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RANDOLPH — A brighter, more welcoming downtown is on the way.
The Randolph Downtown Beautification Committee won a $2,430 Cedar County Tourism Board grant this fall to add benches and outdoor décor lighting to a vacant lot in the heart of town — a project aimed at giving residents and visitors a comfortable place to gather and linger on Main Street.
The award was one of four grants approved by the Cedar County Tourism Board following a meeting at the Cedar County Museum in Hartington. Alongside Randolph’s project, LCC Middle School received $2,214 for an ADA-accessible playground, the City of Laurel was awarded $2,500 to paint two historic sites — the Morning Glory School and the first house in Laurel — and Mark Kober received $1,000 to promote Wynot’s new Airbnb and event space at 413 St. James St. through signs, business cards, flyers and web content.
For Randolph, the grant is meant to turn an underused space into an inviting stop for shoppers, families and outof- towners, reinforcing the city’s ongoing push to draw foot traffic downtown and support local businesses.
Looking ahead, the next deadline to seek tourism funding is March 31, 2026. Eligible requests can promote events or create and improve attractions that bring visitors to Cedar County. Entities may apply once per calendar year for up to $2,500 in bricks-and-mortar or improvement support and up to $1,000 for advertising, promotion or publicity.
Applications and guidelines are available on the Cedar County, Nebraska, website under “Lodging Tax Grant Application.” Grant requests must include estimates or bids for the project or event. If funded, recipients must submit a project report with expense documentation within 60 days of the event date or the completion of the project; organizations that do not file timely reports are not eligible for future funding.
Completed applications and reports may be mailed to: CCTB Chairperson, P.O. Box 232, Randolph, NE 68771, or emailed to [email protected] (email preferred). For more information, visit cedarcountyne.gov and follow the links under “Lodging Tax Grant Application.”
