa Zalman find two additional team members. Concentric asked Zalman what personality style she was looking for, what her long-term vision was, and what kind of background she was looking for. Six weeks later Zalman was interviewing multiple candidates whose goals and work preferences lined up with hers.

Concentric pulls potential employees from a network of passive candidates that’s been built up for years, another reason that low unemployment hasn’t affected Concentric’s capabilities.

In most cases candidates aren’t looking for a new position when Concentric reaches out.

“Which is good, that means they’re paid and treated well,” Hawkins said. “But in a couple weeks they call back and tell us they’d like to talk about other possibilities and that’s were the relationship starts.”

This also gives Concentric time to find the right fit.

Because the firm doesn’t pitch jobs it can sometimes be years in between the original meeting and a potential job fit.

Maintaining these relationships means consistent engagement through events and communication.

In recent years it has also meant a more aggressive social media and marketing strategy following the addition of MarketContinued on page 11.

Midlands Business Journal Established in 1975

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER, Robert Hoig

ADMINISTRATION VP OF OPERATIONS, Andrea “Andee” Hoig

EDITORIAL EDITOR & VICE PRESIDENT OF NEWS, Tiffany Brazda EDITORIAL ASSISTANT, Savannah Behrends STAFF WRITER, Becky McCarville

ADVERTISING ADVERTISING CONSULTANT, Catie Kirby ADVERTISING CONSULTANT, Julie Whitehead OFFICE OFFICE ASSISTANT, Rosemary Gregurich BOOKKEEPING/LEGAL NOTICES, Beth Grube

(402) 330-1760 Zane D. Randall (1925-2006) Co-founder LeAnne M. Iwan (1932-1986) First News Editor

The Midlands Business Journal (ISSN 0194-4525) is published weekly plus one by MBJ Inc. and is available for $2.00 per individual copy or $75 per year. Editorial offices are 1324 S. 119th St., Omaha, NE 68144. Periodical postage paid at Omaha NE POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Midlands Business Journal, 1324 S. 119th St., Omaha, NE 68144. All submissions to the Midlands Business Journal become the property of the Midlands Business Journal and will not be returned.

Written permission must be obtained from Midlands Business Journal and MBJ, Inc., to post any of our stories or other published materials on a website. Under no circumstances, because of spamming potential and other issues, will permission be granted to transmit our stories by email.

-The Publisher.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

Family, military helped shape career for Leo A Daly’s Suhr Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of profiles featuring Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winners — entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and professionals under 40 years of age.

by Dwain Hebda

Like most successful people, Leslie Suhr’s career is paved with hard work, attention to detail and a little good luck here and there. But she also cited two major influences that have helped her become one the area’s most in-demand landscape architects at the age of 35: her father and her 17 years with the Nebraska Army National Guard. “ I n i t i a l l y, I worked construction with my father,” said the Waverly native.

“I was that kid who liked Legos and building things and tearing them apart and building them again. That led my initial interest in architecture.

“Then, there are types of processes that are part of my military career that followed through to my civilian life, definitely. I use them every day.”

Suhr, associate and project architect with Leo A Daly, said the demands the military puts on one to accomplish a mission whatever the obstacles, is a great proving ground for life in the business world.

“If someone superior to you gives you an order, you follow it. If there’s questions to be asked you ask in the most respectful way possible,” she said. “You don’t say no; you pose an alternative. Before you say it’s wrong,

Leslie Suhr, associate and project architect … Excelling at both sustainable projects and advocating for the organization she works for. you’d better have a solution in your back pocket background, being outside as a kid with my because it doesn’t do anybody any good to just dad, we didn’t do a ton of landscape, but you shoot things down without an option to move were exposed to it. forward in a different direction.”

“So, it was a little bit of an overlap just Suhr chose her professional field while enjoying the outdoors to begin with, with the at University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she received a Bachelor of Science in Design and Proud Sponsors of the 2018 Architectural Studies and a minor in landscape architecture with distinction.

“There were a lot of different opportunities to minor in something and diversify your resume,” she said. “With my construction

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design side and understanding composition and the arrangement of spaces in an outdoor setting and how they can kind of blend together nicely.”

Suhr’s work is notable for its emphasis on sustainability and incorporating healthy building practices at the earliest possible stage. Her resume includes projects as large as 100,000-square-foot corporate headquarters environments.

She’s also an active and vocal agent for change within the company itself. One of the firm’s youngest associates, she is the founder of its young professional group and has been a vocal influencer in matters that help evolve company culture.

“I talk a lot and ask a lot of questions,” she said. “We had the opportunity to begin this internal young professionals group, which gave us a collective voice. Having a collective voice, saying, ‘Hey, we should try this’ or ‘Have we thought about this?’ from a group of 30 people, pushed the boundaries a little bit. I was a ring leader of that, if you will.”

Balancing everyone’s needs and goals — including the company’s — provides plenty of fodder for the future, both for attracting talent and for how that talent maintains balance and thrives.

“We’ve struggled so much to give employees everything they need at their fingertips as a talent and a retention thing, now they’re at work so much are they really balancing it? Are they really going to be spending the time they need to be away?” Suhr said.

40 Under 40:

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Technology A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

August 9, 2019

How to leverage and protect wealth of data at heart of service provider, client partnerships better understand how the Capital One breach

by Michelle Leach Another week; another massive data breach. happened, with their eye on policies that address In the fallout of the Capital One breach that vulnerabilities; a former Amazon software exposed 100 million-plus stateside credit appli- engineer is suspected of hacking into personal information, including Social Securications stored in Amazon Web Serty and bank account numbers, stored vices’ cloud, local professionals are on Amazon’s cloud service platform. highlighting day-to-day protection Kandel highlighted the imporof business data, alongside how to tance of Managed Security Services leverage big data to grow day to day.

Providers (MSSP) certification, as “My message is that, if you own validation and peace of mind for a business, you really have to talk to owners who are looking to partner an expert to help you secure it — you with vendors. need to have an already strong IT “That’s huge in our industry right partner that can also help you back now,” she said. that data up,” said CMIT Solutions Regarding back-up, Kandel of West Omaha’s Principal Owner Stavick indicated recent flooding further Puja Kandel.

At the time of this writing, Congressional underscores the need for disaster recovery and leaders were setting up staff-level briefings to “regular maintenance” associated with security

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Puja Kandel, principal owner of CMIT Solutions of West Omaha. backups. She also frequently referred to multi- today especially for a migration of an existing layer security, with multiple controls or layers to system, as well as a plan of attack to achieve protect resources and data. the desired infrastructure of tomorrow over a “Cybersecurity is an incredibly important reasonable timeframe.” aspect to what we do in the technology space, Business process automation also remains but it’s one that’s oftentimes overlooked until a common request, as clients realize they need it’s too late,” said Aviture Solutions Architect to leverage technology to augment their human Brandon Suponchick. resources — conversations spawned not with a Since it’s a space many are unfamiliar with, desire to replace employees with automation, it’s often an expensive ticket item to sell to de- Suponchick said, but to allow employees to cision-makers. focus more on the creative aspects of their jobs.

Fellow Solutions Architect Aaron Gilliland Companies are also realizing they are colreferred to the likes of denial of service attacks lecting more than enough information to become and ransomware attacks across cloud providers a data-driven organization whereas, he said, they that require immediate escalation to senior exec- formerly thought they didn’t have enough data utives, key partners, even government officials to get started.

— “doomsday” cyber-scenarios that require “We’re placing an emphasis on building up decision-making and the collection of meeting our cloud practice in response to these trends,” he info live to ensure everyone is up-to-date and said, referring to both employee training and ceraware of the status in responding to the situation. tification processes. “We’ve found (sometimes Beyond security, Suponchick said the indus- the hard way) that anyone can jump into a project try went from the surge of “move everything to to migrate systems to the cloud but having the the cloud immediately” to intelligent conver- knowledge and foresight at our back to discuss sations of how, when and if it makes sense to a longer-term strategy for these migrations is transition critical infrastructure. something we want to be able to offer our clients “At the same time, the major cloud vendors as a differentiator.” are offering more and more hosted services that Suponchick also referenced how working make considering new projects in a ‘cloud-na- with systems that have been developed on old tive’ infrastructure even more attractive,” he said. technologies is a hard-sell for recent college “Solutions architects now have to consider the grads/future tech leaders. right blend of on-prem[ises] and cloud-hosted In the talent vein, Do Space recently hosted Continued on page 6. options that best meet the needs of the business

Technology •

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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Cloud collaboration tools offer easy, safe access to important information

by Gabby Christenen

Tech experts across the board agree that cloud collaboration tools are helping to make work more efficient for remote team members.

Michelle Shanholtz, vice president of product management at TEAM Software, said information and data sharing in a single repository is crucial for maintaining clear direction and instant access to primary work processes.

“When team members are sharing and gathering information from the same place regardless of geographic location, the organization can reach greater productivity Fischer levels, maximize focus on critical tasks, and accelerate feedback and response,” she said.

Cloud collaboration tools bring people together professionally and socially.

“The tools require a full commitment from the organization and need to be fully accepted and utilized,” Shanholtz said. “If team members trust the collaboration process and fully engage, the results are extremely positive. The organizational culture must encourage full acceptance of virtual collaboration and reinforce the benefits to work environment. Team members that embrace the tools are enjoying better connections with peers across the organization and are empowered by the access to people and information.”

She said professional networks can also be transformed as virtual collaboration can reach

outside to other organizations.

“The ability for an engineer in Nebraska to share and collaborate instantly with resources across the globe flattens learning curves, invigorates organizations with new information, and changes the landscape of teamwork, growth and development,” Shanholtz said.

Across industries, Eric Fischer, director of product at Buildertrend, said more businesses are turning to cloud-based tools to boost productivity.

“Smartphones have made workers more connected than ever, and remote employees now have the Kruse ability to collaborate in real-time, no matter the location, with project management apps,” he said. “These range from industry-agnostic tools to industry-specific platforms like Buildertrend, which is designed for construction professionals. In minutes, workers can receive status updates on projects and communicate key information to keep business running smoothly, on budget and in front of deadlines.”

Combined with the latest cutting-edge machine learning technology, Fischer said project management tools can take business intelligence to another level with AI removing human bias and offering a greater understanding of business pain points.

“For example, an AI-powered project management tool could alert business owners

Michelle Shanholtz, VP, product management at TEAM Software. to a potential cash shortage before a human DOTComm, said there is an abundance of tools user might notice the problem and come to that available to assist with remote work. conclusion,” Fischer said. “In less digitized “All of the major technology providers industries like construction, which remains offer instant messaging, shared workspaces, heavily reliant on pen and paper, that extra level video chat and client relationship management of visibility translates into higher productivity systems and most firms use these extensively,” and profitability.” he said. “What has changed recently, is that Additionally, Fischer said cloud-based tools there are so many options available, employees can be easily integrated with other technologies get confused and firms need to be clear as to through application programming interfaces, which are strategic. It is important to create a often greatly expanding the capabilities of the unified strategy to integrate voice, video, text core technology. and knowledge management so that employees Derek Kruse, chief information officer at Continued on page 7.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

• Technology

Planning a technology buy? Think about security, scalability, service, say experts

by Dwain Hebda

Technology isn’t cheap and it changes fast, meaning business owners must plan their technology buys wisely to make their

Denise Mainquist, founder and managing director of ITPAC Consulting. “Even if you are not regulated, you still have customer information and employee information that Continued on page 12.

Protect wealth of data

Tyler Fiene, director of operations at Dice Communications.

Wiechman Mainquist investment go farther. Technology experts advise keeping an eye on the “3 S’s” — scalability, security and service.

“In regard to data and voice cabling, we always suggest if they’re going to be there for five-plus years to cable for the future,” said John Wiechman, director of integrated systems with Kidwell. “Installing 6A cabling for 10 gigabytes will get them what they need today and allow future growth for tomorrow for their wired desktop solutions or for their wireless access points.”

Wiechman said once installed, a proper cabling system generally doesn’t require much updating, but the same cannot be said for other office technology.

“If we’re talking about cameras or access control, building automation, there’s been a lot of changes the past few years.

We like to talk to customers annually on that,” he said. “One of the biggest ones we’re seeing is on the security camera side, where analytics are becoming a big key. You can build an entire profile of where a person came into the building, where they went and when they left.”

Security is another consideration when planning a technology purchase, even though many smaller companies still think they are not a target for cybercriminals.

“No matter how small your business is, you need a cybersecurity program,” said

Continued from page 4. its Women Innovators Fellowship Showcase, featuring April Goettle, Bianca Zongrone Jefferson and Carina Glover — fellows who developed projects that address challenges facing women in tech and tech entrepreneurship.

Citing Fortune stats, Do Space reports women founders receive only 2.2% of venture capital dollars. Furthermore, women hold less than a quarter of Omaha’s tech jobs.

Executive Director Rebecca Stavick described the projects as “ambitious,” spanning a resource website and job board to promote work opportunities, a survey to better understand why Omaha women leave tech majors and careers, and a mobile app for women entrepreneurs and freelancers in fashion, beauty, entertainment, events and PR. “We hope this program and their projects will continue to raise awareness and advance technology initiatives in the Midwest,” Stavick said.

Do Space is further leveraging new, disruptive technologies, as she referred to how artificial intelligence and big data present opportunities for highly-individualized consumer products and services.

“Disruptive technologies change how we do business,” she said. “That change isn’t always easy, but the end result is increased efficiency and cost savings.”

Gilliland also noted how small businesses may not see a benefit to pursuing a new software paradigm when they’re asking to sort tables faster in tools like Excel; accordingly, he referred to remaining “practical” as an engineer by seeing solutions through the customer’s eyes, rather than through the provider’s. In turn, an environment of accelerated deliveries is fostered that allows for easier customer adoption.

Technology •

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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Cybersecurity challenges for small businesses: education and cost

by David Kubicek

A common reason many small firms lag behind larger companies in cybersecurity readiness is that they believe the cost is greater than the risk.

In reality, small firms are targets just as much as large ones and basic firewall and virus protection is relatively inexpensive, according to Dario Dulovic, owner of DME Computer Services.

“Many small businesses don’t realize that much of the information for educating themselves and their employees is free through government resources,” he said.

Small firms should spend a little now on cybersecurity or they may have to pay more later. System downtime equals lost productivity and revenue. In the business-to-business sphere the cost may include damage to a firm’s relationships, reputation, ransom costs, recovering lost work and rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.

In 2018, cyberattacks were up 424% from the previous year. According to Cisco, 50% of small businesses experienced a security breach by 2018.

“Lots of small businesses don’t have cyber insurance, but it usually isn’t a big cost for them,” Dulovic said. “No system is 100% secure. Have a backup onsite and offsite. It will save your business.”

Chase Unruh, health care services team lead at InfiNet Solutions, said the biggest security risk to an organization is the employee.

“It doesn’t always have to be intentional or malicious, but most of the time it’s the lack of training,” he said. “Phishing attempts are

so easy right now and the emails are crafted so well that most people don’t realize it’s fake. All it takes is one click on the wrong link and you’re allowing a hacker open door access past all security that has been put into place. With proper training, you can teach employees what to look for and to always remain skeptical. We usually tell people that

officer at FNTS. “[Small firms] are typically the easiest to hack because they have easily exploitable configurations or haven’t taken steps to secure devices,” he said. “The reason many small businesses are good targets is their lack of understanding of the risk.”

The National Institute of Standards and

for small businesses than hiring a dedicated security professional.

Keeping hardware and software up to date reduces risk. Microsoft will no longer be patching Windows 7 and Windows Server after the end of this year, which presents a huge security risk. Anti-malware software that is actively updated is also a must.

“Moving infrastructure to the cloud provides an additional layer of security,” Lutz said. “Your data sits behind enterprise class firewalls and runs on infrastructure secured beyond what most small businesses can afford.”

Cloud collaboration tools Dulovic Unruh if they’re not expecting it, don’t click on it.”

Firms should have their IT team go over some of the technologies they are using, how they can keep the company safe and what options there are for improvement. Technologies like multi-factor authentication can help immensely with securing access into a firm’s network and resources.

“Be proactive with your security,” Unruh said. “Waiting until an attack has occurred can be devastating for a small business.”

Many small businesses may not be aware of the risks other businesses face so they aren’t able to properly assess the risks to their organization, according to Robert LaMagna-Reiter, chief information security

LaMagna-Reiter Lutz Technology (NIST) publishes a guide for small and medium-sized businesses that helps them understand their cyber risk and makes recommendations for developing a cybersecurity strategy.

“Usually small businesses don’t think they need to buy the same depth and breath of technology as large companies,” LaMagna-Reiter said. “It can be as simple as using administrative passwords to limit access to information and making sure everything is patched.”

Alex Lutz, tech service manager at Lutz, said bringing in a third party to evaluate, make recommendations and assist with remediation is usually a more cost-effective option

Continued from page 5. can be as efficient as possible.”

Kruse said there is a real opportunity for technology providers to help deal with the problem of over-stimulation and confusion.

He said any and all software and technology solutions now need to be engineered for remote collaboration and social connectivity.

“Where once you would purchase a technology item at a store, and perhaps even have professional installation, today you purchase it online, install it yourself and use the corresponding mobile app to collaborate directly with the manufacturer,” Kruse said. “You then get online and write a review of the product so others can learn from your experience. This has completely changed the technology field in general and creates opportunities for improvement, but also challenges when it comes to ensuring a quality end-user experience.”

