OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Keeping young professional talent in Nebraska has proven to be a challenge for the state’s economy.
But the creative arts community is taking a different approach, hoping to attract and keep those young people inside Nebraska’s borders.
Josie Schafer studies what brings young professionals to Nebraska, and, more importantly, what causes them to leave.
“In 2021, we had about 45,000 people move into the state,” said Schafer, the Director of UNO’s Center for Public Affairs research. “The problem is, we also had about 50,000 move out, meaning we had a net of about 5,000 folks that left for other states.”
Schafer also keeps track of “boomerang,” like Aaron Gregory, the Community Engagement Manager for Omaha Performing Arts, who left Nebraska for New York, but eventually came back.
“Opportunity hit me being here and five years later, you would have never told me I’d be thriving in my hometown,” Gregory said. “I’m glad I made the decision to come home.”
Gregory is now hoping to get more people engaged.
“People feel like there’s not enough here for them,” Gregory said. “It may not be big and flashy, but there are small, intimate spaces, and that’s what they have to find.”
There are also big expansion plans to attract talent, like the future opening of the Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement.
“It’s designed to accommodate all the arts education programs here at Omaha Performing Arts,” said OPA President Joan Squires. “We were simply out of room and needed this new venue.”
OPA recently broke ground on the $103 million facility that will be right next door to Omaha’s Holland Center. It’s scheduled to open in 2026.
Squires says not only will it draw new jobs for young professionals, but it will also promote launching creative careers in Nebraska.
“When people look at our community or want to stay, it’s important that we bring robust activities here,” Squires said. “Arts and culture play a big role.”
While progress is being made, Schafer says there’s more work to be done.
“We want to entice people to come back, but it’s going to take jobs, housing, childcare, and really a comprehensive way to sort of build quality of life for folks,” Schafer said.
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