Daily Minute: Affordable housing complex fills up; zoo announces red panda cubs; LPS enrollment grows

Good morning, Lincoln. Here's what you should know today.

Affordable housing complex fills up

All 192 apartments at one of the largest affordable housing projects in Lincoln are rented, the Indiana-based developer told community leaders inside a white tent in the parking lot of the complex in west Lincoln.

The president of the Annex Group was on hand Thursday for a ribbon-cutting at the $35 million Union at Middle Creek affordable housing project, the first foray into Lincoln by the Indiana-based group. He said this was the company's first investment in Lincoln but it won't be the last.

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird has set a goal of creating 5,000 new affordable housing units by 2030. She said the city is ahead of schedule to meet that goal, having incentivized the creation of 2,670 units so far.

Zoo announces red panda cubs

The Lincoln Children's Zoo announced Thursday that red panda mom Tián gave birth to a set of triplets in August.

One female and two male red panda cubs were born on August 10th.

Tian is also the mom to twin male pandas, born in June 2023, and the zoo's first red panda cub born eight years ago.

While triplet cubs do happen, a mom being able to raise triplets successfully is rare, according to the zoo's general curator, so it helps that Tian is a seasoned pro. Names for the cubs have not yet been decided.

LPS enrollment grows

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, Lincoln Public Schools broke its pattern of stagnant enrollment and grew by more than 600 students this school year, nearing the district's highest-ever number of students.

LPS released its official enrollment numbers for the 2024-25 school year Thursday afternoon, boasting a growth of 647 students across the district, with a total of 42,282 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grades — just 15 fewer than LPS's record enrollment in 2019-20.

This is the first time in eight years the district has seen such a significant growth in enrollment, and Mike Gillotti, associate superintendent for educational services, said the spike was "a pleasant surprise" for the district.

That's it for Friday, Nov. 8. Stay in the know with Lincoln's longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com and we will see you back here tomorrow.