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Nebraska Spine and Pain Center grows we added Columbus,” Leatherman said, Continued from page 1. a reference to the Healthpark Medical emphasized not everyone needs surgery; Office Building location. “That’s a good indeed, the organization with a main clinic community, and it’s well-served. For all of at 13616 California St. in Omaha offers our satellite clinics, it takes a community a range of treatment options including a commitment.” team of physical therapists specializing in As Leatherman said 40% of its popmanual therapy, strength and conditioning, ulation comes from outside of Nebraska posture corrections and treat neurological, metro areas, he noted Nebraska Spine and sports-related, motor vehicle accident and Pain Center remains open to developing work-related conditions. additional satellite clinics in markets such “Maybe 1 in 7 patients needs surgery,” as Scottsbluff or Valsaid Longley. “A lot entine. of these people have Nebraska Spine and “We’re not just never had a proper Pain Center looking at telemedidiagnosis, and they Phone: 402-496-0404 cine, but at different have no education as Address: 13616 California St., Suite online tools for pato what they should 100, Omaha 68154 tient engagement,” be worried about.”

Services: comprehensive spine care for he added. “It’s not L o n g l e y , a patients of all ages just millennials; board-certified or- Founded: 1963 by Dr. James R. even grandma has t h o p e d i c s u rg e o n Scott-Miller an iPhone and, bew i t h a r o u n d 3 0 Website: nebraskaspineandpain.com tween iPhones years’ industry exand laptops, we pertise, notes the team has seen patients want to make it easier to communicate treated inappropriately elsewhere, and are with us.” in worse pain and shape than before they Additional investments have centered sought care. on educating patients on their health care “Some marks of quality include people costs, and about their insurance plans. who have been at this for a while,” he said.

“We have three full-time financial “It’s not a fly-by-night business. They’ve counselors,” he said. “Ten years ago, we got a tradition and a reputation, and they didn’t have any. Over the course of the last are ethical. They do take care of people three years that has grown, because more properly, and not necessarily with the of the responsibility of the overall cost has latest, faddish [technologies].” been shifted to the patient.”

Nebraska Spine and Pain Center has Longley also referenced dwindling been early-adopters of technologies now health care budgets, the aging population, part of household conversation; for exand obesity-related diseases. ample, computer-guided surgery, digital “The reality is, 25 years ago I would X-rays and EMR [electronic medical see the occasional obese person,” he said. records].

“Now, it’s epidemic … we’ve got to get There are also limitations to technolohealthier. If you live in countries like gies such as telemedicine and AI (artificial Australia and New Zealand, exercise is intelligence). Longley chuckled when medicine.” recalling the story of a patient with whom As a page from that book, Longley AI had flagged as not being able to use an emphasized partnerships with aquatic antibiotic, because it couldn’t verify if the exercise program providers and wellness patient was pregnant. centers — a nod to the importance of mul“The patient was an 80-year-old lady,” tidisciplinary approaches.

Longley said. “AI is not really intelligent, When choosing providers, Longley but I’m hopeful it’s going to get smarter.” also referenced credible resources such Likewise, Longley referred to studies as the North American Spine Society, on pediatric telemedicine patients with ear Cervical Spine Research Society and infections who were prescribed antibiotics SpineUniverse. inappropriately in 40% of cases.

“But I just talked to a doctor out in Central City [Nebraska] who sent me an MRI scan, I knew the patient and the story, and could give some guidance,” he said. “So, there are some opportunities for telemedicine.”

Generally, these types of technologies can be “useful adjuncts,” according to Longley.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Mike Leatherman also referred to effectively using telemedicine to bridge the miles and efficiently apply physician resources.

For your convenience “We’re exploring a couple of communities and employers who are interested in you can now update telemedicine,” he said. “The idea isn’t to your records by simply hire more surgeons, but to provide better coverage. And telemedicine can be a tool emailing any new info to or part of that.” subscriptions@mbj.com or Likewise, communities must be receptive to the addition of bricks and mortar navigating directly to our clinics; satellites are located in Fremont, website and filling out Grand Island and Lexington. an update form.

“Probably three or four years ago,

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Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

9

TranSystems opens Omaha office amid infrastructure opportunities from the University of Missouri-Rolla in Continued from page 1.

TranSystems was closed during the reces- 1993, said the Omaha office is being set sion about 10 years ago, although projects up to be responsive to the needs, stanfor clients such as Union Pacific, Nebraska dards and internal investment necessary Department of Roads and Iowa Department to effectively compete for success with of Transportation have continued, being transportation projects.

“Transportation projects differ from administered out of Kansas City.

Nationally, TranSystems — which is one county to the next and from one railroad to the next,” he employee owned — said. “We are capitalhas increased its pay- TranSystems ized with a focus on roll from about 800 to Phone: 531-600-5888 the people and build850 employees with Address: 1299 Farnam St, Suite 300, ing relationships by clients that include Omaha 68102 being able to draw 37 state departments Services: engineering and architectural out what’s really imof transportation, 15 planning, design and construction solutions portant to the client toll agencies, 250 for transportation infrastructure on each project.” municipalities, six Founded: 1966 by Herbert Johnson, GerHicks said his Class 1 railroads, 74 ald Brickell and Edward Mulcahy in Kansas quarter of century passenger rail and City. of civil engineertransit agencies and Employees: 2 in Omaha; 850 companying experience has divisions, 25 port wide. reinforced the imand marine author- One-year goal: Grow Omaha office servportance of underities and divisions ing Nebraska and Iowa. standing the needs and federal agencies Industry outlook: A $290 billion infrastrucof a project early on such as Naval Fa- ture bill coming out of Senate committee is rather than assuming cilities Engineering sparking optimism. wants and needs beCommand and U.S. Website: www.transystems.com ing met on projects Army Corps of Enthat run the gamut from small to large. gineers, among others.

“They can be as small as a 100-foot Among a handful of design firms fully dedicated to transportation projects, Tran- bridge over a waterway or as large as a Systems was the largest in 2018 based on freight rail corridor that costs hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. “They can be Engineering News-Record’s rankings.

Hicks, a native of Springfield, Mis- private-sector projects that last a month or souri, who earned his Bachelor of Science large public projects that can take from five

to 25 years to complete.”

Hicks, who started a 25-year career with Union Pacific as a management trainee in Omaha in 1993 and moved to and from Omaha for multiple UP assignments, left the railroad earlier this year as assistant vice president of engineering design. He said the greater acceptance of mass transit systems make this an exciting time for being a civil engineer with a transportation specialty.

Too often, he said, projects come too late in order for available property to be acquired and it becomes more expensive to fit a transportation corridor into an already developed area.

Regionally, Hicks said the capacity of I-80, which has been expanded from three lanes in the 1960s to up to 10 lanes now demonstrates the huge necessity mass transit has become across the country.

“The higher speed rail networks being designed now are both faster and cleaner,” he said.

In aviation, Hicks said, airports are being designed to more effectively meet the needs of travelers.

Hicks said an especially fascinating area receiving more attention is data collection and the amount of information available for quick transmission. Cameras and sensors are being put into smart networks that enable collected information to be used to make driving a better experience.

“The challenge to me is to be the local trusted consultant again after a period of [our company] not being here locally and reengaging the local clients as we grow our business again,” he said.

Bridge, rail and highway engineering projects will likely benefit from an upswing in the past few years of enrollment in college engineering programs. In part, this is due to better programs in elementary as well as secondary schools in getting students interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines.

Future local and regional transit projects are dependent on that, Hicks said.

TranSystems, formed in 1966, has grown to deliver services to all sectors of the transportation and federal marketplaces. Services are delivered throughout the asset life cycle, from concept to construction to long-term operations, maintenance and rehabilitation.

Follow us on @mbjpublications

10

• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Convey the right image with a well-thought-out building exterior

by Jasmine Heimgartner

Constructing a new building or renovating an existing structure is an exciting time for a thriving business. Although the main focus may be on getting the right interior efficiencies in place to create a welcoming, productive environment, how it looks from the outside also plays an important role.

“The clients or customers need to recognize the business instantly,” said Jack H. Jackson, architect/ CEO, Jackson-Jackson & Associates.

“The most influential image will be the architectural features of the building; a branded look recognizable from a distance, whether it be through Jackson the architecture, color of exterior materials, signage, landscaping or paving uniqueness.”

During the design process, elements surrounding the structure should be considered to create a unique structure that conveys the business’s brand and messaging.

“When a strong design concept is in place, it will help guide all of the related decisions,” said Matthew Gulsvig, architect/ senior associate at DLR Group. “Depending on the scale and location, a building may be experienced from miles away and could therefore directly change the look of a city’s skyline. The vehicular and pedestrian approach to a building are more intimate experiences and include considerations of sight lines, lighting, landscape, hardscape, texture

Scott Nordstrom, design lead, Altus Architectural Studios. and shadow. It’s always exciting to envision and pedestrian flow. Landscape design can the approach to a building and, especially for provide outdoor gathering areas and, in many workplace clients, how that walk from the ways, it extends the building footprint to the parking lot to the building might set the tone outdoor environment. At night, landscaping for someone’s day.” provides great lighting opportunities that An often overlooked aspect is landscap- draws the attention of the public to the office ing. façade in its exterior context.”

“It can make a huge difference for big, While all those elements are important, first impressions,” said Scott Nordstrom, the design of the actual building itself can design lead at Altus Architectural Studios. convey the welcoming feel many businesses “Moving beyond the initial impression, a seek. well-landscaped facility can direct traffic “We are seeing the use of more earthy col-

ors with some color accent, whether it be used at the windows, facias, color accent façade elements or signage,” Jackson said. “The use of insulated metal panels and simulated wood are also becoming popular trends. Stone set in ashlar patterns seems to be a very popular material now, lending a warmth, texture and interest to building exteriors.”

When making those decisions, it’s important to remember that this is a long-term investment that requires careful consideration. Some trends may never go out of style, but others do. The design process should be forward-thinking to ensure a structure has Gulsvig staying power.

“Material selection is part of the design process and should not be made based on popularity,” Gulsvig said. “Selections should be a result of a client’s goals and the design concept with considerations of the surrounding context, quality, maintenance and budget. Traditional materials (brick, stone, concrete, metal) are still used and requested regularly. The beauty of where we are with advanced design technology and fabrication processes is that designers can take traditional building materials and use them in different ways.”

Technology has allowed for achieving the look of wood without the maintenance on plastics, porcelain tiles and metals. Advances Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

11

Struggles but no regrets: They graduated during, and survived, the Great Recession

by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

Ashley Ross crossed the graduation stage at Johnson C. Smith University 10 years ago with a smile, a degree and big dreams. But what awaited the first-generation college student was anything but Economy hopeful.

Like the rest of the country then, Charlotte’s economy was in the middle of the Great Recession and Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate was 10.4% — a 20-year high. The picture was even worse for new college graduates.

Ross finished school just as the national unemployment rate soared to 15% for people SUPER CROSSWORD

ages 20 to 24.

We recently spoke with four people who graduated from local universities in 2009.

They shared stories of personal struggles and job insecurity at the height of the recession.

They recalled taking low-wage jobs while wondering how they would repay tens of thousands of dollars of student debt.

Ten years in, they’re all employed. But economists are warning of another economic downturn as soon as 2020 or 2021, and a new generation of college graduates could soon face the same challenges.

Students graduating during a recession are hit especially hard, said Kenny Colbert, POETIC LICENSE

president of human resources consulting company The Employers Association. In an economic downturn, graduates may not find jobs in their industry of choice, if at all, and often take low-paying jobs out of necessity, Colbert said.

It’s the kind of compromise that can affect a young person’s career trajectory and earning potential in the long-term, Colbert said.

“Everybody was kind of hurt by the recession,” he said. “But some are always hurt more than others.”

Ashley Ross Ross experienced this hurt first-hand.

Even after earning an undergraduate degree in criminology and a Master’s in Public Administration, she had to work in a Kohl’s stockroom.

“As a millennial we always want to put on a brave face,” she said. “No matter what the situation is, even if we are dead broke, we’re still at Starbucks.”

Ross said she was not ashamed about working at Kohl’s. She hopes young people, and especially people of color like herself, will be inspired by her non-traditional career path.

As the first in her family to go to college, Ross had a lot to prove. She was raised by her mother, who was the director of a Boys and Girls Club in Ross’ hometown of Atlantic City, N.J. Her mother worked tirelessly, but couldn’t afford to buy her own home or pay her daughter’s college tuition.

Ross took out close to $100,000 in student loans for her undergraduate degree, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, Springfield, and an online Ph.D. program she did not complete. She is still paying them off.

After graduating with her master’s in 2011, the market was still in recovery.

Ross wanted to work in the nonprofit sector and after getting her graduate degree she found a job as assistant director of grants and contracts at the same Boys and Girls Club where her mom had worked when Ross was growing up. She was happy to find a job in her field, but was only making $25,000 a year.

Now, Ross is area director of the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina in Charlotte, a nonprofit that works to find permanent homes for children in foster homes.

She enjoys her job, but she is also a part-time entrepreneur.

To protect against another recession, Ross said she and her husband run several side businesses. The couple own an interior design

Concentric Corp.

Answers on page 12.

Continued from page 2. ing Manager Hannah Coleman.

“For 12 years we were trying to be the quiet company in town, but we’ve made an effort to be seen and we’d like to see that grow,” Hawkins said.

He’d also like to add about two or three business development managers to the Omaha office as well as additional employees for the Arizona office.

“I don’t want to be a 20 or 30 person firm though because then it becomes more transactional,” he said.

At the end of the month Concentric will host the 14th Annual Client Appreciation Golf Tournament at Quarry Oaks Golf Course, where Hawkins anticipates a crowd of 150.

firm, Muse Noire, manage an Airbnb behind their Gastonia home and run a child sunglasses business, Nomi Noire, that benefits their 1-year-old daughter Naomi’s college fund.

Ross said her daughter will be raised in a two-parent household, in a family that owns their own home and has friends with successful professional careers.

For her part, Ross said she always tries to stay positive.

“All of my life experiences I’m so excited to now give to our daughter,” she said. “This 1-year-old has no idea the stuff that we have in store for her to show her.”

Casey Ferri When Casey Ferri imagined law school, her vision did not include working more than 35 hours a week in a law office while also a full-time student.

After starting at Winthrop University with the goal of being a teacher, she decided to attend law school for a chance to make more money.

Ferri graduated from Winthrop and enrolled at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., in 2009, but quickly realized that the Great Recession killed any chance of getting a cushy job and six-figure salary right out of law school.

So she worked full-time at a law office while getting her law degree, even though her professors advised against it. Even then, she still took out loans.

But the work was worth it. Two years after graduation, Ferri and her husband paid off the $70,000 they had collectively taken out for their graduate degrees.

Entry-level jobs in the law profession were scarce at the time, Ferri said, and she could not find a job practicing elder law, which she had specialized in at Stetson. So, she started her own practice.

“I never would have done that otherwise,” she said.

Ferri said she came out stronger because of it. Today, Ferri practices elder law and estate planning at a Charlotte firm.

If there’s another recession, Ferri said she and her husband would not suffer as much because they live below their means and have money saved.

Her advice for students graduating during a recession: be the best at what you Continued on page 13.

Convey the right image Continued from preceding page. in concrete and stone also have made it easier to get varied looks at lower costs. Other materials often incorporated include glass, which can help bring the outdoors inside, and metals. Regardless of which is the right look, most materials available adhere to one trend that looks to be around for good: sustainability.

“A big picture trend that clients are expressing preference for are products that are environmentally friendly,” Nordstrom said.

“Though there are organizations that will help certify a ‘green’ building, the documentation comes at an additional cost that clients may prefer not to incur. Sustainability awareness has been raised over the years, which has pushed building materials to move in the sustainable direction. As a result, manufacturers have responded, and a variety of products are now available making it easy to design sustainable, environmentally friendly buildings.”

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

California farmers are planting solar panels as water supplies dry up

by Sammy Roth

Jon Reiter banked the four-seat Cessna aircraft hard to the right, angling to get a better look at the solar panels glinting in the afternoon sun far below.

The silvery panels Agriculture looked like an interloper amid a patchwork landscape of lush almond groves, barren brown dirt and saltbush scrub, framed by the blue-green strip of the California Aqueduct bringing water from the north. Reiter, a renewable energy developer and farmer, built these solar panels and is working to add a lot more to the San Joaquin Valley landscape.

“The next project is going to be 100 megawatts. It’s going to be five times this size,” Reiter said.

Solar energy projects could replace some of the jobs and tax revenues that may be lost as constrained water supplies force California’s agriculture industry to scale back. In the San Joaquin Valley alone, farmers may need to take more than half a million acres out of production to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which will ultimately put restrictions on pumping.

Converting farmland to solar farms also could be critical to meeting California’s climate change targets. That’s according to a new report from the Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit.

Working with the consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics, the conservancy tried to figure out how California could satisfy its appetite for clean energy without destroying ecologically sensitive lands across the American West. The report lays out possible answers to one of the big questions facing renewable energy: Which areas should be dedicated to solar panels and wind turbines, and which areas should be protected for the sake of wildlife, outdoor recreation, farming and grazing?

One takeaway from the report, released this week: California will need hundreds or maybe thousands of square miles of solar

power production in the coming decades — and it would make sense to build one-third to one-half of that solar capacity on agricultural lands, mostly within the state.

In part, that’s because the Central Valley is more ecologically degraded than California’s inland deserts, where bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and golden eagles still roam across vast stretches of largely intact wilderness. The San Joaquin Valley is home to two dozen threatened and endangered species, but the landscape was almost totally reshaped by agriculture long ago.

