New hands, same community focus

Editorial

News is changing offices, passing the torch to keep Hartington’s paper strong

T he past several weeks have brought some hard news for community journalism.

Several storied Nebraska papers—the Holdrege Citizen, the Tecumseh Chieftain, the Elm Creek Bulletin— all announced they planneed to close their doors. Just last month, my former newspaper, the Brookings Daily Register, made the same announcement.

Thankfully, the Holdrege newspaper, with some help from area newspaper publishers, cut back to a once a week publication and is still publishing. The Brookings newspaper and its sister papers in Huron, Flandreau and Redfield, S.D., have since been purchased and resumed publishing. Still, it’s a stark reminder of what many newspapers face today— not just in Nebraska and South Dakota, but across the country and the world.

At the Cedar County News, we’ve been working hard to make sure Hartington never has to read that same ugly headline about its hometown paper. But to keep doing the work, we have to make some changes.

Fifteen years ago, we had full staffs at all six of our news papers. Over time, those teams and hours were trimmed. We closed the Coleridge Blade in 2020. Last year, we sold the Wausa Gazette to the Knox County News. To further cut expenses, we closed the Laurel Advocate office and moved its workload up to Hartington; we’ll most likely do the same with the Randolph Times office this year.

We’re also downsizing our physical space. We will be moving out of our beautiful brick building at 102 W. Main Street —built in 1916 for the Hartington National Bank — and into the former Family First dentist office right across the street.

I’ll be honest - I hate the thought of leaving this beautiful building. It holds 80 years of the newspaper’s history. But heating and cooling such a large space is costly, and we now use barely a quarter of it. With fewer people and less equipment than years past, the math simply doesn’t work anymore.

We’re also hoping a change in leadership at the paper will bring in fresher faces with fresh, new ideas will help keep things runnung smoothly here, too.

With this issue, longtime publishers, Rob Dump and Peggy Year, are stepping back to part-time roles.

Beginning Oct. 1, the new publishers will be our son and his wife — Kellyn and Emily Dump.

They bring fresh energy and deep respect for our mission: telling the stories of Cedar County and keeping our communities connected.

Here’s what won’t change: our commitment to local news, local businesses and our local communities.

We will keep covering city councils and school boards, your businesses and ballgames, your milestones and memories. We’re making these moves precisely so we can keep reporting — week in, week out — for years to come.

If you value this work, and appreciate having a local newspaper in town, here’s how you can help: SUBSCRIBE, RENEW, ADVERTISE LOCALLY, send us your tips and photos, and tell a friend to pick up the paper.

Community newspapers survive when the community stands with them. In other words — there is no community without unity.

We’re grateful for your support over these last 33 years, and we hope you’ll show that same support to the new publishers.

Thank you for believing in local news. When a town supports its own — its neighbors, its businesses, its paper — everyone wins.