OMAHA — The publicly funded Omaha Inland Port Authority has taken new strides — including hiring three more top managers and greenlighting the purchase of long-awaited business park property — to help attain its goal of creating jobs and economic prosperity in one of Nebraska’s poorest areas. Authorized by a 2021 state law, the port authority essentially launched in mid-2024 when the Omaha City Council confirmed its nine-member governing board. The entity is empowered with economic development tools, including the ability to issue revenue bonds for construction in a district spanning roughly 3,000-acres of northeast Omaha near Eppley Airfield.

In recent weeks, the board and Garry Clark, who was installed last summer as OIPA’s inaugural executive director, assembled the economic development team to guide an initial $120 million investment into the district by the state. Public records show the three new hires, who bring a combined five decades of experience, earning salaries ranging from $135,000 to $165,000 a year. Clark’s salary is $210,000.

Another person is likely to be hired to coordinate a planned “innovation district” within the boundaries, said Thomas Warren, an OIPA board member who is also Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr.’s chief of staff.

For the full article, click HERE.