California has plenty of farmland that could be converted to solar panels without harming the state’s $50-billion agriculture industry, clean energy advocates say. A previous report identified 470,000 acres of “least-conflict” lands in the San Joaquin Valley, where salty soil, poor drainage or otherwise less-than-ideal farming conditions could make solar an attractive alternative for landowners.

At least 13,000 acres of solar farms have already been built in the valley, according to Erica Brand, director of the Nature Conservancy’s California energy program and a co-author of the newly released “Power of Place” report.

“It’s a region with tremendous opportunity to advance multi-benefit solar projects,” Brand said.

Building solar and saving species For an increasing number of farmers, solar makes economic sense.

At Maricopa Orchards — a major Fresno-based grower of almonds, oranges and other crops — Reiter hatched a plan to build solar panels on thousands of acres of agricultural land in Kern County.

He worked with local officials to create a 6,000-acre habitat conservation plan, which allows solar panels on 4,000 acres of the company’s land and sets aside 2,000 additional acres for environmental mitigation.

The mitigation lands are now reverting back to habitat for San Joaquin kit foxes, blunt-

nosed leopard lizards, burrowing owls and other at-risk species.

Reiter’s vision is a work in progress: So far, only 160 acres have been developed with solar. The 20-megawatt Maricopa West solar project was built by the German company E.ON and sold to Dominion Energy of Virginia, on land adjacent to almond orchards.

But Reiter, who served as Maricopa Orchards’ chief executive until earlier this year and is now a senior adviser to the company, said he’s negotiating with three developers looking to build seven more solar projects.

Part of the benefit of the habitation conservation plan, Reiter said, is that Maricopa can offer solar companies “shovel-ready” construction sites with permits and mitigation lands ready to go, saving them time and money.

Endangered species also stand to benefit from the habitat plan.

“There’s going to be artificial dens, movement corridors and things of that nature. The idea is that it’s going to help them survive,” Reiter said.

Other Central Valley agricultural powerhouses have their own plans for solar.

Wonderful Co. — which grows tree nuts and owns Pom Wonderful, Fiji Water and Justin Wines — is aiming to power its operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2025. Wonderful opened its first solar project in 2007 and this year signed a contract with Florida-based developer NextEra Energy for a 23-megawatt solar installation, to be built on 157 acres of fallow farmland.

Wonderful sees “tremendous potential for siting solar on agricultural land,” said Steven Swartz, the company’s vice president of strategy. Wonderful, owned by Beverly Hills

SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS

Businesses opting for sustainable design elements Continued from page 6. is likely protected by state statutes. Implementing a baseline cybersecurity program will help prevent a cyber incident.”

Specific elements of this program should include firewalls, anti-virus, 24/7 monitoring by a third-party or a SIEM (security information and even management) system, email encryption and secure texting. But all of these together don’t mean much without comprehensive protocols for the employees using the technology, Mainquist said.

“Much of what businesses need from a cybersecurity perspective can’t be bought,” she said. “The first thing is to recognize that cybersecurity threats are real; the second thing is to realize your employees are your weakest link. A phishing attack with ransomware or other malware can completely shut down your business despite lots of other great protections you may have in place. And the third critical piece is knowing and controlling communication channels, especially communications that may have sensitive or proprietary information in them.”

The third “S” of technology budgeting — support — can play a major role in containing technology costs. Vendors that can

provide fast, accurate solutions to technology issues save time and help keep employees productive.

“Develop a relationship with a long term, trusted company to handle your technology needs,” said Tyler Fiene, director of operations for Dice Communications. “You are the expert in your business, so find a company that is the expert in the technology business.

We’re all stronger when we work together.”

Fiene also recommends migrating to cloud or hosted opportunities. Implementing cloud technologies allows for more cost-efficient voice communications, CRM packages and payroll functions, to name just a few. Just be sure to read the fine print, he said, including training costs and other recurring fees.

“Things like annual support agreements, licensing agreements, maintenance contracts, et cetera, can eat you alive if you don’t pay attention to them,” Fiene said. “Make sure you fully understand what the cost of the solution is and get the company you are dealing with to identify and state your actual costs expected over five years. Then you can make an educated decision from the different companies you deal with, what would be the best solution.”

billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, can make about as much money producing solar power over a 30-year period, Swartz said, as it can growing almonds and pistachios, two of the most lucrative crops grown in California.

“In one case we’re growing an agricultural product that has value, and in another case we’re producing electrons that have value,” he said.

Swartz added that he expects “relatively limited competition” between solar and agriculture because there’s already so much farmland that isn’t in production in the Central Valley. Wonderful has 10,000 acres it’s keeping fallow, he said, either due to poor soil conditions or insufficient water.

In 2015, at the height of California’s most recent drought, Central Valley farmers kept about 1 million acres idle all year, NASA scientists estimated.

The biggest solar project being planned in the Central Valley is Westlands Solar Park, where construction of the first 670 megawatts is scheduled to begin in the next few months, according to Daniel Kim, vice president of regulatory and government affairs for the developer, Golden State Clean Energy. The project could eventually grow to 2,700 megawatts of power across 20,000 acres, which is larger than any solar power facility in the world today.

The massive solar project will be built on “drainage-impaired” farmlands served by Westlands Water District, where the soil has become loaded with crop-killing salts — and toxic selenium — because clay layers beneath the dirt prevent irrigation water from percolating down into the underground aquifer.

“If you continue to farm these types of Continued on next page.

Puzzle on page 11.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

13

As big stores close, niche retailers could be coming to your neighborhood

by Marcia Heroux Pounds

There’s a saying that “when one door closes, another opens.” In retail, it’s true.

You may have noticed that some major chain stores such as Sears and Kmart leaving your neighborhood. At the same time, you could see new stores popping Retail up, some with less familiar names such as “Aldi” and “Trulieve.”

Nationally, large stores are closing, “but there’s just as many, if not more, stores opening,” said Katy Welsh, senior director for Colliers International, a real estate and investment management company with South Florida offices.

“The general public says, ‘Oh no, another store closing!’ But we look at it as ‘Thank goodness.’ Look at how much more money the shopping center is going to make with that space,” Welsh said.

Zach Winkler, retail lead in South Florida for commercial real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, agrees. “People like to talk about the doom and gloom. But when I look at the numbers, it’s telling the opposite story.

There are new concepts.”

Gyms, schools, urgent care centers, grocery stores, theaters, sports complexes and day care centers are leasing spaces once occupied by former Sears or other stores, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers in New York.

Different types of stores are opening in strip malls. These include discount stores, smaller grocers, medical marijuana dispensaries and clinics, and fitness centers and game rooms, experts say.

Welsh said the tri-county region of South Florida is attractive to retailers because of its year-round shopping and robust tourism.

“Compared to the rest of the country, we have a strong market,” Welsh said.

Why certain stores are closing Stores have closed as some chains filed for bankruptcy this year, including Charming Charlie, PayLess ShoeSource and Gymboree.

Other troubled major chains include Sears, Kmart, Office Depot and OfficeMax. Winkler said that while PayLess ShoeSource stores are closing, the Sketchers brand is opening stores.

“There’s no doubt retail was overbuilt

over the past 10 to 20 years. You combine that with the emergence of online shopping and that expedited the process of contracting the retail industry,” said James Miller, spokesman for the Florida Retail Federation.

“We’re seeing a leveling off to the right amount of stores that Florida should have,” Miller said.

There have been 7,426 store closures and 3,039 store openings nationwide so far this year — compared with 5,864 closures and 3,258 openings for all of 2018, according to Coresight Research, which specializes in retail research. U.S. store closures could reach 12,000 by the end of 2019, according to Coresight.

Coresight Research noted that stores such

California farmers are planting solar panels as water supplies dry up Continued from preceding page. lands, you continue to make the drainage problems worse and worse,” Kim said.

Poor drainage and groundwater restrictions aren’t the only reasons farmers are looking to solar power. Surface water supplies also have become increasingly unreliable, in part due to environmental regulations that limit how much water can be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

How much will it cost to ditch fossil fuels?

The Nature Conservancy’s “Power of Place” report doesn’t look only at farmland.

The report examines 61 scenarios for achieving California’s climate targets.

They’re based on different assumptions about how much land is protected from development across 11 western states, how many homes add rooftop solar panels, how much lithium-ion battery prices fall, and whether California continues to require that most of its solar and wind power be produced within the state.

One of the report’s conclusions is that switching from fossil fuels to clean energy gets more expensive as more land is shielded from development.

For instance, annual electricity costs could be around $110 billion if most of California’s renewable energy is produced in state and only legally protected areas such as national parks and wildlife refuges are off-limits to developers. Statewide electricity costs could rise to $125 billion if development were prohibited on other lands, such as critical habitat for endangered species and important bird areas.

But if California utilities were allowed to buy more renewable energy from other western states, annual costs would drop to $113 billion even under the most restrictive

land-use rules, the report estimates. Easing land-use rules slightly would bring electricity costs down to $106 billion — cheaper than trying to build everything in state, even if hardly any lands are off-limits.

“That West-wide scenario is the best-case scenario,” said Arne Olson, a senior partner at the consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics and a co-author of the Nature Conservancy’s report.

The “Power of Place” report doesn’t capture every force that could shape California’s energy future. It assumes no development of offshore wind power, despite enormous potential for turbines off the Pacific coast. It also doesn’t account for other states’ renewable energy needs, which could be substantial.

Still, clean energy advocates say the document could help California officials balance development with ecosystem protection as they plan for 100% climate-friendly electricity by 2045, the target adopted by lawmakers last year. In 2018, California got 31% of its electricity from renewables including solar and wind, and another 20% from zero-carbon nuclear and large hydropower facilities.

The Nature Conservancy’s report “appears to outline thoughtful options for how to site the projects we need to meet the climate crisis,” said Shannon Eddy, executive director of the Large-scale Solar Assn., a Sacramento-based trade group.

It’s gotten more difficult to build solar in recent years, Eddy said, as conservationists have fought projects in wilderness areas and rural residents have fought projects near their communities. In February, San Bernardino County, California’s largest by area, banned the construction of large solar and wind farms on more than 1 million acres of private land.

The price of continuing with business as

Struggles but no regrets: They graduated during, and survived, the Great Recession Continued from page 11. do. “There’s always room for the best at the top,” she said.

Julieta Cunningham Julieta Cunningham’s dream was to design offices as an interior designer. Yet when she graduated from Winthrop University in 2009, she couldn’t find a job in her field.

Even two years earlier, Cunningham said she had seen her classmates get jobs in interior design. But she had taken out over $100,000 in student loans and needed work.

She ended up in a commission-based job selling carpets in Asheville. When she sold carpet to a customer, she often pitched her interior design services, but with little success.

“There wasn’t a lot of talk about doing extra at the time,” she said.

Although Julieta Cunningham wanted to be an interior designer after graduating from Winthrop in 2009, she ended up selling carpet. Today, she uses her interior design knowledge to advise her friends and family.

After several years, she gave up the

as Charming Charlie are “ubiquitous.” They just can’t compete with retailers including Amazon and Walmart also selling inexpensive accessories.

While the explosive growth of Amazon and online sales in general is having its impact, 90% of retail sales still occur in bricks-and-mortar stores, according to global Continued on page 21.

search for interior design jobs and took out more loans to get a master’s degree in arts administration.

Cunningham is now the production manager of licensed products at Springs Creative Products Group, a textile company in Rock Hill. She said she’s disappointed to have had to give up interior design as a career.

Still, she uses what she learned to give her friends and family interior design advice on the side.

She has not finished paying off her loans.

“I don’t regret anything that I did because all of it was an experience,” she said.

Elisabeth Blum When Elisabeth Blum graduated from Queens University of Charlotte in 2009 with a degree in corporate communication, she saw her classmates taking unpaid internships or going to grad school to defer their job search.

So her friends could not believe it when she landed a job at a nonprofit doing work related to her degree — even if it was a temporary position that paid by the hour.

“People were impressed that I had landed my tiddly little nonprofit job and they said, ‘Oh you’re set,’ ” Blum said with a laugh. “At least you have a place to go to every day.”

But it took her almost eight years to reach the salary she thinks she could have made if she had graduated in a different year.

The effect on her pay was so stark that years later, when she was negotiating a raise with her boss he told her she was not asking for enough. He thought she had been making more money.

Blum, now the marketing communications manager at HVAC company, Carrier Corp. in Charlotte, said graduates from the class of 2009 need to work toward better salaries by asking for raises.

“Most of the time you have all the cards,” she said. “They’re not going to fire you for saying you had an amazing year.” ©2019 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

usual, Eddy said, “is basically losing the battle on climate change.”

“We can no longer afford to fight about this. We need all the power we can get as fast as we can get it,” she said.

Kim Delfino, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife, is hopeful the Nature Conservancy’s findings will help forestall the kinds of ecological conflicts that have slowed clean energy development in the California desert. During the renewable energy “gold rush” of the late 2000s, developers proposed dozens of solar and wind farms in unprotected desert areas, fueling hard-fought battles with conservationists that continue today.

“We’re going to have another renewable energy boom. It’s inevitable,” Delfino said.

“This will give us an opportunity, perhaps, to make better choices.”

Restoring an altered ecosystem Wind Wolves Preserve, which is owned by the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy, offers a unique perspective on those choices.

Spanning 93,000 acres at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, in the heart of the San Emigdio Mountains, the preserve is a refuge for wildlife that once roamed throughout California’s heartland, before the region became an agricultural mecca.

Two decades ago, 19 tule elk were reintroduced at the site, part of an effort to restore a population that once numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Today, more than 300 elk call the preserve home.

Wind Wolves has also been planting Bakersfield cactuses, building up what staff say is now the third-largest population of the endangered plant species.

On a recent summer evening, preserve manager Melissa Dabulamanzi drove up a narrow, winding dirt road toward Tule Elk Overlook, which provides a sweeping view of the San Joaquin Valley floor. Sitting in the back seat was Abby Hart, who leads the Nature Conservancy’s California agriculture project.

“This kind of shrub-land habitat is largely what the valley should be looking like,” Dabulamanzi said At Tule Elk Overlook, they got out of the car and looked out over the valley, admiring the landscape as the sun disappeared behind distant mountains.

Hart said solar companies, farmers and conservationists will need to work together to build a sustainable future for this region of California.

“There’s so little remaining excellent habitat like this,” Hart said, referring to the preserve. “If we can get that solar development to happen on already disturbed lands … that’s so much better than having it touch down in areas that are either already protected or are already serving as excellent habitat.” ©2019 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Trump doesn’t just pollute the social environment with hate. He is the environment.

“It is remarkable by how much a pinch of malice enhances the penetrating power of an idea or an opinion. Our ears, it seems, are wonderfully attuned to sneers and evil reports about our fellow men.”

-Eric Hoffer

George W

It is 1,218 miles from the Aarill on Bessant Park Amphitheater in Panama City Beach, Fla. , to the Walmart at 7101 Gateway Blvd. W in El Paso. It was in that park that President Trump, on May 8 , was amused by the answer someone in his audience shouted in response to his shouted question about would-be immigrants at the southern border. His question was, “How do you stop these people?” The shouted answer was, “Shoot them.” Trump, with a grade schooler’s delight in naughtiness, smiled and replied, “Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement.”

But does what happens in the Panhandle stay there?

When mass shootings occur, the nation quickly returns to worthy debates about three questions. One is whether gun-control measures can be both constitutional and effective in making mass shootings less likely. A second debate concerns the ability and propriety of law enforcement (in which private citizens properly have a collaborative role) attempts to identify individuals, usually young males, who might violently act out their inner turmoil.

The third question, which is braided Opinion with the second, acquires special urgency because of the nature of today’s most prominent American: Can we locate causes of violence in promptings from the social atmosphere?

To the first question, part of the answer is that a reasonable reading of the Supreme Court’s 2008 Heller decision, which affirmed that the Second Amendment guarantees the individual a right to bear arms, permits many measures regulating certain kinds of weapons and ammunition magazines. The second question must be informed by the third — and by science.

James Q. Wilson (1931-2012), the most accomplished social scientist of his time, noted that genetics and neuroscience suggest that self-control is more attenuated in men, and especially in young men, than in women. The part of the brain that stimulates anger and aggression is larger in men, and the part that restrains anger is smaller in men. Wilson emphasized that this does not mean that violent men are absolved of blame. It does mean that as biology and the social environment interact, this environment must be treated with care by prominent people.

It is not implausible to believe that Trump’s years of sulfurous rhetoric — never mind his Monday-morning reading, seemingly for the first time, of words the teleprompter told him to recite — can provoke behaviors from susceptible individuals, such as the alleged El Paso shooter. If so, those who marked ballots for Trump — we have had quite enough exculpatory sociology about the material deprivations and status anxieties of the white working class — should have second or perhaps first thoughts.

His Republican groupies, meanwhile, are complicit.

The grotesquely swollen place of the presidency in governance (now that governance has become, for Congress, merely a spectator sport) and society has been made possible by journalism that is mesmerized by, and easily manipulated by, presidents — especially the current one, whose every bleat becomes an obsession. This president is not just one prompting from the social environment; he, in his ubiquity, thoroughly colors this environment, which becomes simultaneously more coarse and less shocking by the day.

Eric Hoffer (circa 1898-1983), the longshoreman philosopher, said that “rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.”

This anticipated the essential fact about the 45th president — Trump’s fascination with what he utterly lacks and unconvincingly emulates: strength. Hence his admiration for foreign despots and his infantile delight in his own bad manners.

