Community Impact reporters wrote features on 11 businesses in the Cedar Park area in 2025. Revisit these stories, which ran in the print editions of our Cedar Park—Far Northwest Austin paper throughout the past year.

Featured businesses include a daycare, a school, a LEGO resale store, and more.

Construction on a new 29,000-square-foot Sky Zone location is expected to begin in March, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. 

Dig deeper: The project is expected to include a new indoor trampoline park, cafe and kitchen area, rooms for private events and lounge and office space. Work on the trampoline park is set to conclude in November. 

What they offer: Sky Zone has several attractions for visitors, including freestyle jump, ultimate dodgeball, a family slide and more, according to its website. 

Learn more: Upon completion, Sky Zone in Cedar Park would become the first location in the Austin area, according to its website. There are currently six other locations across Texas, with three additional parks coming soon to Hurst, Waco and The Woodlands area. 

• 1611 Scottsdale Drive, Cedar Park

We Are Blood is encouraging Central Texas to kick off the new year by donating blood at a local hospital.

The overview: In honor of its 75th anniversary, the organization will host its Partners for Patients event from Jan. 2-9 at nearly 20 hospitals and emergency medical service agencies across Central Texas. The blood drive campaign, held during National Blood Donor Month, is intended to combat blood shortages experienced during and after the holidays, according to We Are Blood information.

How it works: Interested participants can sign up for a time slot to donate blood at several locations from Jan. 2-9.

Why it matters: “During the holidays, emergencies do not slow down,” said Davis Winget, Williamson County clinical practices captain, in a news release. “As first responders, we see firsthand how donated blood saves lives every day. Partnering with We Are Blood helps ensure patients have what they need when it matters most.”

Check out the top 5 stories from Round Rock ISD in 2025.

1. Round Rock ISD board approves academic calendar for 2025-26

2. Round Rock ISD Place 6 Trustee Tiffanie Harrison resigns

3. Round Rock ISD approves academic calendar for 2026-27 school year

4. Round Rock ISD considering modifications to new state reading, language arts curriculum

5. Round Rock ISD updates phone policy to meet legislative requirements

Austin is dedicating nearly $300,000 to support a joint regional food system plan with Travis County, the initiative's first city funding since officials signed off on it last fall.

What's happening: The Austin/Travis County Food Plan, created with input from hundreds of area residents, is meant to tackle challenges with food access and production through dozens of strategies related to land use, climate response and community initiatives. City Council authorized a $282,000 contract with Woollard Nichols Torres Consulting in December to implement the plan.

The city's nearly three-year consulting contract will support one piece of that work, the creation of an "implementation collaborative" involving residents and other groups working toward food system goals. The collaborative is kicking off early next year and also expected to receive county funding.

The regional food planning effort was established as nearly 1 in 5 Austin households face food insecurity, or a lack of access to healthy and affordable food. That estimate is higher than the national average, and comes as local and federal funding for food support is dwindling.