Bellevue's Top Ten Stories of 2023

At the Bellevue Times, we just completed our second full year of publication through our iPhone/iPad App, our Andriod/Google Play App, and our Digital News Site. It was a year of tremendous growth with a 75% increase in the number of visitors and a 150% increase in the number of page views over 2022! Thanks to Offutt Air Force Base, Bellevue is a global community and we have readers from all over the world, checking in weekly to see what's happening in Bellevue, Nebraska.

In 2023, we added a Public Record Section that includes Bellevue Police activity, marriages, real estate transfers, Sarpy County Court sentencings, Bellevue Food Pantry Needs, and a listing of Public Meetings in Bellevue.

The ten stories listed below had the most views, interactions, and engagements over the course of 2023. The stories vary widely in subject matter – from mystery houses and retired teachers to business closings and many more business openings. The thread that ties them together is that all have a connection to Bellevue.

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#10: Mystery House No More

It sat for decades at one of the busiest intersections in the city and the county. But most didn't know what the building was - either its original purpose or what it later became. The Mystery House was torn down earlier this year as Bellevue University continues its expansion from the top of Harvell Road down to the corner of Fort Crook Road and Cornhusker.

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#9: Bellevue West Graduate Enters Shark Tank

Bellevue West graduate Jeremy Carlson entered the Shark Tank earlier this year on ABC and came out a winner.

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#8: Nettie's Restaurant Changes Course

They tried and tried, but in the end, there were too many obstacles. Nettie's announced last month that they will not be reopening their very popular Bellevue/South Omaha Mexican Restaurant. On December 23, 2022, a fire tore through the building, and it was a complete loss. While the owners were initially hopeful to rebuild, the costs kept piling up and they decided to sell the land.

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#7: Bellevue Chamber Back in Business

After a couple of months of uncertainty to start the year, the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce & Community announced Diane Bruce as their new interim president. Bruce quickly worked to resolve the issues and was elected as the Chamber President in early November.

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#6: Google Fiber Coming to Bellevue

After a long council meeting, where city council members asked a LOT of questions of Google Fiber representatives, they ultimately voted for a contract between the city and Goggle Fiber to install their high-speed network in Bellevue. It was later announced that Google Fiber will be working with Allo to install the citywide network.

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#5: Patillo's Paris Push

High school freshman Jaiya Patillo continued to rack up the wins and the records throughout 2023. She has started her #ParisPush with the goal of trying to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.

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#4: Dr. Simons-Bester Retires

Bellevue High graduate Dr. Marjorie Simons-Bester retired after a 44-year career as a chorus teacher and choir director for Bellevue Public Schools, spending the majority of her career at Bellevue East High School.

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#3: Two Happy Buddhas

Business partners John Stevens and Jacob Betsworth spend the majority of the year getting their new restaurant, Happy Buddha's Asian Cuisine, up and running. The restaurant officially opened in Twin Creek right before Thanksgiving to large crowds and rave reviews.

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#2: Bowling on the Brink

Perseverance. That might be the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Steve Kucirek, owner of The Alley. Kucirek announced a little over a year ago that bowling would return to Bellevue in 2023. After that announcement was made, a long series of unforeseen circumstances arose. Enough that most anyone else might have called it quits. But Kucirek believes in this project and he believes in Bellevue. He doubled down on his efforts and now the axe-throwing, bar, and arcade are open for business, with Frank's Pizza opening soon inside The Alley, and bowling to come in early 2024.

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#1: Two Dads Open a Bookstore in Bellevue

In October, two dads opened a bookstore in Bellevue. Seems like a simple enough story. However, the story ended up becoming the most read, the most shared, the most liked, and the most discussed story of the year in the Bellevue Times. Why? It's hard to say - but Bellevue used to have four different bookstores operating at the same time with the last one closing in 2013. Bellevue loves to read and news of the return of a retail bookstore to Bellevue was just what many people wanted to hear.

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