About a decade since the first State of North Omaha Summit, numbers show great strides in safety, community improvement and education.
Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, Mayor Jean Stothert, Omaha Public Schools superintendent Mark Evans and many other stakeholders came to the table Saturday morning with good news to report for North Omaha.
The area - and city as a whole - is seeing a big reduction in crime over the past 10 years, with the number of gun assault victims down from 247 in 2007 to 83 so far in 2017 and the lowest number of homicides in a decade..
"We're proud of the clearance rates because we think its represents police-community relations," Schmaderer said. "And quite frankly we take it personal when someone gets killed in our community."
Mayor Stothert and other community organizations showed positive trends in community development.
"This year here in city council district two, just this year, we have issued nearly 2000 building permits for a value of $107 million," Stothert said.
Community members say there's been a lot accomplished since the inception of the State of North Omaha Summit and they hope the positivity turns into the momentum needed to keep moving forward.
"Now, we need to transition our youth and young adults into the workplace," said Tom Warren, CEO of the Urban League. "We need to create that environment here in Omaha, Neb., that's welcoming. where we can cultivate our talent, we can retain our talent, we can encourage them."