It is one thing to have a president who, drawing upon his repertoire of playground insults, calls his alleged porn-star mistress “Horseface.” Polls indicate that approximately a third of Americans, disproportionately including religiously devout worriers about the coarsening of America’s culture, are more than merely content with this. It is quite another thing to have a president who

Midwest manufacturing growth slows to lowest level in 42 months

by Dee Depass

Pinched by trade tariffs and flooding, Midwest manufacturers grew in July at their slowest pace in 42 months as exports, inventories and confidence levels plunged, a widely watched economics report found.

Creighton University’s nine-state Mid-America Business Conditions Index, which includes Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas, fell to 52 from 55.4 in June, the university said recently.

While the regional index was above the critical threshold of “50” that separates growth from economic contraction, economists worried that the slowdown in Midwest factory growth may be here to stay for a spell.

“The regional economy expanded at a slower pace than the rest of the nation for the first half of 2019,” said Ernie Goss, director of Creighton’s Economic Forecasting Group. “Weak farm income, produced partially by tariffs and flooding, pulled regional growth below that of the nation. Even so, based on our manufacturing survey over the past several months, I expect overall growth to remain on a positive, but slower path.”

Employment held steady during the month while wholesale prices rose, indicating inflationary pressures across the region that also includes Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The area’s confidence index fell sharply to 51.4 in does not merely pollute the social atmosphere with invectives directed at various disfavored minorities; he uses his inflated office not just to shape this atmosphere but to be this atmosphere.

When Gerald Ford became president after Richard M. Nixon’s resignation, he told the nation: “Our long national nightmare is over.” Today’s long — and perhaps occasionally lethal — national embarrassment will continue at least until Jan. 20, 2021.

If it continues longer, this will be more than an embarrassment to the nation, this will be an indictment of it.

The Washington Post

July from 59 in June.

In Minnesota, the business conditions Index fell to 51.7 in July from 53.4 in June. New orders and inventory levels across the state fell off while employment, wages and delivery times remained above board.

In Minnesota, “recent surveys indicate that durable manufacturers, including metal producers, are experiencing slow to no gains in economic activity,” Goss said. “Nondurable goods producers, including food processors, experienced slight negative economic conditions in recent months.”

More than half of surveyed factory heads in all nine states said trade tariffs had made it harder to buy Opinion supplies internationally.

Trade worries increased again as U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional new round of levies effective Sept. 1. This time, the United States will impose 10% tariffs on another $300 billion of goods imported from China. That levy is on top of the 25% tariffs that went into effect on June 1 for $200 billion of Chinese-made goods.

Manufacturers and economists across the country acknowledge that tough U.S. tariffs may force Chinese officials back to the negotiating table, but they also note that the U.S. tariffs and China’s retaliatory actions sting. The combination has increased supply prices and disrupted supply chains as U.S. manufacturers scrambled to find new product makers outside of China.

Moody Associate Managing Director Elena Duggar said in an e-mail that the recent “escalation of trade tensions will increasingly weigh on the global economy and supply chains in an environment of already decelerating growth in the US, the Euro area and China. Uncertainty will dampen business investment and trade flows.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Trump’s trade policies and rhetoric add uncertainty to the economy and influenced the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates recently by Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

15

China questions US sincerity as Trump threatens new tariffs

by Alice Su

Chinese officials were caught off guard by President Donald Trump’s threat of new 10% tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Announced by Trump via Twitter at 1 a.m. Beijing time on a recent Friday, the plan for new tariffs was a surprise to Chinese officials and state media, who had already made statements praising the “candid, constructive, and efficient” trade talks in Shanghai that concluded that Wednesday and announced China’s resultant commitments to buy more U.S. agricultural goods.

Officials quickly swung around to Economy condemn Trump’s tariff threat as a sign of American “insincerity,” threatening countermeasures if the tariffs are implemented Sept. 1. But they also left diplomatic space for negotiating teams to mitigate the impact of Trump’s threat in the few weeks before that deadline.

“China will not accept any extreme pressure, intimidation or blackmail,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

The promise of new tariffs violates agreements reached between Trump and Xi as a basis to restart trade negotiations at the Group of 20 economic summit in Osaka, Japan, in June, Hua said — namely, that talks would move forward on a basis of “equality and respect” and that the United States would not impose new tariffs.

“Talks in Shanghai had just finished, and the U.S. decided to impose new tariffs. This goes against the Osaka agreement, betrays the correct path, and shows the world that the U.S. is hot and cold, inconsistent and self-contradictory,” Hua said. “The ball is now in the U.S.’ court. The U.S. has to prove its trustworthiness to the world, that it’s a dependable partner for negotiation.”

Chinese experts said that the erratic style of Trump’s tariff announcement is raising doubts in Beijing about whether the U.S. negotiation team can be trusted to make trade decisions.

“This shows that the American negotiation team cannot fully represent Trump’s thinking, or else there wouldn’t be such a big change,” said Song Guoyou, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng told reporters that U.S. and Chinese negotiators would “intensify” trade consultations throughout August.

Song said the Chinese team would keep speaking with the American team in hopes of continuing the progress that the Shanghai talks had achieved before Trump’s tariff announcement.

Trump’s tweet was “just a threat, not a tangible policy,” Song said. “I think the Chinese side will keep trying to negotiate with the American team, unless we determine that Trump is serious and means it.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce had announced recently that Chinese firms were beginning to inquire about new

Midwest manufacturing growth Continued from preceding page. a quarter point.

Goss largely agreed. “Agriculture was the first. The U.S. manufacturer will be the next casualty of the trade war,” he said.

Several multinational manufacturers including 3M, Graco, DowDuPont and H.B. Fuller recently reported quarterly financial results that signaled lackluster revenue growth and/or profit declines. Manufacturing executives noted slowdowns in China and Europe; flooding; decreased global demand in auto, adhesives and electronics sectors; trade tariffs; and negative foreign currency exchanges affected results to varying degrees.

The Creighton and other reports appeared to reinforce those corporate findings.

The Institute for Supply Management said its overall manufacturing index slipped to 51.2 in July from 51.7% in June as production, employment and pricing growth slowed.

Of 18 manufacturing sectors, only nine grew in July, led by wood products and printing, furniture, food/beverage, plastics/ rubber as well as computer and electronic products. ©2019 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

purchases of U.S. soybeans, cotton, pork, and sorghum, without specifying amounts.

Trump said on Twitter that he was raising tariffs because China did not follow through on its promise to buy “large quantities” of U.S. agricultural goods or to stop selling fentanyl-related drugs to the United States.

Hu Xijin, editor in chief of the state-owned tabloid Global Times, tweeted that Trump was “influenced by the wrong intelligence” and misjudging China.

“As far as I know, China has recently sped up buying U.S. farm products,” Hu wrote. “Trump is in a rush to reach a deal & is too arrogant.”

Earlier in the week, Trump told reporters that he thought Beijing wanted to stall trade talks through 2020 in hopes that he would be voted out of office and be replaced with a more amenable Democratic president.

Some Chinese analysts, meanwhile, are speculating that Trump wants to prolong trade talks for his own interests.

“Trump himself wants to drag out the deal until election time, then make a deal at the last minute to maximize political benefit,” Song said.

Wang Yong, director of Peking University’s Center for Political Economy, agreed that U.S. elections were influencing Trump’s decision-making and added that Trump’s high-pressure style of deal-making was not effective given China’s current domestic situation.

“He only thinks about American domestic politics and elections. He needs to win. But he is not sensitive to the domestic politics of the other side,” Wang said.

“He’s a gambler, the biggest gambler who’s willing to take the highest risk for highest profit. But between two superpowers, this tactic doesn’t work.”

China wants to make a deal because its economy has been hurt by the trade war. A report released by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Rhodium Group found that two-way U.S.-China capital flows are at their lowest six-month value in five years.

Major U.S. companies including Dell, HP, Apple, Intel, Google and Amazon have announced downsizing of their China operations, while Chinese companies including Lenovo and Huawei are downsizing in the United States.

But it’s a delicate time for Beijing. Oct. 1 is the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China’s founding.

Authorities are preparing a national celebration meant to showcase China’s rise and newfound wealth and power, and

they don’t want to be mired in a U.S. trade war.

Ongoing protests in Hong Kong, an upcoming election in Taiwan centered on relations with China, and international pressure on China for placing minority Muslims in internment camps are all adding to the Chinese government’s sense of insecurity, Wang said.

“Chinese people are very emotional and very anti-U.S. right now,” he said. “It isn’t appropriate to look weak.”

Domestic politics on both sides have made aesthetics a crucial part of negotiation. It will be up to Chinese and U.S. negotiators to try and “package” a deal that can make Trump look like a “winner” while also letting Beijing claim the agreement is “win-win,” Wang said.

If new tariffs are implemented Sept. 1, China is likely to retaliate with countermeasures including tariffs on U.S. imports; restricting market access including for financial institutions, which have been eager to operate in China; pressuring U.S. businesses that already operate in China; and trying to hit Trump’s electoral base by restricting agricultural purchases.

The consequences would hurt U.S. consumers as well as U.S. and Chinese companies.

“These tariffs, if implemented, will hit many thousands of American businesses who rely upon Chinese-made inputs and, ultimately, American consumers,” Nelson Dong, a member of the board of directors of the U.S. nonprofit National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, said in an email.

“Foreseeable Chinese retaliatory measures will almost certainly seal off any opportunity that U.S. supplies (especially in the agricultural sector) could regain their lost markets in China. Between higher prices and lower income, American economic pain will then increase in depth and breadth, as usually happens in trade wars involving tariffs, countertariffs and other retaliation,” Dong said.

One definite outcome regardless of whether the tariffs are implemented or not is that China will accelerate its efforts to strengthen domestic industry and diversify trade ties apart from the United States.

China is moving to increase its imports of soybeans from Russia, for example, as well as from Brazil, which has replaced the United States as China’s main source of soybean imports and is expected to surpass the United States as the world’s top soybean supplier this year. ©2019 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Top Trump economic adviser sees ‘no signs’ of recession amid trade

by John T. Bennett

Lawrence Kudlow, President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, predicted recently that “calmer heads” will prevail in an escalating trade confrontation between the U.S. and China even as he offered few concrete signposts for progress.

Economy The former CNBC analyst’s comments come as U.S. and global markets are slumping over worries that the world’s two biggest economies could trigger a recession with their trade war.

He also said he sees “no signs” a global recession is on the horizon. That’s largely because of what he called a “very strong” American economy that powers the world economy.

“The economic burden is falling vastly more on them than us,” he said of China a day after the Treasury Department, for the first time in decades, labeled Beijing a currency manipulator after officials there allowed the yuan to fall below a level widely considered the point at which they were purposely devaluing.

“Pouring money and devaluing currency is not the answer,” Kudlow told reporters outside the White House after a television interview.

Chinese officials said they have taken steps to avoid devaluing the yuan. Asked about that, Kudlow said the White House intends to take a “careful look.”

“The door is open for additional negotiations. We are planning for the Chinese team to come here in September,” Kudlow said. “It must be a deal in our interests, as well as theirs.”

His remarks came one week after Trump tweeted that prospects for a U.S.-China accord were not good.

Stalled trade talks, following a brief session in Shanghai that produced no real movement from the Chinese side, are slated to resume next month in Washington.

U.S. negotiators are pushing their counterparts to overhaul their trade practices; China has balked at giving American firms a more competitive stance inside China’s vast market.

“Negotiations are always available … It’s their action.

They brought this on themselves,” Kudlow said of the currency manipulator tag. “I think you’ll see calmer heads prevail.”

Several reasons for the latest batch of Kudlow’s self-described perennial “optimism”? He said the U.S. unemployment rate — 3.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — and growth in the durable goods market are positive signs.

“The US economy is very strong. The rest of the world’s not. … If there’s any consumer impact, it’s very, very small,” he said, the latter a reference to Trump’s double dose of tariffs on Chinese-made goods. Economists and Democratic lawmakers, however, say the impact is coming very soon, as price changes ripple through the U.S. market.

Meantime, Trump signaled in a morning tweet that a 2020 round of multi-billion dollar trade aid payments to farmers is possible after China said it will not buy more U.S. farm goods as U.S.-Beijing tensions escalate.

The administration paid nearly $9 billion to farmers in 2018 and will start 2019 payments this month of up to $7 billion.

(Ellyn Ferguson contributed to this report.) ©2019 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

16

• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES MBJ legal notice instructions The following are some guidelines to consider when posting legal notices with the Midlands Business Journal: 1. Submit a written notice in either Microsoft Word or as a PDF document to Beth Grube at legals@mbj.com, fax to 402-758-9315 or mail: 1324 S. 119th St. Omaha, NE 68144.

For trade names, submit a copy of approved (bar code in upper right hand corner) Application For Registration of Trade Name from the Secretary of State to the same email address. Please include your billing address and the desired duration you’d like your notice to run (trade names run for only one week).

2. You will receive a confirmation and price quote. Legal notices, except for trade names, are charged per line. The flat fee for a trade name is $50.

Payment options are cash or check.

3. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday for a notice to start publishing that Friday.

4. All costs include fees to file the notice with the Secretary of State and/or any appropriate courts.

5. You will receive a paid invoice copy and a courtesy proof of the notice the first week it runs and a copy of the affidavit filed with the courts the last week.

NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF HUDSON HOUNDS LLC Hudson Hounds LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 3570 S 203rd Cir, Omaha, Nebraska 68130. The name, street and mailing address of the initial agent for service of process is Amen Business Law, L.L.C., 3420 Cape Charles Rd W, Lincoln, NE 68516.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of a Limited Liability Company Notice is hereby given the registration with the Nebraska Secretary of state’s office of Innova Solutions, LLC under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: The name of the company is Innova Solutions, LLC. Registered agent and office of Innova Solutions, LLC at 4011 L Street, Omaha, NE 68107. Initial members: Stefani B Mayorga Molina & Salvador Guardado Ramirez. General nature of the business is to transact any and all lawful business for which limited liability companies are allowed by statute. The LLC was organized on July 2019 for the perpetual duration and is managed by its members.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of a Personal Corporation Notice is hereby given the registration with the Nebraska Secretary of state’s office of Z&Z Real Estate, P.C., under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: The name of the company is Z&Z Real Estate, P.C..

Registered agent and office of Z&Z Real Estate, P.C., at 18611 Polk Street, Omaha, NE 68135. Initial directors: Yamy Salgado. General nature of the business is to transact professional Real Estate services any and all lawful business for which a Professional Corporation are allowed by statute. The professional corporation was incorporated on July 2019 for the perpetual duration and is managed by its directors.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of a Limited Liability Company Notice is hereby given the registration with the Nebraska Secretary of state’s office of Dominiclean, LLC under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: The name of the company is Dominiclean, LLC . Registered agent and office of Dominiclean, LLC at 2221 Vinton Street, Omaha, NE 68108. Initial members: Ingris M Sanchez de Huldeen. General nature of the business is to transact any and all lawful business for which limited liability companies are allowed by statute. The LLC was organized on July 2019 for the perpetual duration and is managed by its members.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: RUTH C. MCKINLEY, 13726 HARRISON PLAZA APT 412, OMAHA NE 68137-4174, you are hereby notified that on April 26, 2019, CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORP. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-9241, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $8,421.73, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 16th day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 16, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF DAYSHAPES, LLC The name of the Company is DayShapes, LLC. The Designated Office of the Company is: 4724 Young Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68152. The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is: Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. This limited liability company commenced business on July 24, 2019.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: BRADLEY S. BATTER, 2322 Ridgewood Ave, Omaha NE 68124, you are hereby notified that on June 13, 2019, FORD MOTOR CREDIT COMPANY, LLC filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-13061, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $9,741.06, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 16th day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 16, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF Intuitive Consulting, LLC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Intuitive Consulting, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 605 N. 6th Street, Springfield, NE 68059. The Registered Agent of the Company is Sheila M. Brazda, 605 N. 6th Street, Springfield NE 68059.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 JOHN Q. BACHMAN, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION Notice is hereby given of incorporation of JKI Design, Inc. under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: 1. The name of the Corporation is JKI Design, Inc. 2. The number of shares that the Corporation is authorized to issue is 10,000 shares of common stock.

3. The name of the initial registered agent is John Q. Bachman, and the address of the initial registered office is 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

4. The name and address of the incorporator is John Q. Bachman, 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

5. The general nature of the business to be transacted by the Corporation is any and all lawful business for which a corporation may be incorporated in Nebraska.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 BENJAMIN J. PICK, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF THRIVING FUTURES, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of Thriving Futures, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability company is Thriving Futures, LLC. 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 2036 N. 63rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska, 68104, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is Benjamin J. Pick, 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska, 68114.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 ERICKSON l SEDERSTROM, P.C., Attorneys 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION On August 2, 2019, Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of EMS BILLING SERVICES, INC., were filed in the following manner: The new name of this Corporation is: LLVJR, INC. First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 ROBERT E. BURNS, Attorney 11330 Q Street, Suite 220 Omaha, Nebraska 68137 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF Drusyakshak, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of Drusyakshak, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability Company is Drusyakshak, LLC. 2. The company's Initial agent for service of process is Andrew J. Matney. The Initial agent's address and the address of the Initial designated office of the Company is1316 Bellevue Boulevard North, Bellevue, NE 68005.

3. The general nature of the business to be transacted by the Company is to engage in and transact in any and all lawful business enterprises for which a Limited Liability Company may be organized under the Nebraska Limited Liability Company Act, and specifically to engage in the ownership, renting, sale, and servicing of Kayaks; and all other related activities, and to own, hold and sell or assign any and all licenses necessary or advisable to conduct said business.

