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HARTINGTON – A Norfolk lawyer has been appointed as the new Cedar County attorney.
Ron Temple will serve as county attorney, officially starting in the role July 9. He takes over the term of Nick Matney who submitted his resignation letter which was recently accepted by the Cedar County Board of Commissioners.
In his resignation letter, Matney said he enjoyed working as the county attorney but was taking his career in a different direction, said County Clerk Jessica Schmit.
With his resignation letter, Matney named Temple as his deputy so he could start handing over his case load before the transition of power occurred July 9.
“I’m looking forward to the job and hope that I can meet the expectations of the residents of the county,” Temple said. “Having practiced law for 30 years now, I would like to think that my experience will serve me, and ultimately the county well.”
Matney approached Temple about serving out his term due to Temple’s previous experience in the Dakota County Attorney’s Office in the 1990s. He has been with his current firm, Fitzgerald,Vetter, Temple in Norfolk for the past 27 years.
Temple will be at the Cedar County Courthouse routinely, especially on those days when county court and district court is in session, and during county commissioner meetings, he said.
He said county residents can expect to receive prompt and fair prosecution of criminal cases, as well as prompt and accurate representation in civil matters involving the board of commissioners and other elected officials including tax assessment issues and tax certificate collection matters.
Born in Scottsbluff, Temple received his education at University of Nebraska-Kearney, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice in 1991. He earned his juris doctorate from the University of South Dakota Law School in 1994.
He is licensed to practice in all Nebraska and South Dakota state courts, U.S. district courts in both states, and the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Matney started as the Cedar County attorney Nov. 1, 2019. He replaced his brother, Ed, who later went on to become a judge, currently serving as a county court judge for the 6th Judicial District.
Nick, like his brother, pursued a judgeship last year due to the vacancy of retiring judge Douglas Luebe but ultimately Sara Bauer, Fremont, was appointed.
Library funding
The board is considering changing the way it annually funds the county’s three public libraries to a percentage of each library’s budget instead of a flat amount. Directors from the Hartington, Laurel and Randolph libraries attended last week’s meeting.
The topic of changing the funding formula first came up at the May 28 meeting when Joan Brodersen, the president of the Hartington Public Library Board of Trustees, first made the request for 10 percent of the library’s budget - or nearly three times the annual support received last year.
Traditionally, the three libraries split evenly the county’s funding, each receiving $6,500 last year.
Tami Anderson, Hartington’s public library director, re-iterated Brodersen’s funding request for $18,000 in funding, or 10 percent of the library’s budget, arguing nearly half of its patrons are rural.
