In just under two weeks, the staff of the Austin Daily Herald will be sending off its annual Progress edition.

This magazine-styled special section is by far the single largest section the Herald puts out and the amount of hours the news and advertising crews put into it is staggering. And the reason is simple — because we want to show off the progress Austin and the area make each year.

However, this year, as we count down the days and hours until we send this section to press, it can be understood if some are worried about the progress Austin is actually making in the wake of the announced closing of Sears and Hibbett’s Sports as well the anxiety of Shopko being part of the bankruptcy shutdown of the company.

It’s heartbreaking for any community when a business shuts down. In Austin, where so much effort is being put into shopping local, especially in the face of the new initiative of EAT.DRINK.SHOP.AUSTIN, a business closing can always seem like a punch in the gut.

But, Austin is a resilient town and despite the loss of a pair of businesses, there is still much to be hopeful for in Austin.

There is Marshall’s and the four businesses accompanying  it, which includes the move by the Austin Maurice’s, that are moving into the old Hy-Vee building and Hobby Lobby and Furniture USA moving into the old Target building.

Even the announcement that Shopko was not among those scheduled to close when it was announced that stores in Rochester and Fairmont would close, can be seen as optimistic.

These are all positive steps forward and something Austin can and should get behind.

We certainly don’t mention this lightly in the face of Sears and Hibbett’s closing and it should never be forgotten just how important these businesses were to Austin.

Not so long ago there were real questions when both Target and Staples pulled out of Austin, and we still can admit there is a long ways yet to go, but given those things are developing and still coming together, there is still plenty of reason to feel good about where Austin is and where it might be going in showing the progress of our area.