This week's featured stories

  • Edgerton board president John Nelson cuts the ribbon on the Explorit Center's remodeled Strobe Alley exhibit. Also present from left are board member Brett Mitchell and John’s wife, Deb, who along with her husband represented the Nelson family who helped fund Strobe Alley Reimagined.
    Edgerton board president John Nelson cuts the ribbon on the Explorit Center's remodeled Strobe Alley exhibit. Also present from left are board member Brett Mitchell and John’s wife, Deb, who along with her husband represented the Nelson family who helped fund Strobe Alley Reimagined.
  • James Scott (right) takes a graduation selfie with all nine of his classmates prior to the commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon.
    James Scott (right) takes a graduation selfie with all nine of his classmates prior to the commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon.
  • Giltner senior Wyatt Bartunek hugs his mother Celeste during the recognition of family and friends at the school’s graduation ceremony.
    Giltner senior Wyatt Bartunek hugs his mother Celeste during the recognition of family and friends at the school’s graduation ceremony.
  • Macy Miller will be the valedictorian and Raegan Hansen the salutatorian at the Hampton High School graduation ceremony on Saturday.
    Macy Miller will be the valedictorian and Raegan Hansen the salutatorian at the Hampton High School graduation ceremony on Saturday.
  • Valedictorian Caleb Sharman and co-salutatorians Gage Friesen and Allie Howell will speak at Saturday's High Plains graduation.
    Valedictorian Caleb Sharman and co-salutatorians Gage Friesen and Allie Howell will speak at Saturday's High Plains graduation.
  • Construction crews have been busy working on the 1st Street renovation for the past two weeks, making visible progress on a project expected to last all summer long.
    Construction crews have been busy working on the 1st Street renovation for the past two weeks, making visible progress on a project expected to last all summer long.
  • Marc Kroger will wind down his time teaching physics and chemistry at Aurora High School later this month, as he steps away from a career in education he started 33 years ago.
    Marc Kroger will wind down his time teaching physics and chemistry at Aurora High School later this month, as he steps away from a career in education he started 33 years ago.

    The Edgerton Explorit Center hosted a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, May 1 for the reimagination of its exhibit, Strobe Alley, which honors the life and work of Dr. Harold “Doc” Edgerton. Cutting the ribbon during the ceremony was Edgerton board president, John Nelson. 

    Full of laughter and anticipation for what the future will bring, 10 graduating seniors walked the hallways one last time and celebrated all they have achieved at Giltner High School’s commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon. Senior class president and valedictorian Sophie Faltys welcomed the families, friends and teachers in attendance. Faltys remarked on the 13 years that brought her and her classmates to this momentous occasion. “It felt like just yesterday we were walking into our first day of kindergarten,” Faltys said. 

    Fourteen Hampton Hawks are set to leave the nest and soar into their future on Saturday as Hampton High School holds its 2025 graduation ceremony. The event will be held in the new gym starting at 2 p.m. The class salutatorian address will be given by National Honor Society member Raegan Hansen and the valedictorian address will be presented by fellow NHS member and CRC Academic All-Conference scholar Macy Miller. Opening and closing remarks will be delivered by graduating seniors and NHS members, Skyler Scheidemann and Jameson Doyle, respectively.

    Twenty-three High Plains Community Schools seniors will celebrate their next big milestone in life Saturday. The HPC class of 2025 commencement exercises will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. at the high school gym in Polk. Speeches will be given by class valedictorian Caleb Sharman and co-salutatorians Gage Friesen and Allie Howell.

    Construction crews have been busy working on the 1st Street renovation for the past two weeks, making visible progress on a project expected to last all summer long.
    JEO Consulting hosted the second of many progress meetings Monday at the Evangelical Church parking lot, bringing engineers and construction crews together with city officials to share and review detailed plans for what will happen next. Justin Adkins was introduced as JEO’s new on-site coordinator for the remainder of the project.

    Science was one of Marc Kroger’s favorite subjects back in high school, so he figured early on he was either going to be a teacher or a doctor. Not intrigued by the amount of education his older sister, who is now a doctor, had to earn to enter the medical field, Kroger chose education as his life’s calling. More than 33 years later, Kroger has announced his plans to turn the page and perhaps close the book on that chapter of his life, sitting down near the end of his tenure as a chemistry and physics teacher at Aurora High School to reflect on what he said has been a rewarding career.

    Find these stories and more in the print and e-editions of the Aurora News-Register at your news stand now!