From an Amazon delivery station to a new donut shop, there was a lot of exciting business news for Logan County and Sterling in 2025.

The top story of the year was Amazon opening a new delivery hub west of Sterling on County Road 33. The decision to open delivery station WC09 in Logan County, an $11 million capital investment, came as a result of customer demand showing that a facility was needed in northeast Colorado. The station services 150 square miles and in October they employed 40 people, with plans to hire 16 more for peak season during the holidays.

Another top story was the opening of Les Schwab Tires in August. The 10,500 square-foot store at 1330 W. Main Street offers not only tires, but brake services, alignment, shocks, oil changes, custom wheels, batteries and more. With this store, Les Schwab now has 43 locations and 450 employees throughout Colorado.

Excitement was in the air in May, when Dunkin’ celebrated the grand opening of its new donut shop at 329 W. Main Street, in Sterling. The second location for owner Bhavesh Patel, of Sidney, Neb., the shop offers donuts, coffee, breakfast sandwiches and more.

There was also excitement for book lovers when Sterling’s first new bookstore in years, Words & Whimsy, celebrated its grand opening in October. Located at 129 N. Third Street, Suite 4, the store offers not just physical books but also audio and ebooks.

In March, Sterling’s first full-time dermatology clinic, U.S. Dermatology Partners, opened its doors at 519 W. Main Street with Physicians Assistant Casey Busmente at the helm. The extent of treatment that can be done locally depends on the types of care needed. For the most part, Busmente anticipated patients would need help with skin ailments like eczema, acne, dermatitis and so on.

Also in the health field, in June, the Logan County Chamber of Commerce welcomed Fresh Faced Aesthetics at 111 S. Third Street, in Sterling, which had opened its doors a year prior. Owned by Nicole Suppes, DNP, the medical spa, provides safe and effective non-invasive cosmetic procedures including Botox, dermal filler injections and microneedling, as well as medical-grade skin care and doTERRA essential oils available for purchase.

Additionally, in November, a ribbon-cutting was held at Solutions Therapy, which opened in January. The business owned by Michelle Lynn and her husband Ron, the business, located at 312 Beech Street 220, offers a range of holistic treatments, including salt therapy, infrared sauna, red light therapy and chromotherapy.

In April, North Sterling State Park celebrated the grand opening of its new visitor center with a Chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located just inside the south entrance to the park near two large campgrounds, the center includes a large conference room for hunter education and boating safety classes, a small gift shop with clothing, stuffed animals, books and more, as well as a TV monitor showing the weather forecast.

The Chamber also welcomed Sugarloaf Dispensary, in September, one four marijuana dispensaries that opened this year, after voters approved allowing the sale of marijuana in Sterling in the November 2023 election. The store at 326 E. Chestnut Street offers flower, pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates, edibles, topicals and accessories. Other stores that opened include Hillbilly Budz at 2105 Leisure Ln., Jay’s Downtown at 129 N. Third Street and Magnolia Road Cannabis at 1472 E. Chestnut Street.

Area 51 Smoke and Vape Shop also opened at 126 W. Main Street.

Additionally, the Chamber welcomed several existing businesses to its rolls this year including Dairy Queen, Mead Lumber, Hope House, which moved to a new location, Infinity Rose Security, which moved to a new location, Mexican snack shop Titas, New Method Cleaners, which changed ownership and Old Warehouse Antiques, which also changed ownership. The Chamber also welcomed new business The Queen of the Clean, which provides cleaning services for commercial and residential locations.

In November, it was announced that A&B Rental, an equipment and tool rental company with more than 30 years of history serving Ogallala, Neb., and surrounding communities would be expanding to Sterling with a location at 15990 Tanya St. slated to open Jan. 5. Plus, Gertge Technology, LLC, an information technology company headquartered in Brush, celebrated the opening of a full-service office in downtown Sterling with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December.

Along with new openings, there was also a farewell. In February, Duane and Sandy Lambrecht, who had enjoyed a three-decade accounting career in Sterling, transferred ownership of their firm, Lambrecht & Co. CPAs PC, to associate Haley Vandenbark. They continue working for the firm on an as-needed basis.

Businesses also made improvements. Sterling Regional MedCenter underwent some major upgrades and improvements this year including a new linear accelerator in the David Walsh Cancer Center, a new computed tomography scanner, a new fluoroscopy suite, renovation of two operating rooms and expansion of the OR air handling equipment. SRM also moved its rehabilitation department across the street to the building formerly occupied by DaVita and opened a Recharge Room, giving staffers a place to go to relieve the stress that builds in the demanding work of health care.

This year also brought planning for possible things to come in the future. In August, the Logan County Economic Development Corporation hosted a community meeting to get input on the future of the former  Sterling Sugar Mill site, located on Highway 6. Among the top options discussed were expanded industrial use and recreational opportunities.

Additionally, a new non-profit was formed, Clear Path Recovery, and it is working to build a 13,000 square-foot 25-bed addiction treatment center that will offer not only 35-day inpatient treatment, but up to 60 days for partial hospitalized patients and another up to 90 days of intensive outpatient treatment.