Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Mixed unemployment numbers. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose above 400,000 last week, but the nation’s four-week average fell to the lowest levels seen since mid-April, according to The Associated Press. A report from the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that applications rose to 408,000. They have remained above 400,000 in 18 of the past 19 weeks. But the four-week average fell for the seventh consecutive week to 402,500.

2. Wisconsin property values decline. For the third consecutive year, property values fell across Wisconsin in 2010. The value of homes, businesses and other property declined by 1.8 percent to $487 billion, according to a report by the state’s Department of Revenue. In 2009, values declined by 3.1 percent. Before the three-year slide, Wisconsin had only one other year on record, 1959, when property values declined, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

3. Lyric Opera averts strike. Officials the Lyric Opera of Chicago and America Guild of Musical Artists announced a tentative, one-year contract agreement Wednesday that likely averts a strike, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The agreement must still be ratified by union members and the Opera’s board of directors. The opera’s seasonal performances are scheduled to begin on Sept. 10 at Millennium Park.