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Skylon, murder trials are once again the top news here
1 Laurel murder trial
HARTINGTON — No story carried more weight in Cedar County in 2025 than the continued legal fallout from the August 2022 Laurel quadruple murders. The year marked a turning point in the case with the sentencing of Carrie Jones, whose role in the deaths of four Laurel residents kept the county — and much of Nebraska — focused on Cedar County. Her sentence of life in prison brought a measure of legal finality, but not closure, as the case continued to generate new filings, rulings and appeals.
Rather than fading after sentencing, the case remained a constant presence. Motions filed by defense attorneys, rulings from the bench and questions surrounding access to court records ensured the story continued to evolve. Each development carried broader implications — not only for the parties involved, but for public trust in the justice system and the principle that court proceedings remain open and transparent.
For residents, it was not just a crime story, but a community one — revisited repeatedly as new court actions reopened difficult conversations about accountability, grief and the long arc of justice.
In a year that included celebrations, championships and economic transitions, the Laurel killings case stood apart for its gravity. It shaped public discourse, dominated reader attention and underscored how a single criminal case can continue to ripple through a community years after the initial events.
More than any other storyline in 2025, it was the one readers followed most closely — not because they wanted to, but because it mattered.
After dominating community conversation in 2023 and 2024, the Skylon story reached its conclusion in 2025, closing a long-running chapter tied to local business, and what comes next for a landmark property.
Few local stories carried as much staying power — or generated as much public discussion — as the long-running saga surrounding the Skylon Ballroom.
First surfacing as a major issue in 2023 and continuing through much of 2024, the future of the Skylon became a symbol of broader questions facing small-towns: What happens when a landmark business struggles?
2Skylon
Who steps in — and at what cost? And how much should a community invest, financially and emotionally, in saving a piece of its past?
By 2025, the story reached its resolution. After months of uncertainty, public debate and behind-thescenes negotiations, the Skylon chapter finally closed, bringing clarity to a situation that had lingered for three years. While the outcome did not please everyone, it ended a prolonged period of limbo and allowed Hartington to turn the page.
What elevated the Skylon story beyond a routine business headline was its scope. It touched on economic development, local government decision-making, small town vitality and the tension between preservation and practicality. Residents followed it closely because it wasn’t just about a building — it was about identity, memory and what communities choose to carry forward.
Throughout the process, Cedar County News readers weighed in, talked about it at coffee shops and council meetings, and measured the decision against their own visions for Hartington’s future. The story also underscored a recurring theme of 2025: difficult decisions rarely come neatly packaged, and resolution often arrives only after extended public conversation.
In the end, the Skylon story's conclusion allowed local leaders and residents alike to shift their focus from “what if” to “what’s next” — a transition that defined much of the year.
Changing of the guard as local businesses pass to the next generation
A clear trend emerged in 2025 as longtime area business owners transitioned their operations to younger buyers or family members.
These stories were about more than transactions — they were about legacy, reinvention and keeping main streets strong.
In 2025, the “changing of the guard” story played out in real handoffs, with familiar names stepping back and new owners or managers stepping in, often with an emphasis on continuity and keeping small-town institutions strong.
3 Changing of the Guard
At the Cedar County News, Rob Dump and Peggy Year announced they were stepping aside after nearly 34 years as publishers, turning the operation over to their son Kellyn Dump and his wife, Emily.
Kellyn joined the business full time in January 2020 and moved into advertising leadership, while Emily came on in 2021 as business manager.
Both said they understood the responsibility of preserving the Cedar County News' strong journalistic tradition while moving the company forward. One of their first visible changes was practical: downsizing the operation and moving the office across the street from 102 W. Main Street to the former Family 1st Dental office at 103 W. Main.
That same theme — protect what works, ease the load on longtime owners, and keep service local — showed up when Gary and Lisa Kruse, who have owned Kruse True Value since 1990, sold the store to Greg and Nikki Peters of Vermillion, S.D., who own six other area small-town hardware stores. The sale was framed as a win for the community and customers, and it also gave the Kruses a path to slow down and gradually retire.