4. The Company commenced on July 31, 2019, and shall have a perpetual duration.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ODOO GAMES, LLC Notice is hereby given that Odoo Games, LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under Nebraska laws, with its designated office at 4010 N 104th Plaza, Omaha, NE 68134. It is organized to make commercial Virtual Reality Games. Its registered agent is Bakhodur Marupov and his office is located at 4010 N 104th Plaza, Omaha, NE 68134.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019

BREASCH FINANCE & TAX CONSULTING INC. 4879 S 132nd Avenue Omaha, NE 68137 CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION OF SHE WANDERS LLC A NEBRASKA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 1. The name of the limited liability company is SHE WANDERS LLC 2. The period of duration for SHE WANDERS LLC is perpetual.

3. SHE WANDERS LLC is organized for the purpose of conducting any and all business as permitted by the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. 4. The address of the initial designated office for SHE WANDERS LLC in Nebraska is 8604 Kilpatrick Parkway, Bennington, Nebraska 68007.

5. The name and address of the registered agent for SHE WANDERS LLC in Nebraska is Cindy Breasch, 4879 S 132nd Ave., Omaha NE 68137 6. Additional provisions, not inconsistent with the law, for the regulation of the internal affairs of the limited liability company shall be provided for in the Operating Agreement.

7. Morgan Rader and Kassie Boston, organizer(s) of SHE WANDERS LLC has signed the Foregoing Certificate of Organization effective this 9th day of July 2019.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF GEMINI CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC The name of the Company is Gemini Capital Partners, LLC. The Designated Office of the Company is: 2111 South 67th Street, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68106. The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is: Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. This limited liability company commenced business on July 22, 2019.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ROSE INVESTMENTS, LLC The name of the Company is Rose Investments, LLC. The Designated Office of the Company is: 12337 Douglas Circle, Omaha, Nebraska 68154.

The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. This limited liability company commenced business on May 31, 2019.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Bruenco LLC, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 1879 N 153rd Plz, Omaha, NE, 68154. The initial agent for service of process of the Company is Mike Bruening 1879 N 153rd Plz, Omaha, NE, 68154.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 BARBARA MEDBERY-PRCHAL, P.C., L.L.O., Attorney 10305 Joseph Circle La Vista, Nebraska 68128 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF CTB, LLC Notice is hereby given that a limited liability company has been formed under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and that the name of the company is CTB, LLC The name and street address of the company’s initial registered agent is Law Offices of Barbara Medbery-Prchal, P.C., L.L.O., 10305 Joseph Circle, La Vista, NE 68128. The designated office is located at 14520 Burdette Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68106.

Terry Taulborg, Member First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 BARBARA MEDBERY-PRCHAL, P.C., L.L.O., Attorney 10305 Joseph Circle La Vista, Nebraska 68128 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SDL INVESTMENTS, LLC Notice is hereby given that a limited liability company has been formed under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and that the name of the company is SDL Investments, LLC The name and street address of the company’s initial registered agent is Law Offices of Barbara Medbery-Prchal, P.C., L.L.O., 10305 Joseph Circle, La Vista, NE 68128. The designated office is located at 5030 S. 135th Street, Omaha, NE 68137.

Sarah M. Ullsperger, Member First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: CHLOE M. MCMANIS, 2805 South 126th Plaza #7, Omaha NE 68144, you are hereby notified that on June 13, 2019, Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-13059, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $13,251.84, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 16th day of September , 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 16, 2019

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 • LEGAL NOTICES DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME Trade Name to be registered is: EcoAir Heating & Cooling Name of Applicant: RS Mechanical, LLC Address: 21323 Walnut St. Elkhorn, NE 68022 Applicant is a Limited Liability Company If other than an Individual, state under whose laws entity was formed: Nebraska Date of first use of name in Nebraska: July 30, 2019 General nature of business: Residential HVAC Services SETH J. MOEN Signature of Applicant or Legal Representative August 9, 2019 BENJAMIN J. PICK, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF KEIM RANCH AT BRUSH CREEK, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of Keim Ranch at Brush Creek, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability company is Keim Ranch at Brush Creek, LLC. 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is Benjamin J. Pick, 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 MATTHEW T. PAYNE, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ROYCE CV, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of Royce CV, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability company is Royce CV, LLC. 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 12910 Pierce Street, Suite 110, Omaha, Nebraska 68144, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is James D. Buser, 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 DAVID J. SKALKA, Attorney C R O K E R , H U C K , K A S H E R , D E W I T T, A N D E R S O N & GONDERINGER, L.L.C. 2120 S. 72nd Street, Suite 1200 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF EXSULTATIO AQUA, LLC The name of the limited liability company is Exsultatio Aqua, LLC. The address of the initial designated office is 5933 North 166th Court, Omaha, NE 68116. The name and address of the initial agent for service of process is David J. Skalka, 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200, Omaha, NE 68124.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 STEVEN G. RANUM, Attorney CROKER, HUCK, KASHER, DEWITT, ANDERSON & GONDERINGER, L.L.C. 2120 S. 72nd Street, Suite 1200 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF MATIX NE, LLC The name of the limited liability company is Matix NE, LLC. The address of the initial designated office is 14301 FNB Parkway #100, Omaha, NE 68154. The name and address of the initial agent for service of process is Steven G. Ranum, 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200, Omaha, NE 68124.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that An Khang Realty, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The address of the Company’s designated office is 1910 S. 44th St, Suite 101, Omaha, NE 68105, and the name of the registered agent at such address is Tran & Associates Law, LLC. The general nature of the business is any legal and lawful activity allowed pursuant to the Nebraska Limited Liability Company Act and the laws of the State of Nebraska and elsewhere. The Company commenced business on 7/9/2019 and shall have perpetual existence. The affairs of the Company are to be managed by its managers.

Khanh Tran, Member First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that YCR Holdings, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The address of the Company’s designated office is 2214 S 86th Ave, Omaha, NE 68124, and the name of the registered agent at such address is Yuri Paskar. The general nature of the business is any legal and lawful activity allowed pursuant to the Nebraska Limited Liability Company Act and the laws of the State of Nebraska and elsewhere. The Company commenced business on 6/27/2019 and shall have perpetual existence. The affairs of the Company are to be managed by its managers.

Yuri Paskar, Member First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019

HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the voluntary dissolution of THE ESTATES AT PRAIRIE RIDGE, LLC, as of March 30, 2017. Any person having a claim, whether known or unknown, against the Company is requested to present such claim in writing to the Company at the following address: c/o Curt Hofer, 16820 Frances Street, Suite 206, Omaha, NE 68130. The claim must be in writing, must be sent by mail to the address set forth above, and must set forth the name, address and telephone number of the claimant, a detailed description and amount of the claim, the date of occurrence of the claim and any tangible evidence to support the claim that is available to the claimant. Unless sooner barred by any other statute limiting actions, any claim against the Company is barred if an action to enforce the claim is not commenced within five years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF 6135 O STREET CAR WASH, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that 6135 O Street Car Wash, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102. The Registered Agent of the Company is Christopher Erickson, 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 FRANK X. HAVERKAMP P.C. LLO, Attorney 12929 West Dodge Road, Suite 201 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION Notice is hereby given that THE FARM: SENIOR DOG SANCTUARY, INC. was incorporated under the Nebraska Non-Profit Corporation Act. The Corporation is a public benefit corporation, under the Nebraska Non-Profit Corporation Act which purpose will be to administer and disburse funds related to the operation of a dog sanctuary. The registered agent is Frank X. Haverkamp and the registered office is located at 12829 West Dodge Road, Suite 201 Omaha, NE 68154. The affairs of the corporation are to be conducted by the Board of Directors and such officers as it may elect.

Frank X. Haverkamp, Incorporator First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 WHITMORE LAW OFFICE LLC 7602 Pacific Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Nelson Anesthesia Services, L.L.C., a Nebraska professional limited liability company, is organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its registered office at 16610 Capitol Plaza, #6, Omaha, Nebraska 68118. The general nature of the business is to engage in and do any lawful business, other than banking or insurance, for which a limited liability company may be organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and for all other purposes authorized by law, to the extent as natural persons might or could do. The limited liability company was formed on July 26, 2019. Its affairs shall be conducted by the members pursuant to an Operating Agreement duly adopted by the company.

Emily J. Nelson, Organizer First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF TROYER COMPANIES, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Troyer Companies, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 682 Serenity Pointe, Ashland, Nebraska 68003. The Registered Agent of the Company is DDLG Business Services, Inc., 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that 402 How, LLC, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 14625 Grand Ave, Omaha, NE 68116. The initial agent for service of process of the Company is Li Law Group, 8424 W Center Rd Suite 108, Omaha, NE 68124.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION 1. The name of the Corporation is MAH Insurance, Inc. 2. The Corporation is authorized to issue 1,000 shares having a par value of $1.00 each.

3. The Registered Office of the Corporation is: 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124, and the Registered Agent at such address is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O. 4. The corporate existence began on July 30, 2019, when Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State.

5. The name and address of the Incorporator is: Brian L. Harr, 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019

17

JAMES R. SACOMAN, Attorney 2580 South 90th Street Omaha, Nebraska 68124-2092 LEGAL NOTICE In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska. PR19-1074 Estate of FRANK L. BEST, Deceased Notice is hereby given that on July 19, 2019, in the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, KIMBERLY L. TAYLOR, whose address is 801 Blue Mountain Road, Roswell, New Mexico, 88201-9457, has been informally appointed Personal Representative of this estate.

Creditors of this estate must file their claims with this Court, located at Courtroom No. 30, Third Floor, Probate Division, Douglas County Hall of Justice, 17th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE 68183, on or before September 26, 2019 or be forever barred.

Kelly J. Golden Clerk of the County Court First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 WESLEY E. HAUPTMAN, Attorney 17826 Monroe Street Omaha, Nebraska 68135 LEGAL NOTICE In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska. PR19-1083 Estate of CORRINE MAY TABORSKY, Deceased Notice is hereby given that on July 19th, 2019, in the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, the Registrar issued a written statement of Informal Probate of the Will of said Decedent and that Suzanne TaborskyBarba, whose address is 536 W. Linden Street, Louisville, CO 80027 was informally appointed by the Registrar as Personal Representative of the Estate.

Creditors of this estate must file their claims with this Court, located at Courtroom No. 30, Third Floor, Probate Division, Douglas County Hall of Justice, 17th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE 68183, on or before September 26, 2019 or be forever barred.

Kelly J. Golden Clerk of the County Court First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), LESLIE DOLLINGER You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 04/30/2019 on Case Number CI19-10209, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $159.89, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs.

You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 09/09/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), BARBARA J COOPERWOOD You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 04/23/2019 on Case Number CI19-9469, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $109.46, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs.

You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 09/09/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), ROBERT W BURKLEY, KAREN BURKLEY DBA BURKLEY ENVELOPE CO. You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 02/21/2019 on Case Number CI19-4945, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $7,690.27, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs. You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 09/09/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), JOHN L WRIETH & JODY A WRIETH You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 02/13/2019 on Case Number CI19-4489, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $1,937.90, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs. You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 09/09/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019

18

• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF WOODWORTH FAMILY CABIN, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Woodworth Family Cabin, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 13027 Charles Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68154. The Registered Agent of the Company is DDLG Business Services, Inc., 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF CITY CENTRE MUSIC VENUE, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that City Centre Music Venue, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102. The Registered Agent of the Company is Christopher Erickson, 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ASTRO THEATRE, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Astro Theatre, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102. The Registered Agent of the Company is Christopher Erickson, 222 S. 15th Street, 1404S, Omaha, Nebraska 68102.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF MCKSRS HOLDINGS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that MCKSRS HOLDINGS, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 18136 Mason St, Elkhorn, NE 68022. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Srilakshmi Reddy, 18136 Mason St, Elkhorn, NE 68022. The limited liability company commenced business on July 29, 2019.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is given that MG PAINTING, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska with the following registered agent and registered office: Marcelo Felipe Gallardo at 2705 H St. Omaha, NE 68107.

This LLC is a Partnership with Lucia Felipe as a new member with 15% ownership.The general nature of the Company's business is to engage in any lawful business permitted under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The company was organized on April 22, 2019, and it shall continue in perpetuity unless sooner terminated in accordance with the terms of its operating agreement. In general, the Company's business is to be managed by its primary member Marco Felipe Gallardo in accordance with the Company's operating agreement.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 23, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION 1. The name of the Corporation is Zen Warrior, Inc. 2. The Corporation is authorized to issue 1,000 shares having a par value of $1.00 each.

3. The Registered Office of the Corporation is: 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124, and the Registered Agent at such address is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O. 4. The corporate existence began on July 29, 2019, when Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State.

5. The name and address of the Incorporator is: Brian L. Harr, 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the voluntary dissolution of APEX RAINWOOD LLC, as of March 30, 2017. Any person having a claim, whether known or unknown, against the Company is requested to present such claim in writing to the Company at the following address: c/o Curt Hofer, 16820 Frances Street, Suite 206, Omaha, NE 68130. The claim must be in writing, must be sent by mail to the address set forth above, and must set forth the name, address and telephone number of the claimant, a detailed description and amount of the claim, the date of occurrence of the claim and any tangible evidence to support the claim that is available to the claimant. Unless sooner barred by any other statute limiting actions, any claim against the Company is barred if an action to enforce the claim is not commenced within five years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019

DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF GCP II KEARNEY SENIOR LIVING, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that GCP II Kearney Senior Living, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122. The Registered Agent of the Company is Zach Wiegert, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, NE 68154 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that HUTCHINSON CAPITAL LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska on July 30, 2019 (the “Company”). The Company has designated its registered agent as Steven Hutchinson, with registered office at 220 S. 31st Avenue, Apt. 3800, Omaha, NE 68131. The Company’s initial designated office is at 220 S. 31st Avenue, Apt. 3800, Omaha, NE 68131. The Company shall be governed by its members. The general nature of business is any lawful purpose.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the voluntary dissolution of COPPER RIDGE, LLC, as of July 29, 2019. Any person having a claim, whether known or unknown, against the Company is requested to present such claim in writing to the Company at the following address: c/o Curt Hofer, 16820 Frances Street, Suite 206, Omaha, NE 68130. The claim must be in writing, must be sent by mail to the address set forth above, and must set forth the name, address and telephone number of the claimant, a detailed description and amount of the claim, the date of occurrence of the claim and any tangible evidence to support the claim that is available to the claimant.

Unless sooner barred by any other statute limiting actions, any claim against the Company is barred if an action to enforce the claim is not commenced within five years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 MATTHEW T. PAYNE, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF MERCHANTS CREDIT ADJUSTERS, INC. Notice is hereby given of Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Merchants Credit Adjusters, Inc. as follows: Article I of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby amended so that, as amended, said Article shall provide that the name of the Corporation shall be Clear Recovery, Inc. The Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State of Nebraska on July 1, 2019, with an effective date of August 1, 2019. In all other respects, the Articles of Incorporation remain unchanged.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 MATTHEW T. PAYNE, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF MANAGED ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, INC. Notice is hereby given of Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Managed Accounts Receivable, Inc. as follows: Article I of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby amended so that, as amended, said Article shall provide that the name of the Corporation shall be Clear Healthcare Solutions, Inc. The Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State of Nebraska on July 1, 2019, with an effective date of August 1, 2019.

In all other respects, the Articles of Incorporation remain unchanged.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that GCP USD II, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, filed its Statement of Dissolution with the Nebraska Secretary of State on July 31, 2019, and the company is in the process of voluntary dissolution. The terms and conditions of such dissolution are, in general, that all debts and obligations of the company are to be fully paid and satisfied or adequate provision is to be made therefore, and that the balance of any remaining assets are to be distributed to its Members. Zach Wiegert will wind up and liquidate the company’s business and affairs. If you have a claim against the company, please provide the following information with respect to your claim: 1) your name or the name of your entity; 2) the nature of your claim; 3) the amount of your claim; and 4) the date your claim arose. All claims shall be mailed to GCP USD II, LLC, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, NE 68122. A claim against the company is barred unless an action to enforce the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: THOMAS MATTHEWS, 6204 Florence Blvd, Omaha NE 68110 and SHARON D. MATTHEWS, 6204 Florence Blvd, Omaha NE 68110, you both are hereby notified that on May 28, 2019, American Family Mutual Ins. Co., filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-11692, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $10,408.80, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 23rd day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 23, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: TIMOTHY J. WILSON, 110 South 49th Street Apt 304, OMAHA NE 68132, you are hereby notified that on March 26, 2019, CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6812, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $5,239.64, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 23rd day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 23, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF JAUNTY PEOPLE OF OMAHA LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Jaunty People of Omaha LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 11308 Pine Plaza, Omaha, NE 68144. The Registered Agent of the Company is David Fell at 11308 Pine Plaza, Omaha, NE 68144.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF TMN REPORTING, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that TMN Reporting, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 7602 Pacific Street, Suite LL101, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The Registered Agent of the Company is Tina M. Nelson, 17134 Patrick Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68116.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DEAN F. SUING, Attorney GOVIER, KATSKEE, SUING & MAXELL, PC, LLO 10404 Essex Court, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ACE TRADING COMPANY, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has formed a limited liability company under the Nebraska Limited Liability Company Act, as follows: The name of the company is Ace Trading Company, LLC. The address of the designated office is 6225 S. 42nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska, 68107 and the initial registered agent is Nancy M. Rayno, 6225 S. 42nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68107. The company is organized to engage in and do any lawful act concerning any and all lawful business, other than banking and insurance, for which a limited liability company may be organized under the laws of Nebraska. The limited liability company commenced existence on the filing and recording of its Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of State on August 1, 2019, and shall have a perpetual period of duration from the date the Certificate of Organization was filed with the Secretary of State. Management of the Company shall be vested in an initial board of one manager who shall serve until successors are appointed or elected.

