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OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska’s brain drain problem has generated studies, initiatives, and no shortage of conversation.
• Nebraska’s Omaha and Lincoln metro areas account for more than 60% of the state’s tax revenue but lag roughly 68,000 jobs behind peer cities, according to the Aksarben Foundation.
• Startup investor Brennan Costello of The Combine and Invest Nebraska says the state’s advantages — including agriculture, natural resources, and a pioneer spirit — are the foundation for growing a startup ecosystem.
• Stephen Kaniewski, working with geo-location startup iDvera, says more startups in Nebraska would give graduates and professionals exciting local opportunities, directly combating brain drain.
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Brennan Costello, with The Combine and Invest Nebraska — the most active investor in Nebraska startups — said agriculture is not just part of the state’s history, but its future.
“Water technology, cattle technology, and we’re growing a density of robot companies. And so, there’s quite a few different companies like Marble, Grain Weevil, ALA Engineering who are building robots that are serving the ag industry,” Costello said.
Stephen Kaniewski, a former Valmont CEO, is working with a geo-location startup called Idvera. The company uses Earth’s ‘magnetic fingerprint’ to determine location — without traditional signals.
“Like GPS, we can find your location, but unlike GPS, we can do it without any RF signals, no cell towers, no satellites, no wifi,” Kaniewski said.
The technology is designed for situations where GPS jamming and spoofing are a concern — such as at the start of the war with Iran, when ships’ navigation systems went awry. iDvera also cites hijacked freight as a use case, pointing to incidents like the disappearance of two truckloads of Guy Fieri’s tequila.
Though the company is based in Texas, Kaniewski said he will hire Nebraskans who will work in Nebraska.
He believes a stronger startup presence in the state could directly address brain drain.
“If we had more startups in the state, you wouldn’t have the brain drain because there’d be something exciting to work on straight out of school or a profession,” Kaniewski said.
According to analysis from the Aksarben Foundation, while Omaha and Lincoln account for more than 60% of Nebraska’s tax revenue, they are lagging roughly 68,000 jobs behind peer cities — including Fayetteville, Arkansas; Huntsville, Alabama; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Those missing jobs would have produced more than $11 billion in wages and up to $800 million in additional state tax revenue.
Standing on a farm in Mead, Costello said the key is doubling down on the state’s advantages: existing industries and expertise, natural resources, and a pioneer spirit.
“I think it’s a challenge, but it’s not a challenge that we can’t solve,” Costello said.
Kaniewski echoed that optimism, with a word of advice for anyone seeking support.
“You have to be vocal. You know, you really have to go out and solicit the help, but the help exists everywhere in Nebraska.”
The consensus among those working in this space seems to be that there is no lack of entities working on the problem — what’s needed is better coordination.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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