Commercial construction surge to close 2021, Watch Santa fly over D-FW: Your Friday morning roundup

Also, cozy holiday drinks and five of the largest North Texas homes we featured this year  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [Morning roundup]( [NEWS]( | [BUSINESS]( | [SPORTS]( | [HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS]( | [ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT]( | [FOOD]( | [STATE OF THE CITY]( | [THINGS TO DO]( | [OPINION]( | [GAMES AND PUZZLES]( 12/24/2021 By Ariyon Dailey Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌞 Weather: Mostly sunny, windy and very warm. High of 80. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( ADVERTISEMENT [Watch Santa fly over D-FW on Christmas Eve]( [Bus traffic to Mexico is bustling despite omicron fears]( [Watch Irving police officers sing car karaoke to spread a little Christmas cheer]( [5 takeaways on North Texas’ coming COVID-19 surge]( [Meet this year’s inductees into the Watchdog Hall of Fame. They fought for you]( [For last-minute grocery and gift shoppers, here’s when D-FW stores close on Christmas Eve]( [22 cozy holiday cocktails to make at home in 2021]( [Dallas-Fort Worth families can celebrate New Year’s Eve and welcome 2022 with these events]( [End the year in a big way: See 5 of the largest North Texas homes we featured in 2021](  Dallas-Fort Worth commercial construction is increasing after a slowdown during the pandemic. (Lola Gomez/The Dallas Morning News) BUSINESS [Dallas-Fort Worth commercial construction surge underway to close out the year]( A surge in commercial and nonresidential building starts led to an increase in November construction activity in Dallas-Fort Worth. [Nonresidential building starts in the D-FW area were up 60% last month from November 2020 levels]( according to the latest survey from Dodge Data & Analytics. Residential building starts were down 19% from a year ago. Through the first 11 months of 2021, total D-FW construction activity is 16% higher than in the same period last year. ADVERTISEMENT  👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [the newsroom.]( [Free Newsletters]( | [Account Login]( | [Help Center]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( The Dallas Morning News, 1954 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75201, United States © Copyright 2021