Nancy M. Rayno, Registered Agent First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the voluntary dissolution of WOODLANDS CROSSING, LLC, as of July 29, 2019. Any person having a claim, whether known or unknown, against the Company is requested to present such claim in writing to the Company at the following address: c/o Curt Hofer, 16820 Frances Street, Suite 206, Omaha, NE 68130. The claim must be in writing, must be sent by mail to the address set forth above, and must set forth the name, address and telephone number of the claimant, a detailed description and amount of the claim, the date of occurrence of the claim and any tangible evidence to support the claim that is available to the claimant. Unless sooner barred by any other statute limiting actions, any claim against the Company is barred if an action to enforce the claim is not commenced within five years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 • LEGAL NOTICES STATE OF NEBRASKA PAROLE BOARD HEARINGS NOTICE A total of 167 cases will be heard by the Board in August, 2019. The following case(s) sentenced in Douglas County will be seen by the Board of Parole.

August 19, 2019 – 9:30 a.m. Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, Tecumseh, Nebraska Nicol, Daniel 58838 Assault 1st Degree, Robbery, Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel (2 counts) Cortez, Sean 70012 Accessory to a Felony, Robbery (2 counts) Flores, Brandon 70768 Burglary (13 counts) Williams, Quintin 78572 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug Koeppe, Fred 86001 Sexual Assault of Child 1st Deg Fletcher, Dustin 85052 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I August 20, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. Lincoln Correctional Center, Lincoln, Nebraska Pitzer, Matthew 66478 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I Slattery, Kenneth 67327 Robbery, Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel Terrell, David 80628 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug Hanson, Jacob 87756 Arson 1st Degree, Aslt Peac Ofcr/DCS Emp 2nd Dgr, Assault 2nd Degree Sager, Garrett 88592 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug August 21, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. Community Correctional Center - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska Harris, Marklyn 69555 Possession of Defaced Firearm, Tampering, Unlawful Discharge of Firearm Fields-Carr, Jamal 75187 Robbery (3 counts), Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel Alford, Michael 84004 Tampering (2 counts), Terroristic Threats Eubanks, Datjuan 85866 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug Collins, Guy 86158 Assault 2nd Degree Cornell, Nickolas 88027 Robbery (2 counts), Theft by Unlwfl Taking or Disp (2 counts) Crawford, Makonnen 89155 Driving While Intoxicated Davis, Travis 74208 Assault 2nd Degree, Unlwful Discharge of Firearm (2 counts) Jiminez Campos, Juan 86849 Driving While Intoxicated Ross, David 88538 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I August 22, 2019 – 9:30 a.m. Community Correctional Center - Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska Holt, Kalan 44535 Murder 2nd Degree, Pos Firearm by Fugitive/ Felon, Use Firearm to Commit Felony Albright, Michael 62855 Sexual Assault 1st Degree (5 counts) Baker, Andrew 74610 Poss/Receive Stolen Firearm, Robbery, Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel McCabe, Trayvon 78505 Robbery (3 counts) Gray, Kevin 81160 Accessory to a Felony, Carry/Poss Concealed Weapon, Robbery (2 counts) Brown, Jamhal 83044 Aslt Peac Ofcr/DCS Emp 3rd Dgr, Domestic Assault, Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel Foxworth, Michael 84622 Burglary, Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I (2 counts), Viol of Financial Trans Device Jessop, Phillip 84735 Theft by Deception, Theft by Unlwfl Taking or Disp Perez, Isaiah 86553 Robbery Moser, John 86577 Burglary, Theft by Unlwfl Taking or Disp (2 counts) Lea, Mark 86754 False Imprisonment 1st Degree, Poss Deadly Weap

by Felon/Fug Vanosdol, Jacob 87292 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I Tomasso, Blake 87395 Theft by Receiving Stolen Prop Jaramillo, David 88353 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug Davis, Markese 88736 Poss/Receive Stolen Firearm Higel, Jaime 98454 Theft by Deception Morelos, Javier 84951 Driving While Intoxicated Randall, Chantal 96599 Child Abuse August 23, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. Community Correctional Center - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska Gonzalez, Manuel 79577 Assault 2nd Degree, Pos Cntrl Sub Except Marijuana Inman, Robert 84737 Manslaughter McWilliams, Kevin 88195 Poss/Receive Stolen Firearm Young, Kevin 87237 Terroristic Threats, Assault 2nd Degree August 26, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. Nebraska State Penitentiary, Lincoln, Nebraska Flowers, Sean 77312 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug, Terroristic Threats Kirk, Ricardo 77545 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug, Possession of Defaced Firearm Thomas, Koreyon 82277 Burglary (2 counts) Brown, Datrel 83672 Robbery Karas, Michael 85615 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I Garcia, Gabriel 87066 Pos Cntrl Sub Except Marijuana, Theft by Receiving Stolen Prop Villafuerte, Antonio 87308 False Reporting, Robbery Lotts, David 87802 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I (2 counts) August 28, 2019 – 9:30 a.m. Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, York, Nebraska Stafford, Nikole 98734 Burglary Cannon, Colleen 98982 Manslaughter, Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel Ortiz, Yadira 99116 Robbery (2 counts), Use Deadly Weap to Commit Fel Acosta, Adriane 392073 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I, Pos of Over 1 lb of Marijuana Broadway-Landers, Turquita 392083 Pos Cntrl Sub Except Marijuana

August 30, 2019 – 9:30 a.m. Omaha Correctional Center, Omaha, Nebraska Bean, Edward 80231 Operate Motor Veh/Avoid Arrest, Pos Cntrl Sub Except Marijuana, Theft by Receiving Stolen Prop Fryear, Larry 84642 Manu/Dist/Del/Disp or Poss W/I Fuller, Ashonti 85720 Robbery Adison, Jason 86146 Burglary (2 counts), Robbery Strong, Jeffrey 86156 Robbery Haynes, Vincent 86353 Robbery (2 counts) Lupino, Donald 87628 Poss Deadly Weap by Felon/Fug, Robbery Taylor, Justin 85310 Operate Motor Veh/Avoid Arrest, Theft by Receiving $1500-$500, Poss W/I or Del of Meth Durand, Tracy 87183 Theft by Shoplifting ROSALYN COTTON, CHAIR NEBRASKA BOARD OF PAROLE August 9, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that USD SDL I, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, filed its Statement of Dissolution with the Nebraska Secretary of State on July 31, 2019, and the company is in the process of voluntary dissolution. The terms and conditions of such dissolution are, in general, that all debts and obligations of the company are to be fully paid and satisfied or adequate provision is to be made therefore, and that the balance of any remaining assets are to be distributed to its Members. Zach Wiegert will wind up and liquidate the company’s business and affairs. If you have a claim against the company, please provide the following information with respect to your claim: 1) your name or the name of your entity; 2) the nature of your claim; 3) the amount of your claim; and 4) the date your claim arose. All claims shall be mailed to USD SDL I, LLC, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, NE 68122. A claim against the company is barred unless an action to enforce the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that USD SDL II - Exemplar, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, filed its Statement of Dissolution with the Nebraska Secretary of State on July 31, 2019, and the company is in the process of voluntary dissolution. The terms and conditions of such dissolution are, in general, that all debts and obligations of the company are to be fully paid and satisfied or adequate provision is to be made therefore, and that the balance of any remaining assets are to be distributed to its Members. Zach Wiegert will wind up and liquidate the company’s business and affairs. If you have a claim against the company, please provide the following information with respect to your claim: 1) your name or the name of your entity; 2) the nature of your claim; 3) the amount of your claim; and 4) the date your claim arose. All claims shall be mailed to USD SDL II - Exemplar, LLC, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, NE 68122. A claim against the company is barred unless an action to enforce the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 MARY E. VANDENACK, Attorney VANDENACK WEAVER LLC 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 3 Omaha, Nebraska 68118 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SUPER SCOOPER LLC Notice is hereby given that Super Scooper LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The address of the initial designated office of the company is 17707 Marcy Street, Suite 3, Omaha, NE 68118-3122. The agent for service of process for the Company is VW Agents, LLC located at 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 3, Omaha, NE 68118.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Cooperation Concepts LLC, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska on 07/19/2019 with its designated agent and office: Daniel Dube, 7803 S. 24th St, Suite 150, Bellevue NE 68147. General nature of business: toys & games. Business shall be member-managed.

First publication August 2, 2019, final August 16, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: BROOKE A. VACANTI, 7705 Grace St, La Vista NE 68128, you are hereby notified that on April 11, 2019, American Family Mutual Ins. Co., filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-8045, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $9,117.50, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 30th day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 30, 2019

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NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is given that AGUIRRE REAL ESTATE, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska with the following registered agent and registered office: Irma Aguirre at 7711 L St. Ralston, NE 68127. The general nature of the Company's business is to engage in any lawful business permitted under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The company was organized on July 18, 2019, and it shall continue in perpetuity unless sooner terminated in accordance with the terms of its operating agreement. In general, the Company's business is to be managed by its primary member Irma Aguirre in accordance with the Company's operating agreement.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 BREASCH FINANCE & TAX CONSULTING INC. 4879 S 132nd Avenue Omaha, NE 68137 CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION OF WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC A NEBRASKA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 1. The name of the limited liability company is WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC 2. The period of duration for WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC is perpetual.

3. WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC is organized for the purpose of conducting any and all business as permitted by the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. 4. The address of the initial designated office for WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC in Nebraska is 6213 N 155th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68116.

5. The name and address of the registered agent for WEST MAPLE VENTURES LLC in Nebraska is Nicholas C McDonald, 6213 N 155th Street, Omaha NE 68116.

6. Additional provisions, not inconsistent with the law, for the regulation of the internal affairs of the limited liability company shall be provided for in the Operating Agreement.

7. Nicholas C McDonald, organizer(s) of West Maple Ventures LLC has signed the Foregoing Certificate of Organization effective this 29th day of July, 2019.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: LEVI C CASILLAS MARCO, 2725 S 20th ST, Omaha NE 68108, you are hereby notified that on March 27, 2019, AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INS. Co., S.I. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6946, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $12,479.68, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 30th day of September, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication August 9, 2019, final August 30, 2019 Charles E. Dorwart, Attorney MASSIH LAW, LLC 226 N. 114th Street Omaha, NE 68154 LEGAL NOTICE In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska. PR19-1188 Estate of David Vollmer, Deceased Notice is hereby given that on August 5, 2019, in the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, the Registrar issued a written statement of Informal Probate of the Will of said Decedent and that Joyce Brown, 15625 S Street, Apt 209, Omaha, Nebraska 68135, was informally appointed by the Registrar as Personal Representative of the Estate.

Creditors of this estate must file their claims with this Court, located at Courtroom No. 30, Third Floor, Probate Division, Douglas County Hall of Justice, 17th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE 68183, on or before October 9, 2019 or be forever barred.

KELLY J. GOLDEN Clerk of the County Court First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019 JOHN E. NELSON, Attorney 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 640 Omaha, Nebraska 68124-2373 LEGAL NOTICE In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska. PR19-1168 Estate of Joan M. Varga, Deceased Notice is hereby given that on August 6, 2019, in the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, the Registrar issued a written statement of Informal Appointment of Personal Representative In Intestacy and that Theresa A. Swanson, whose address is 3611 Gertrude Street, Bellevue, NE 68147, was informally appointed by the registrar as Personal Representative of this estate.

Creditors of this estate must file their claims with this Court, located at Courtroom No. 30, Third Floor, Probate Division, Douglas County Hall of Justice, 17th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE 68183, on or before October 9, 2019 or be forever barred.

KELLY J. GOLDEN Clerk of the County Court First publication August 9, 2019, final August 23, 2019

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES ERICKSON l SEDERSTROM, P.C., Attorneys 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF MLD PROPERTIES, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that MLD Properties, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company (the “Company”), has been duly organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its designated office located at 331 Village Pointe Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska 68118 and designating its registered agent as Erickson & Sederstrom P.C. a limited liability organization with its registered office at 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication July 26, 2019, final August 9, 2019

With AI and other tech, Anat Caspi puts focus on helping people with disabilities

by Melissa Hellmann

While walking beneath a canopy of trees on the winding Burke Gilman trail, artificial intelligence researcher Anat Caspi pointed to the evenness of the terrain along the University of Washington campus periphery. “A lot of times we don’t want the shortest path,” Caspi said over the din of traffic whizzing by.

The scenic route she picked for its level ground, while not the most direct, allowed her to walk and talk.

Caspi is especially keen at noticing raised curbs, downhill and uphill steepness, and the nuances in surfaces that are unique to every path. She has to be.

Technology In her role as the director of the University of Washington’s Taskar Center for Accessible Technology, Caspi creates technology focused on people with disabilities such as motor limitations, in many instances applying artificial intelligence (AI).

“It’s really about treating people as humans with different needs and preferences,” she said as a cyclist passing by rang a bell.

She sees the mapping of pedestrian infrastructure — walkways, sidewalks, overpasses, underpasses and trails — as a necessary lifeline for people with disabilities. Everyone approaches an environment with different levels of attentiveness and perceptual and motor abilities.

Yet a few years ago, Caspi noticed that cities don’t have a data standard for tracking pedestrian walkways that reflects the vast spectrum of user ability. So she and her Taskar team created a framework to log the features of sidewalk infrastructure in a project called OpenSidewalks, which is now being used by King County’s paratransit service to help people with disabilities navigate any trip.

According to an AI-powered online travel planner called AccessMap that she helped create, the surface of the route that Caspi chose on that sunny Wednesday is made of concrete with a 0.5 % uphill steepness — important knowledge for a person using a wheelchair, for example, who would want to avoid a steep incline when traveling in that neighborhood.

It’s the development of such tools that has catapulted Caspi and her Taskar team to the forefront of accessible technology in the U.S., an emerging field that uses AI — among other things — to help empower people with disabilities. She sees her work as transcending the needs of the worldwide, and “designing for the fullness of the human condition.”

Caspi’s interest in technology began as a youth in her native Israel, when her mom enrolled her in a programming class at a local community center in the fourth grade. Although her family didn’t own a computer, she said the class sparked her passion in programming and provided a framework to tackle problems in a functional way.

Her awareness of the inequities in access to education crystallized a few years later, when Caspi took an AP computer science class in high school after her family moved to California. Although she was initially one of 10 female students in the class, Caspi became the only one her teacher selected to test for advancement, due to her prior programming experience.

“That was my first understanding of a structural bias in the computing field,” Caspi said.

A passion for technology spurred Caspi to focus on computer science and feminist studies as an undergraduate at Stanford University. She then pursued a master of science degree in AI and a Ph.D. in bioengineering, knowledge she later applied to her work using machine learning to monitor the effectiveness of DNA sequencing instruments.

In 2013, she moved from Philadelphia to Seattle with her husband, Ben Taskar, and their small daughter to be closer to family on the West Coast. Seattle was the answer to all of their desires: Caspi continued her job as a scientist at medical device company Thermo Fisher Scientific, Taskar took a prestigious new role as the UW Boeing Professor of Computer Science & Engineering, and their daughter, who has disabilities, had access to medical care.

As a professor, Taskar shared her “vision of equity” and interest in translating research to practical applications, Caspi said – a mission that she stoked in her spare time through collaborations with University of Washington students on projects such as developing technology that operates a device with eye movement.

Her path to helm the Taskar Center was born of loss. Eight months after moving to Seattle, Taskar unexpectedly died of severe heart failure. Guided by the desire to honor her late husband’s life and to continue the legacy of their collaborative work, Caspi urged the University of Washington to establish a center focused on educating students and developing assistive technology.

The school’s computer science and engineering program created the Taskar Center in his honor two years later and named her to run it.

“Ben was a superstar — someone whose contributions crossed many technical fields, including machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. He was also a remarkable person,” said Hank Levy, director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. “Anat was the perfect person to lead the Taskar Center for multiple reasons: She shared Ben’s commitment to accessibility, she deeply understands the needs of children with physical challenges, and she has a very strong technical background in both computer science and bioengineering.”

In the four years since its founding, 32 graduate students and 190 undergraduates have participated in the program.

Interacting with people with disabilities — including her daughter, who has mobility and speech limitations — has informed the work that Caspi pursues at the Taskar Center. Caspi’s daughter has tested some of the communication devices and an AI-powered wheelchair developed at the center.

Like many scientists, Caspi is guarded when discussing the intimate details of her life. Her voice drops to a hushed tone as she talks about the details surrounding her husband’s passing and the formation of the center. But when she discusses her work, her mouth curves into a slight smile and she speaks with a command and confidence that belies her otherwise soft-spoken demeanor throughout the interview.

Her passion to create inclusive technology along with a knowledge of AI and data organization found a confluence in the field of transportation.

Fixing information gaps boosts mobility Much of accessing transportation as a person with a disability relies on navigating the minutiae. Missing a bus could mean staying at home in lieu of attending school or seeing the doctor.

Information gaps in trip-planner apps, such as the indication of a curb on a route that would be difficult for a person using a wheelchair, could be solved through AI and machine learning, said Caspi.