The Kruses planned to keep working at the store for at least another year or two, and they emphasized key services — including appliance sales and service across a wide trade area — would continue even as product lines shift and store upgrades (like a cold-weather entryway) are made.
In Coleridge, the generational handoff was especially literal: “From one family to the next.” Kerry Hefner sold Hefner Oil and Feed — a 78-year-old family business and community institution — to Todd Erwin, with the transition effective April 1.
Both men emphasized the importance of a locally grounded operation that shows up for the town, and Erwin said the change kept the entire staff in place while allowing the business to add capacity through the Erwin family’s existing operations (Laurel Feed and Grain and Erwin Trucking).
One of the clearest signs of growth and optimism here in 2025 came in February when the Hartington City Council approved 13 building permits in a single meeting, the most issued at one time in at least 35 years — and possibly ever.
The approvals marked the launch of a major residential development in the Nordby Addition on the city’s east side, where 12 new homes were authorized between Franklin and Main streets just east of Portland Avenue.
The homes, requested by Crown LLC of Omaha and built by Level Up Construction, represented a significant step toward addressing Hartington’s longdiscussed housing shortage.
A 13th permit approved the construction of a new Hartelco storage building, further adding to the city’s development momentum.
City officials noted infrastructure work had already begun in the area, including construction of Nordby Avenue and drainage planning, signaling that the project had moved beyond concept and into execution. While the homes are designed to meet low-income housing guidelines, developers emphasized they would not be “cheap” builds, reflecting a broader effort to balance affordability with long-term quality.
What elevated the permit approvals beyond a routine council action was their broader implication: at a time when many rural communities are struggling to attract new housing investment, Hartington was actively expanding. The decision reinforced a recurring theme of 2025 — that housing availability is central to economic development, workforce retention and long-term community stability.
For many residents, the permits symbolized more than construction noise and new streets. They represented confidence in Hartington’s future — and a commitment to growth at a scale not seen locally in decades.
The next five biggest news stories of the year here feature excellence in high school sports and extra curricular activities.
It’s big news here anytime a local team or athlete wins a state title. There is no way to determine which team or title may be more important than another, so most of the rest of the list all earn a tie for fifth-place in the year-end poll.
A pair of local wrestlers — twins, Easton and Bodie Hochstein — both picked up the gold medals in their respective divisions to become the first wrestlers in Cedar Catholic school history to win state titles.
Before the boys took center stage, the girls had the limelight at the CHI Health Center Arena for the first time with their own tournament for the Nebraska Girls Wrestling Championships.
Cedar Catholic had one participant in the meet and she made the most of it.
Evie Freeman, a freshman, brought home the first state medal in the short history of Lady Trojan wrestling, bringing home thirdplace at 110 pounds in Class B.
She pinned her first two opponents, Ellison Berkeland of Columbus Lakeview and Caly Settles of Aurora in the first two rounds to earn a spot in the semifinals early Tuesday morning, her coach knew it would get tougher, but Freeman was already ahead of schedule in her career, she had already qualified for the state tournament.
Hartington-Newcastle continued its strong fine arts tradition in 2025 by claiming both the State Speech title in March and picking up the State One Act title in December.
A trip to the gold medal stand has almost become routine at HNS.
The school has now won 10 One Act state titles and one state runner-up trophy. The HNS Speech team hung its ninth state championship banner on the wall this year. The school has also claimed 10 state Speech runnerup trophies.
Wynot High School also pulled off a rare double in 2025.
Wynot is used to winning girls basketball state titles, but the school claimed its first ever girls state volleyball title in November.
A week later, the Wynot football team walked away from a scoring marathon at Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium with its very first state title.
The final story to make the 2025 Top 10 started out in November when it was announced a fertilizer plant was interested in setting up shop on the western edge of Hartington. The announcement drew quite a bit of concern from area residents who appeared at a Cedar County Commission meeting to express their concern. It was determined the matter was out of the county’s jurisdiction, however. The city of Hartington is expected to consider the matter in 2026.
