Top 10 stories of 2025: state title, building projects

Editor’s note: As the end of 2025 draws near, the Van Wert independent is publishing a recap of what it judges to be the Top 10 stories of the year. Articles featuring two stories each will be published daily, with the top two stories published on Wednesday, December 31. Today’s article features the No. 10 and No. 9 top stories.

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

No. 10 – the 10th biggest story of 2025, according to the VW independent, was a state championship team hailing from Van Wert County.

For the first time in school history, the Crestview Knights captured the OHSAA Division IV boys state cross country championship. The Knights won the title in November at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park near Columbus. The Knights, who also finished No. 1 in the Division IV OATCC (Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches) poll, finished with 86 team points, enough to outdistance runner-up and NWC foe Columbus Grove (99). The state champion came a year after the Knights finished as the runner-up in Division III. The team also became the first Van Wert County cross country team to win a state title.

“Last year we had unexpected success at the Division III level, being state runners-up and after that we were completely focused once we stepped off the podium last year,” Crestview head coach Randy Grandstaff said after watching his team win the titlie. “Their hard work and dedication to be No. 1 this year was all that needed to be done and they did it today.”

“These boys came into the season with a state championship as their top goal,” he continued. “Each week, I would set the bar a little higher with the workouts and all they did was exceed them week after week. They came into the season running fast and kept getting faster. We had two boys run in the 15s this year and go past a school record that stood for a long time.”

Lincoln Smith led Crestview with a 17th place finish and a time of 16:07. Derek Young (16:22) and Hudson Perrott (16:23) finished 25 and 26, followed by Kale Vining (43rd, 16:38), and Andrew Heth (63rd, 16:53). Caleb Thomas (73rd, 17:32) and Ian Owens (150th, 17:54) also competed for the Knights.

No. 9 – Plans were shared for a pair of notable local projects. During a late July gala event held at the Brumback Library, plans were officially unveiled for an expansion project at the Van Wert County Historical Society. VWCHS Trustee Mark Hurless, who is spearhearding the project and the $1.5 million fundraising campaign, said a state-of-the-art 4,900 square foot building will be constructed on the Historical Society campus. Once complete, the structure will house, among other things, a new research and genealogy center, four additional display rooms and a meeting room.

“The museum is out of space,” Hurless explained at the gala. “This will give us the ability to spread displays out, do a better job with some things we think are important like military displays and seasonal displays like the Peony Festival.”

The new building will also house the nationally recognized “Faces of Little Big Horn” collection, which is owned by Brent Stevens. The collection was created by Van Wert native David Humphreys Miller, who spent the 1930s and 1940s traveling across the Great Plains to interview and paint 72 survivors of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Fundraising efforts are expected to last until late June, 2026 and if all goes as planned, construction of the new building will begin shortly after that. The new structure will face north of the current Welcome Center that faces Third St. and will face west, looking out over the museum campus. The Welcome Center will be torn down.

In May of this year, officials with the YWCA of Van Wert County and other officials gathered to share more information about the agency’s planned new facility, which will be built on 3.35 acres of land on Lincoln Highway, across from the Marsh Foundation on Van Wert’s east side. The plot of land was generously donated by The Marsh Foundation.

Designed to expand critical services, the new facility will significantly deepen the YWCA’s impact and increase access to holistic care, trauma-informed support, and safe housing across Van Wert County.

The new 32,000 square foot building will provide emergency shelter and long-term housing for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault. It will also introduce permanent supportive housing, while expanding the capacity for youth development and prevention programs.

“It will allow us to expand access and improve services for nearly 1,500 individuals we already serve each year across rural northwest Ohio and prepare for the increasing needs of the future,” YWCA of Van Wert County President/CEO Kimberly Laudick stated.

The facility will replace the current YWCA building on E. Main St, which, according to Laudick, has reached the limit of what the decades-old structure can provide.

“After a great deal of research, reflection and consultation we came to a difficult but exciting decision,” she said. “Rather than invest in costly renovations that wouldn’t even fully meet all of our future needs, we will build a new facility, one that reflects our mission, supports our growth and helps us serve more people in even more meaningful ways.”

Construction is expected to begin next and is anticipated to take approximately a year. Once it’s complete, the existing building on E. Main St. will be listed for sale. In the event a buyer can’t be found, the current building will be demolished.

Tomorrow: the No. 8 and No. 7 top stories.