For people who have sensory limitations, “a system that tells you the context of your travel right now … can really obviate some of the problems that you experience when you’re traveling,” said Caspi.

That approach to problems was applied to the Taskar team’s project, OpenSidewalks, which uses crowdsourced data to chart the various features of sidewalks. In 2017, the team launched a related online travel planner powered by AI called AccessMap that helps pedestrians choose the best route based on preferences and needs.

It uses AI by relying on Seattle’s municipal sidewalk data, crowdsourced information, and algorithms to produce a map of the environment, instead of relying on static data that could change depending on variables such as construction.

Unlike the mostly car-centric navigation tool Google Maps, AccessMap allows users to customize their journey by choosing the percentage of uphill and downhill steepness of a path and whether they’d like to avoid curbs. A pop-up box appears on the AccessMap website, indicating the surface of the walkway and incline percentage. AccessMap also includes indoor usage, so users can travel through open buildings along their route.

Utilizing the tool’s “good routes and ‘cheats’ like using elevators to get up hills has made a huge difference,” said Steve Lewis, an AccessMap user and contributor. Lewis began using a wheelchair following an injury a decade ago, and found that elevators were essential in avoiding steep hills. In his former role as the co-chair of the Seattle Commission for People with DisAbilities, Lewis would use the app to learn the operating hours of an elevator that served as the linchpin in his frequent three-block downtown journey from Seattle’s Office of Civil Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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Target’s newest incubator program focuses on Generation Z entrepreneurs

by Kavita Kumar

One CEO is looking for $1.2 million for his startup, Agricycle, which has worked with farmers around the world to make dried fruit out of harvests that would otherwise go to waste.

Another has a patent for her company, Terravive, to make compostable cups and forks out of crop scrap. Another is a specialist in prosthetics whose company, Mickey’s Mission, Entrepreneurship makes dolls for children with physical disabilities so they can have toys that resemble them.

All three execs are younger than 24.

Recently, these entrepreneurs were among the young founders of eight startups who delivered pitches to an audience of Target executives.

The Minneapolis retailer gave each company $10,000 and loaned executives to a seven-week program where the entrepreneurs learned about negotiating, branding, pitching and more.

Selected from a pool of 400 applicants, they are part of Target’s newest accelerator program for early-stage companies. Target Incubator is for Generation Z entrepreneurs aiming to do good for the world and the planet.

Target now has four accelerator programs that have run 13 boot camps for more than 100 startups since 2013.

In addition to Target Incubator, there’s an accelerator for global retail startups run in conjunction with Metro AG, a German food group, an extension of the three-year program it ran with Techstars. There’s one for emerging brands called Target Takeoff. And its longest-running accelerator is in India for startups based in that country.

“I believe we have a leading portfolio of accelerator and incubator programs,” said Minsok Pak, Target’s chief strategy and innovation officer. “I anticipate that we’ll continue to grow them going forward.”

Target has invested in some of the startups — some of which, he added, have had exits.

Many have run pilot programs with Target and some now have commercial arrangements with the retailer. And some brands are now being sold at Target stores or on its website.

“It is a huge investment in time and resources,” Pak said. “What we get is we get access and visibility to some really exciting innovation, technology, products and brands. But also

having our teams work with and mentor these companies, we’re getting some of that startup culture infused in how to quickly develop a concept and idea, a lot of the agile thinking, the flexibility and just the vibrancy that these startups bring.”

The energy and enthusiasm of the Generation Z founders in the new program, he added, has been particularly infectious and inspiring.

“My mission is to normalize the idea that not everyone looks the same or acts the same, and that’s OK,” Mikaela Nelson of Mickey’s Mission, dressed in a jean skirt and bright yellow sneakers, said during her presentation.

Right now, it takes about 50 hours of 3-D printer time to create one of her dolls, she said.

So she spent part of her time at Target trying to find ways to more efficiently manufacture them.

“We’re on a mission to empower rural women around the world through small choices and big dreams,” said Josh Shefner of Agricycle, sporting a baseball cap during his pitch.

He’s taking a break from college to work full time on his business, which already includes a team of 21 people.

Another startup in the program, Pulp Pantry, is making chips out of leftover juice pulp.

KnoNap has developed a cocktail napkin that can test for the presence of common rape drugs.

Trill Project is an anonymous social network that provides an alternative to Facebook or Instagram where young people can express themselves

more freely and find support.

Symba is trying to help companies better manage interns and contract workers through its technology platform. And Dressmate has started an online marketplace for female artists making sustainable fashions around the world; its founder plans to open a store in Brooklyn this fall.

At the pitch day, there were no announcements of any pilot programs or tests with Target.

But Pak said Target may partner with some of the startups down the road.

“I can assure you there are several which have piqued people’s interests,” he said. ©2019 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

by Adam Belz

The average first freeze happens from early to mid-October in Minnesota, depending on latitude, but it can happen sooner. Climatologists at the U of M have run the probabilities and the risk of an early freeze is not insignificant.

“There’s about a 10% chance of there being a frost by September 16th at Faribault,” said Luigi Romolo, the state climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Such a frost would cause widespread crop damage.

“The later you go the higher the probability,” Romolo said. “The 20% probability occurs on the 21st. You don’t get to a 50% probability until September 29th.”

Faribault, in south-central Minnesota, is firmly in the corn belt and is surrounded by farmland where planting was delayed. The earliest freeze in recent years there was in 2012, when one came on Sept. 25, according to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at the University of Illinois.

Determining where farmers are at greatest risk is complicated by the fact that farmers planted corn at different dates — sometimes within the same county. And they planted different types of corn. Some planted corn that matures in 100 days, others planted corn that matures in 90 days.

“If we get a mid-September frost and there’s no tassels showing yet, the impact on yield could

be quite substantial,” Coulter said.

Crop insurance would cover the majority of the loss for farmers, but the subsidized insurance program is already in line to pay U.S. farmers an estimated $3.6 billion for fields that were left unplanted because of the poor weather in May and June.

Coulter is most concerned, he said, about the costs to farmers of a wet harvest.

“Everybody’s going to have to deal with a wetter harvest,” he said. “Big hassle. A lot of cost. A lot of energy, fuel that goes into drying that grain.”

Because wet grain is heavier, farmers can’t haul as many bushels on a semi-truck, which drives up the cost of moving the harvest from the field to the grain elevator.

The concerns about soybeans aren’t nearly as great, said Seth Naeve, a soybean agronomist at the U of M, because soybeans accelerate their maturation as the weather cools.

“Soybeans will mature in response to the environment,” Naeve said.

A sudden frost after a period of warm weather might catch the plants off guard, he said, but generally soybeans handle the first frost well, and they don’t need to dry out in the fields the way corn does. ©2019 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

In a terrible summer, another fear stalks Minnesota’s corn farmers: an early frost Just off Larpenteur Avenue at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, test plots of corn show the late-planting consequences of the wet spring of 2019.

Corn planted on May 29, labeled with a white placard, is tall and Agriculture tasseled, well on its way to producing mature ears. Corn planted two weeks later is shorter, with no tassels, and racing to produce a crop that can be harvested before the first killing frost this fall.

“We have a lot of corn in Minnesota like this,” said Dave Nicolai, a crops educator at the U, pointing at the shorter corn as a group of farmers huddled around an agronomist at the Extension’s Field School for Ag Professionals recently.

Rain in May and June kept farmers out of fields far longer than usual, forcing some to leave fields unplanted. Much of the corn that was planted is now behind schedule, stoking fears an early frost could devastate the crop.

A corn stalk needs about 60 days after it tassels to generate mature ears of corn. It needs still more time after that for the corn to dry out, said Jeff Coulter, a corn agronomist at the University of Minnesota Extension.

“It’s going to take most of September for the corn to reach maturity, and the corn that doesn’t even have tassels yet, that’s way behind,” Coulter said. “That’s going to take maybe even a little bit of October.”

Niche retailers could be coming to your neighborhood Continued from page 13. management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

What type of new stores are opening?

Among the top retail stores expanding nationwide are: Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Aldi, according to Coresight Research.

Dollar General, which has 850 stores in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, plans to add about 975 stores through the end of the year.

Welsh said there also are more opportunities for smaller stores as big-box stores close or reduce space.

“When a Sears or Kmart closes, there’s a big piece of real estate,” she said. Landlords are filling those spaces with several smaller retail tenants. At the same time, many big-box stores such as Target are opening smaller stores aimed at a certain market, such as college students.

Target is opening smaller-format stores in urban areas, dense suburban neighborhoods and near college campuses, according to Liz Hancock, spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based retail chain. Target plans to open about 30 of the smaller stores over the next few years. The smaller-format stores have a curated mix of food

and beverage, apparel and accessories, health and beauty, and home décor.

In Florida, Target has opened college student-oriented stores near Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Florida in Gainesville. A smaller-format Target also is planned later this summer at BLVD at Lenox, a lifestyle and fitness retail development in Miami Beach, Hancock said.

Welsh said lifestyle and fitness stores are opening in strip shopping centers throughout South Florida. She is especially seeing growth in medical marijuana dispensaries and clinics, as well as hemp stores.

Trulieve and Curaleaf are among the medical marijuana stores that have been expanding.

And new retailers are entering the market, including California-based cannabis company MedMen Enterprises.

“Those tenants are hot right now and they’re everywhere. They’re paying good rent and landlords are very happy with them,” she said. ©2019 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Anat Caspi focuses on helping people with disabilities Continued from preceding page.

Rights to City Hall.

Lewis has helped update the map database to include elevator hours and has tested the app’s downtown Seattle routes, and now he mostly uses AccessMap to check the incline level in unfamiliar areas of the city. He added that he wished something similar had been available during a recent trip to Lisbon, Portugal, a city known for its steep hills.

Caspi began partnering with King County Metro paratransit services about four years ago.

Now OpenSidewalks organizes the sidewalk data in a common format so users in different areas can customize trip itineraries.

The county’s collaboration with Taskar has allowed the transportation department to leverage crowdsourcing data that makes public transit more accessible to all people, said Matthew Weidner, a transportation planner with King County’s Access Transportation program.

“What (Caspi) brings is perspective on how we better the environment and better society by taking diverse sets of technologies and computational thinking … that really helps us deliver something for people with disabilities that wasn’t there before,” said Weidner.

Mark Hallenbeck, the director of the

Washington State Transportation Center at the University of Washington, said Caspi has a unique skill set of data analytics expertise and an understanding of issues facing people with disabilities.

“She has a lot of passion for what she does in an area that is often neglected on the funding side,” said Hallenbeck, “She’s a great lady.”

Caspi is also turning the tables on traditional work and play environments in a project that seeks to better accommodate the needs and preferences of individuals. She points to a clear, hexagonal table atop a wooden platform in her office — a device she and her team at the Taskar Center are designing that uses sensors and cameras to understand and adjust to the needs of its users by swiveling and tilting depending on the situation. For instance, the table could dip toward different participants based on their turns during playtime or work on a collaborative project.

It’s an example, she said, of how “technology can be a lot more ambient and encourage us to be more social, more team playing, collaborative, and still be assistive.” ©2019 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Assistology combats accessibility barriers to those with disabilities

Continued from page 1. the core of a lot of what I do and how I work with teams.”

Assistology works with a diverse array of clients: individuals, families, businesses and organizations to provide assistive technology and rehab engineering, resources, universal design evaluations and training to help solve

Assistology, LLC Phone: 402-500-0667 Services: providing assistive technology, rehab engineering and universal design consultation services to help individuals reach their goals and businesses create inclusive spaces, services, products and practices Founded: 2017 One-year goal: Increase involvement in more high capacity projects like restaurants, movie theaters and the hospitality industry that have an impact on social connectedness in the community.

Industry outlook: Awareness of design that includes all, from people with disabilities to the elderly, is catching on as major corporations embrace inclusive design.

Website: www.assistologyomaha.com

access issues for people in the community and improve their quality of life.

The company also partners with educational institutions.

Walls likes to challenge businesses to think outside the box to find solutions to access issues — to have some of those “tough conversations.”

At Conagra, she presented on how “integrating the principles of universal design through every phase of the product development makes the product more usable and more accessible to more people, which in turn is going to grow your customer base and your repeat business,” using microwave popcorn as an example. Microwave popcorn instructions are based on a user hearing when the popcorn is done, which leaves out people who are deaf.

Walls helped VirtuActive retool the residential design firm’s intake questions to gather information that can help with design considerations; for example, designing a home

Families use an adaptive technology archery station at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center, designed, fabricated and installed by Walls. (Courtesy of Assistology) for clients who might have a parent with Par- understand how it can impact their own lives kinson’s disease living with them, or planning through examples or telling a story. for what life might look like 15 years down the “I try to find a middle ground where I can road. She has also worked with Alley Poyner pull on that humanity side of things,” she said.

Macchietto Architecture and Koley Jessen, “It is good for business but it’s also just good among other firms. business. It’s the right thing to do for the deDesign for all velopment and the health of our communities, About 20% of Americans have a reported community members and oh, by the way, it disability, keeping in mind that not all catego- will actually help your business. I know I have ries of disabilities or age groups are included to make that business case, but I almost want in this statistic. it to be the secondary outcome.”

“At some point, we’re all going to be The term assistive technology can sound affected by disability,” she said. “It could be intimidating at first, but “they’re just tools to us or someone in our lives.” make your life easier,” she said, adding that Inclusive design is just that — design that the highest tech she implements is the Alexa includes everybody. system for home automation.

“A lot of times in the built environment “Most of the assistive technology soluthere’s a real heavy focus on: ‘If we meet tions that I’m working on — they’re low-tech the standards outlined by the Americans with tools,” she said. “They’re affordable, they’re Disabilities Act, we’ve created an accessible easy to use and we’re able to look at everything space,’” she said. “I like to treat [ADA guide- from hobbies to preferred activities. Somelines] as a framework. It’s a great starting times it’s nothing more than visual reminders.” point but they don’t make the spaces funcIn fact, she said that automatic door tionally accessible for the broad spectrum of openers, text messaging and closed captionour community.” ing began as ways to solve access problems.

While universal design ultimately affects Now, everybody uses these solutions without the bottom line by diversifying the workforce, thinking about them. retaining employees, decreasing turnover and Connecting with the community increasing productivity, Walls can help people With a master’s degree in bioengineer-

ing with an emphasis on rehabilitation and assistive technology from the University of Illinois-Chicago and an undergraduate degree in mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, she worked in Boston as a biomedical sales engineer and at Easter Seals Massachusetts.

Walls moved back to Omaha after 13 years and served as the director of rehabilitation services at CRCC. “Being in that role allowed me to reconnect with the families, providers and the communities and I quickly came to realize there were two issues,” she said. “In 13 years, there hadn’t really been any advancement in expertise or services or resources for families, especially for families with family members with any various medical diagnosis. But also, things remained very siloed.”

She realized that she wanted to work with people of all ages, including those who are aging “and who are trying to pursue independence throughout that process.” At CRCC, she was limited in who she could help.

As she started her business, Walls discovered that there are funding challenges for individuals or families who want to enlist Assistology’s services because of state restrictions.

“Right now, my funding is pretty selective,” she said. “If families aren’t able to pay for my services directly, I try to connect them to resources, whether that’s through an association related to their diagnosis like the MS Foundation, the ALS Foundation or ALS of the Heartland, and I have a partnership with United Cerebral Palsy of Nebraska.”

Walls connected with her first client, a woman who wanted to live independently but had limitations because of lifelong seizures, through a grant.

To accommodate the client’s challenges of cooking one-handed, Walls outfitted the kitchen with simple, readily-available solutions, such as a push button can opener and a suction cup pan holder to stop it from spinning.

Inclusive design impacts everybody One memorable project began as a custom project for some students at the Madonna School who had one-handed limitations because of neurological events. Walls used her engineering skills to design, fabricate and install a height-adjustable archery station at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center so that people, whether seated or standing, can use standard bows and arrows or adapted bows and arrows independently.

“It was this project that was initially a vision to support the students at Madonna School but then other groups that came to the camp found value in it,” she said, adding that it allowed individuals and families to participate in the same activity. “That was probably one of the most hands-on and unique projects that had some really fun outcomes and embodied what it looks like when you bring inclusive design into the product or the environment and meeting all those different needs.”

Major corporations like Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Target, Kohl’s and Mattel are starting to incorporate universal design, creating opportunities to more easily engage in conversations about inclusivity and diversity, she said.

Walls hopes to expand the architecture and business side of the company’s clientele and is looking to work on higher capacity projects that impact social connectedness, like restaurants, movie theaters and hospitality.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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Property & Casualty

Insurance A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Topics may include:

Topics may include:

Outlook • Independent Insurance Agents of Omaha and Nebraska chapters Cyber insurance • Auto insurance industry • Disaster planning • Tort reform

Holiday office party venues • Equipment, supplies and decorations • Catering/food trends Budget-friendly ideas • Gift giving tips • Entertainment • Restaurant/hotel options Family-friendly events • Event planning trends • Tips from HR/attorneys/insurance • Event marketing tools Selecting goals/themes • Focus on smaller functions • Incorporating charitable elements

Issue Date: August 16 • Ad Deadline: August 8

Issue Date: August 16 • Ad Deadline: August 8

Shopping/Mall Space Directory A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Home Improvement/ Maintenance A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Topics may include:

Topics may include:

Retail market overview • Retail remodeling trends • New technology Choosing the right location for retail space • Shopping center trends • New technology Selecting a real estate broker for business needs • Retail security

Home Improvement/Maintenance overview • Remodeling trends Financing home improvement projects • Outdoor living • Energy & water efficiency

Issue Date: August 23 • Ad Deadline: August 15

Issue Date: August 23 • Ad Deadline: August 15

To advertise your company’s products or services in one of our upcoming sections, contact one of our MBJ advertising representatives at (402) 330-1760 or at the email addresses below.

