You see that glow on the horizon, just southwest of Omaha? That’s Papillion wrapped in the glow of being ranked Number 2 on Money Magazine’s list of Best Places to Live among America’s small cities.

For the third-graders in Linda Poole's class, Tuesday wasn't just the first day back from summer vacation. It was the first day of school at Prairie Queen Elementary. The brand new school is the result of continued growth in the Papillion School District.

A teacher in metro area schools for 15 years, Poole said the district has a lot to offer.

She said, “We have great leaders here, great administration, great students, great families and I think we have a great partnership with each other."

Laura Baum understands how those partnerships work. Her daughter Claire is diabetic and it’s important to Laura, "to know that she's well taken care of. And the staff has done a wonderful job meeting with us and getting us ready for this transition for Claire to go to kindergarten and it's a big deal for us to feel comfortable and we definitely do."

Along with schools, Money Magazine noted Papillion's strong economy, affordable housing and that special something that makes it great.

Vicky Petz has operated Your Country Connection Gift Shop on Main Street for 15 years. She says while city leaders are focusing on growing businesses in the area, she's glad they remain dedicated to seeing downtown businesses succeed.

"More businesses, more retail shops so that people can have a destination to come and spend the day,” she said. “That can easily happen."

And it happens while maintaining that small town feel.

Money Magazine says major improvements to Papillion's downtown over these past two years put them in that second place spot.

For the record, the top-ranked small city in America is Apex, North Carolina.

