by Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner While Nebraska’s overall population increased slightly to an estimated 2,018,006 in the latest Census report, the key component driving state growth in past years plummeted: immigration. Data released Tuesday reveals a 0.6% annual population bump, or about 12,500 more residents overall from July 2024 through June 2025. The information also shows the three main components of population change. Of the three, international migration was most glaring. More foreign-born newcomers still came to Nebraska than left, but the net growth of 6,599 was half the amount reported the previous year. Josie Schafer of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the state’s liaison to the Census Bureau, attributes the reversal to federal immigration policies versus any shift in how the data is tracked. A drop in net international migration is reflected nationally as well, with the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimates showing a...

A high-rise multi-family project is moving forward in downtown Omaha. In 2024, NuStyle Development, led by Todd Heistand, announced a project in collaboration with the Omaha Children’s Museum and the City of Omaha to develop an awkward, 6-acre site on the northeast corner of 8th & Douglas Street. An Interstate 480 on-ramp that cuts through the property complicates development of the site. Despite the property's extraordinary characteristics, NuStyle planned to build a high-rise apartment building, The Omaha Children’s Museum had originally planned to build a new museum, and the city would build parking facilities to support the new development and existing nearby attractions such as the Riverfront Parks and CHI Health Center. In November 2025, the museum announced that it paused fundraising for its $100 million building at 8th & Douglas Street. At that time, it was unclear whether NuStyle would still move forward with its apartment project even though, at that point in time,...