Julie Whitehead - Julie@mbj.com • Catie Kirby - Catie@mbj.com

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

REGIONAL LANDSCAPES

Briefs…

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Omaha Field Office is the most recent office nationwide to implement the new Information Services Modernization Program. The program ends self-scheduling of InfoPass appointments and encourages applicants to use USCIS online information resources to view general how-to information and check case statuses through the USCIS Contact Center. Recent improvements to online tools provide applicants the ability to obtain their case status and other immigration information without having to visit a local field office.

The program has improved the delivery of emergency and other services that can only be provided in-person.

Construction is underway on the new Chrysler-Dodge-Ram-Jeep dealership near Interstate 80 and Highway 370 in Papillion. The building features more than 59,000 total square feet; including a showroom, service center, customer lounge with kids play area, single lane car wash, two storage mezzanines and more than 10 acres of exterior paving. The dealership will be one of the first in the area to include a hail protection system. The 135,000-squarefoot hail netting is designed to protect inventory from hail, heat and UV rays.

The project is slated for completion in Spring 2020.

Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a portfolio management solution provider for registered investment advisors, has acquired Advizr, Inc., a financial planning and client experience technology platform out of New York. Making its entrance into

the advisor tech space in 2012 before expanding its focus to the employee financial wellness market, Advizr is known for its sleek interface and impressively intuitive user experience.

Veramaris has opened a $200 million facility for EPA & DHA omega-3 algal oil to support sustainable growth in aquaculture in Blair, Nebraska. The Veramaris algal oil enables salmon farmers to become net fish producers, while reversing the decadelong decline of EPA & DHA omega-3 levels in salmon. The Veramaris oil is a scalable alternative source of EPA and DHA, the two marine omega-3 fatty acids proven to be essential for good health, for both fish and humans. The zero-waste facility in Blair was completed ahead of schedule, on budget and with zero-accidents.

Embarking on a strategic initiative to expand resources and enhance value, Bergman Incentives has acquired Lincoln-based The Adwood Company.

The addition of Adwood and its Lincoln operations positions Bergman Incentives to provide branding, apparel decoration, company stores, promotional products and services to a larger region and serve our existing clients better.

Over the course of the past year, BerganKDV has been working on refreshing and refocusing the firm’s brand to better reflect the new direction the firm is moving in to better serve clients. The result is an overhaul of the firm’s messaging, tagline and color scheme which are reflected in the firm’s facilities, collateral material and the launch of a rebranded website.

CLAAS of America held a groundbreak-

ing ceremony for its new CLAAS Academy.

Located at the CLAAS of America headquarters in Omaha, the facility will enhance the training experience for dealer technicians and bring additional training and certification programs to their product specialists, sales and parts staff. The company also plans to incorporate outreach programs, such as apprenticeships, into CLAAS Academy in an effort to cultivate knowledge and engage the local community and technical schools through certification programs. The new facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020.

Steve Ruff, managing director, and Josh Larsen, vice president in NorthMarq’s Omaha-based regional office, arranged the $3.89 million refinance of Northampton Arms Apartments, a 129unit multifamily property located at 5615 Northampton Boulevard in Omaha. The permanent-fixed loan was structured with a 10-year term on a 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its relationship with a Freddie Mac SBL provider.

Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen is the recipient of the inaugural Innovators Award presented by the National Association of State Election Directors for the first Albert sensor. The award was a result of collaboration between the Secretary of State’s office, Nebraska’s voter registration database vendor Election Systems and Software and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

An Albert sensor is an intrusion detection device that will detect suspicious activity in Nebraska’s voter registration system and will alert the Secretary of State’s office to real-time threats to the voter registration system.

What is your vision for north 24th Street? The City of Omaha, in coordination with the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, is developing the Forever North study to learn more about your ideas. Public input is important to this study; community members who live in and around north 24th Street are encouraged to comment online at www. surveymonkey.com/r/ForeverNorth.

Access Systems has been named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers on the prestigious 12th annual Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings. MSPs were ranked according to a methodology that weights revenue figures according to how well the applicant’s business strategy anticipates trends in the fast-evolving channel ecosystem. Channel Futures is pleased to name Access Systems to the 2019 MSP 501 for the third year in a row.

Creative Planning Omaha has surpassed $2 billion in assests under management. The RIA has had an office in Omaha for just over four years and the team has one of the fastest growth rates in the country helping the RIA to $42.1 billion as of June 30.

Health care notes…

Susan G. Komen Great Plains awarded an $85,000 grant to Visiting Nurse Association to help breast cancer patients in Nebraska. Susan G. Komen Greater Iowa also awarded the VNA a $31,176 grant to help patients in Cass County, Iowa, and Thurston and Dakota counties, Nebraska. The grants support VNA’s Breast Cancer Patient Assistance Program, which

provides financial assistance, emotional support and system navigation for those undergoing treatment. It will also support the VNA’s Patient Advocate program, which works with partners across Nebraska and in southwest Iowa to connect program participants with resources that support their treatment and recovery.

Methodist Fremont Health held its annual Employee Recognition and Awards Banquet at Christensen Field in Fremont on July 25. During the ceremony, employees who reached service milestones were honored and the 2019 Caring Kind Award winner was announced. Nikea Brady was selected as this year’s Caring Kind Award recipient. Other worthy award finalists were Tracy Moore from Acute Care Nursing (Labor and Delivery) and Rita Lauer from Home Care. In addition, numerous employees were recognized for hitting 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45-year milestones. Methodist Fremont also honored 23 retirees.

Visiting Nurse Association of Pottawattamie County was awarded a $56,660 grant from Promise Partners to fund Project WIN — Welcoming Infants into Neighborhoods — an early childhood home visitation program that provides nursing and parent coaching to teen and adult parents of children 0-5 who are at-risk of poor health and development outcomes.

Education notes…

Launch Leadership, a Lincoln-based youth leadership nonprofit, will move its longstanding Summer Leadership Workshops to Doane College’s Crete campus beginning next summer. The mission of Launch Leadership is to empower young leaders to transform their communities and change our world. Launch Leadership’s 58year running flagship leadership experience, Summer Leadership Workshop, is powered almost entirely by volunteer staff members and has been hosted on Wayne State College’s campus in recent years. The program draws nearly 800 students, entering grades 6-12, from across the state and beyond.

Husch Blackwell has launched its Construction Academy, a comprehensive, industry-based knowledge center that seeks to foster learning, create interactions, and build value for its participants. Husch Blackwell is responsible for the programming and administration of the Construction & Design Academy, which aims to include diverse voices and stakeholders including business leaders from the construction, design, engineering, development and project funding fields, as well as trade associations, universities, and policymakers. Organizations in construction and allied industries collectively contribute over $650 billion to the U.S. economy and employ over 10 million people.

Creighton University Heider College of Business professor Taylor Keen, is collecting, growing and spreading seeds for indigenous crops with the help of volunteers. A member of the Omaha Tribe, Keen launched the Sacred Seed project five years ago as a way to preserve his Native American heritage and promote sustainable solutions to agriculture on a local scale. Keen is growing crops with seeds and methods used by several Great Plains tribes. He recently extended his reach and education about Native American culture, indigenous plants Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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REGIONAL LANDSCAPES Continued from preceding page. and soil methods to additional areas of the country. He has operated approximately a dozen plots, including Sacred Seed pop-up in downtown Omaha, Creighton University and the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas.

Activities of nonprofits…

The Boys & Girls Club of Lincoln/ Lancaster County received a $10,000 check from Jeffrey Dwerlkotte, a local freight driver for UPS. Through the UPS Foundation’s Global Volunteer Month Program employees can select nonprofit organizations to receive the grant, then 14 organizations are randomly chosen to receive the $10,000 grant. This year the Boys & Girls Club of Lincoln/Lancaster County was chosen by Dwerlkotte to be his organization of choice to donate to, and the UPS Foundation randomly chose the Boys & Girls Club to receive the grant.

The American Red Cross was awarded $80,000 from United Way of the Midlands to support the Disaster Cycle Services program and help the local Red Cross fulfill its mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

Funds will assist families in preparedness, response and recovery. Through its Disaster Cycle Services, the Red Cross helps community prepare for and respond to disaster big and small.

Goodwill Industries, Inc. was awarded a $36,000 grant from United Way of the Midlands for Goodwill’s YouthBuild Omaha Program. YouthBuild is a program for young adults, ages 16 to 24, who have struggled with school, many of whom do not have a high school diploma and are looking to make a positive change in their

lives. The program combines classroom learning and hands-on construction experience. YouthBuild Omaha members spend half their day in the classroom preparing to take their GED tests, and the other half working with local nonprofits that build and renovate homes, learning construction and other high demand occupations, and giving back to their community.

Arts and events…

Amplify Arts has awarded artists Anne Dovali, Sarah Kolar, Liz Lassiter, Egypt McKizia, Sophie Newell and Sarah Parys micro grants. These artists will be using their grant funds for a variety of needs, including covering the costs of residency stay, supplies for an upcoming exhibition, promotion of a new album, and new equipment to improve the art making process. The next round of micro grants will be awarded in October.

Summer Beanfest 2019 is taking place on Aug. 10 from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Infusion Brewing Company Southeast. Infusion Brewing Company has partnered with The Pie Whole, FishEye Kombucha, Omaha Dog Bar, LeBlanc’s BBQ & Cajun, Details by DiFOnzo and Beer Paws for food vendors, live music, games, artisan vendors, live music and root beer and beer floats. Infusion will also have a number of Vanilla Bean variations, such as a Pink Lemonade Bean, S’mores Bean, Pickle Bean, and Fruity Pebbles Bean.

Block 16 & Friends Epic BBQ to Smoke Out SMA for Presley is taking place on Aug. 11 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hot Shops Art Center. Presley Mae O’Doherty is a little girl who is bravely fighting SMA, a very rare, recessive condition that effects the lower brain stem, which results in severe and progressive muscular atrophy. Presley’s medical expenses are

MEETINGS AND SEMINARS Wednesday, Aug. 14 Mentor Nebraska is hosting a workshop on the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This training covers best practices for mentor program design, management, operations, and evaluation. Content provides school, community, and faith-based teams with tools to design a quality-mentoring program based on the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring.

This training also provides a solid foundation of knowledge regarding mentoring best practices for recruitment, screening, training, matching and initiating, monitoring and support, and closure. Registration is online.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will host the 38th annual Government-Business Forum from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Forum, held at Creighton University, will provide a platform to highlight perceived impediments to capital formation, culminating in recommendations to improve the environment for small businesses. Participants typically include small business leaders, government officials, trade association representatives, lawyers, accountants and academics. In recent years, the format of the Forum typically has emphasized small interactive breakout groups developing recommendations for governmental action. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is online.

The American Coalition for Ethanol, the grassroots voice of the U.S. ethanol

industry, is holding its 32nd annual conference from Aug. 14 through Aug. 16 at the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District. The ACE annual conference enables ACE members, many of whom are ethanol producers and investors, farmers, companies that supply goods and services to the U.S. ethanol industry, fuel retailers, and citizens of rural communities that benefit from ethanol, an opportunity to receive updates on issues critical to their businesses from federal officials and leading experts. Reservations are being taken until Aug. 12.

The Nonprofit Association of the Midlands is hosting a workshop on the IRS Form 990 — A Deeper Dive from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The workshop will be lead by Donald Neal from KPMG. The Form 990 is sometimes a simple postcard and other times a long, intimidating form that all nonprofits are required to file on an annual basis. Participants can learn how to review a Form 990 to ensure the IRS form prepared for an organization accurately reflects your operations. Registration is available online.

Friday, Aug. 16 The Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center is hosting a special presentation

by Jim Murphy, senior vice president of Bank of the West, at its Women’s Business Forum. The forum is a breakfast scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Bank of the West at 13220 California Street. Registration is available online.

absolutely astronomical, so this event is to help curb some of those costs. All funds will go directly to the family. The event will feature some of Omaha’s best chefs who will be smoking mass amounts of meat, making sauces, creating crazy side dishes and a couple of fun cocktails. In addition, there will be hot ticket item raffles and games, beer and non-alcoholic beverages.

Tickets are $25.

The One Community Cultural Festival will take place at Stinson Park, Aksarben Village on Aug. 11 between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. The One Community Cultural Festival is the first and largest multi-cultural festival of its kind in Omaha. It’s free to the public to attend. The event will be a mix of traditional and cultural entertainment as well as contemporary performers. The festival will showcase foods, crafts, arts and the diverse heritages of the region including Chinese, German, Irish, Native American, Hispanic, Japanese, Vietnamese, African, Indian, Pilipino, Thai and more.

2019 Amplify Arts Grant Recipient Sarah Hummel Jones will be speaking at an

artist talk on Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at Amplify Arts. Hummel Jones uses a lexicon steeped in blipster culture and junk food to subtly code conversations about status and class in her ceramic-based work. She layers form, material, color, and texture to create expansive installations that become a pick and mix of multiples, composed with colorfully glazed gas station donuts, pizza slices, and chocolate chip cookies. She will discuss the evolution of her practice, her relationship to materials, and how she connects process to content.

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church as 602 Park Ave. in Omaha is hosting the 2019 Greek Festival from Aug. 16-18.

There will be traditional, authentic Greek food, dance and music as well as a Greek boutique and family-friendly activities.

The Greater Bellevue Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting Riverfest Community Celebration on Aug. 16-17 at the American Hero’s Park. There will be a carnival, concessions, helicopter rides, live music, a pancake breakfast, the Missouri River Autofest and fireworks. Admission is $1.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

In the Spotlight ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

Promoted

Promoted

William R. Huey III

Robert Franco

Vice President of Construction Administration

Vice President of Business Development & Marketing

Prochaska & Associates

Prochaska & Associates

Prochaska & Associates has named William R. Huey III as vice president of QC management and construction administration. As a 35-year veteran of the 36-year-old architecture and engineering firm, Huey has been an integral part of the long-term success of the firm. He is a graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln in architecture and has a B.A. in history from Doane College.

Franco has a BFA in interior architecture from Northern Illinois University and a MFA in interior design from Iowa State University. He has over 20 years’ experience in the design industry at various capacities. Franco will be part of the firm’s leadership team, where he will play a significant role in the future direction of the firm.

ENGINEERING

BANKING

Hired

Hired

Tyler Fritz

Mitchell Glause

Mechanical/Electrical Team Leader

Business Banking Solutions Officer

Olsson

West Gate Bank

Fritz has spent most of his career in the Denver area and brings back to his home state extensive electrical engineering experience designing electrical, low-voltage lighting and high-reliability/life-safety systems. He has led multidisciplinary teams on a variety of infrastructure projects. He has expertise in a variety of facility types from commercial, education, health care and residential to sports and recreation.

Glause graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. As business banking solutions officer, Glause will customize product solutions to enhance business-banking portfolios and create additional benefits for businesses, as well as developing and maintaining business account relationships. Glause is located at West Gate Bank Center at 6003 Old Cheney Road in Lincoln.

BANKING

INSURANCE

Hired

Promoted

Amber Sundberg

Carl Ghiselli

Business Banking Solutions

Vice President and Actuary

West Gate Bank

Mutual of Omaha

Sundberg, a graduate of University of Nebraska at Kearney with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, brings nine years of retail banking experience. She will be responsible for working with the business banking department sales team and its existing and potential customers, as well as assisting the team to support daily operations. Sundberg is located at West Gate Bank Center at 6003 Old Cheney Road in Lincoln.

Ghiselli handles valuation of health insurance products and actuarial modernization. He has more than 15 years of experience covering many lines of insurance, including health, life and annuity, long term care and disability. His areas of responsibility included actuarial analytics, robo-advice and actuarial transformation applied to pricing, underwriting and financial reporting.

Previously, he was a senior manager at Ernst & Young, LLP.

Midlands Business Journal • AUGUST 9, 2019 •

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In the Spotlight BUSINESS SERVICES

BUSINESS SERVICES

BUSINESS SERVICES

BUSINESS SERVICES

Promoted

Hired

Hired

Promoted

Katie Roberts

Cory Hanson

Regan Szatko

Scott Porter

Health Care Manager

Operations Lead

Administrative Assistant

Lincoln Branch Manager

Lutz

Lutz

Lutz

Bishop Business

Roberts, CPA, CHFP, has been promoted to health care manager.

She is responsible for providing accounting and consulting services to health care organizations with a focus on outsourced CFO services and reimbursements. Roberts works in both the Lincoln and Omaha Lutz offices.

Hanson joins the firm as an operations lead.

He is responsible for assisting the chief operating officer in providing operational leadership and business plan execution for Lutz’s Financial, Talent and Tech divisions.

Hanson received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, and his master’s degree in business administration from Midland University.

Joining the firm as an administrative assistant, Szatko is responsible for providing administrative support to the firm including processing tax returns, managing the reception desk and other duties as assigned. Szatko graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Submit your company’s employee announcements to

Spotlight@mbj.com

Porter will be responsible for the sales and management of our Lincoln office, which covers a territory that includes multiple counties in the surrounding area. He is a seasoned manager and sales professional with a history of promoting growth through product development and solutions management. He has experience in the areas of B2B sales, lead generation, account management, customer service and business development.

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• AUGUST 9, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal