Skip to main content

Young professionals raise housing concerns as Omaha city leaders push to keep talent in town

By CNN

Click here for updates on this story

    OMAHA, Neb. (KETV) — Data from the University of Nebraska Omaha shows more than 4,000 young professionals left the state in 2023, with that number slowly rising every year.

Monday night kicked off Young Professionals Week for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. At the kickoff event, YPs shared their voices on changes they want to see in the city and heard Mayor John Ewing’s plans to keep a young and thriving community for YPs in Omaha.

“We want to encourage them to stay, and we want to focus on brain gain and look at how we can help make this the city of their dreams,” Ewing said.

Census data shows over 12,000 people moved to Nebraska from 2024 to 2025.

“We need to bring more people here. But most importantly, we need to develop our talent here,” Ewing said.

Merrick Brtek, a director for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks it’s important for young professionals to know that their voices are being heard.

Mayor Ewing spoke about all the changes coming to the city for the younger population, like a professional women’s soccer team and more entertainment.

“I feel like they’re making a lot of changes currently. That really engages a lot of young people already. For example, they have Mahone Music Festival going on next week,” Parker Wold, an Omaha young professional, said.

But some say affordable housing is still a big concern for young professionals in the area.

“Something that I hear from my friends a lot and from other young professionals is they want to buy a home. And what does that look like,” Brtek said.

Ewing said we will see information coming out soon about the city’s new affordable housing task force. He also said while it’s important to retain all our young professionals, the city also wants to make Omaha a business environment so the city can attract young professionals from all over.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

US Army attack helicopters crashing at historically high rate amid mechanical issues

By CNN
(CNN) — The US Army’s Apache helicopters are crashing at a historically high rate amid a widespread problem with the model’s transmission, according to a CNN analysis of military accident data.The helicopter type has experienced five major crashes since October, and a deadly mishap earlier this month in Texas killed two soldiers, sparked a wildfire and led the Army to temporarily bar Apache pilots from conducting routine training flights. With that crash, fiscal year 2026 is on pace to be the second worst for Apache flight accidents since a new model of the AH-64 was rolled out in 2011.The Army announced that the pause in training flights, which exempted units deployed to the Middle East, ended Wednesday.This year’s rate of major Apache crashes — known as Class A mishaps in Army parlance, meant to represent any accident that kills or permanently disables a person or results in the loss of an aircraft or $2.5 million in damage — surpasses typical years and rivals that of the service’s most severe rate in the 2024 fiscal year, according to CNN’s review of data. The accident rate is based on the number of incidents compared to the total hours the aircraft spent flying, calculated using data that has been publicly released and flight hour estimates for the current year provided to CNN by the Army.In Fiscal year 2024 there were nine major Apache crashes amid a spike in accidents across all Army helicopter models. Army leaders ordered a special safety training initiative that year and attributed the accidents to human errors stemming from decreased experience among its pilots and an increase in training intensity and complexity after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine inspired a new focus on preparing for major conflicts.But the causes of this year’s spike are murkier. The July issue of an official Army flight safety newsletter said that just over half of this year’s Apache accidents, including more minor incidents, are primarily attributable to human error. It’s unclear how many of the most-severe crashes are due to equipment failures, but the magazine said that “a catastrophic transmission failure was noted in one Class A mishap.”CNN estimated this year’s major Apache crash rate to be approximately 6.24 per every 100,000 flying hours. Thus far in fiscal year 2026, five Class A flight mishaps involving the attack helicopter have occurred. The Apache, through August 15, had flown approximately 80,171 hours. That number combines 42,971 hours through March 31 that were listed in the internal Army safety newsletter and an estimate provided to CNN by an Army safety spokesperson that pilots had logged approximately 37,200 additional flight hours through August 15.Fiscal year 2024, by comparison, had a rate of 7.02 major crashes per 100,000 hours for the aircraft.The E-model Apache, introduced in 2011, has faced significant problems this year with its transmission that could knock out the aircraft’s tail rotor, electrical power and hydraulics, according to a pair of internal safety messages obtained by CNN. The loss of those systems can put a helicopter into a sudden spin and potentially knock out its flight controls. As of mid-July, the cause of the problems remained “under investigation,” according to a safety message released at the time.Army spokesperson Maj. Montrell Russell declined to answer questions regarding the transmission investigation or disclose any “preliminary findings” regarding the causes of this month’s deadly Texas crash at Fort Hood.“We express our deep sadness over the loss of the two Soldiers near Fort Hood,” Russell said in a statement to CNN.He said that “special controls and release protections” prevent the service from providing detailed “technical aviation information,” to include how many of this year’s crashes are related to the helicopters’ transmission.The initial April safety message, first reported by trade publication Defense One, identified 70 potentially faulty transmissions and ordered all units to stop flying affected Apaches pending repair. A follow-up message sent in mid-July said the root cause remains “under investigation” and added 10 more suspect transmissions to the no-fly list.The two safety messages combined to impact roughly a tenth of the Army’s attack helicopter fleet. In early June, an Army official told CNN that all affected Apaches remained grounded, and the Army did not answer CNN’s questions about how many, if any, have returned to flight since then.Meanwhile, the Apache’s transmission issues continue to be mentioned in Army flight documents. CNN obtained an August 14 internal Army order that formally cited the two transmission safety messages in its references for the service’s training flight pause after the Texas crash. Russell cautioned that “including these messages in safety reviews does not imply causation for any individual mishap.”The Apache’s manufacturer, Boeing, has deployed teams to Army maintenance depots to assist with inspecting and fixing the transmissions, according to the Army order.The Army and Boeing did not answer questions on how they identified the potentially faulty parts.A Boeing spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the company is “supporting the U.S. Army’s investigation to ensure the operational readiness and safety of any affected aircraft,” but referred additional questions to the Army.Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Read Next Story

Related Stories

Latest News
Los "influencers de la soledad" no tienen amigos, pero dicen ser felices. ¿Qué pueden enseñarnos?
21 minutes ago

Los "influencers de la soledad" no tienen amigos, pero dicen ser felices. ¿Qué pueden enseñarnos?

Britain’s giving Ukraine access to secret missile technology. Will it make a difference?

US launches deadly strike on alleged drug boat, believed to be the first in two months

Drones are the latest buzzy tech aimed at stopping a school shooting. They’re part of a billion-dollar industry

8-year-old dies from rare brain-eating amoeba likely contracted while swimming in Louisiana lake