More local news

Local primary results

The two candidates going head to head in the race for United States President were far and away the winners in the Super Tuesday Primary in Minnesota and locally. Republican challenger Nikki Haley …

Champa grateful for city partnership, neighborhood improvement plan goes to bid

During the March 4, Hastings City Council meeting, Dr. Tammy Champa, Hastings School District Superintendent, expressed gratitude for the partnership with the city. She highlighted school …

Senate District 41 GOP Delegates Endorse McNew and Dippel for House

Cottage Grove, Minn. – On Saturday, delegates gathered at the Historic Furber Farm in Cottage Grove to endorse candidates for House Districts 41A and 41B. These are open seats, as Republican …
Freshman forward Marlowe Strain brought some extra height and shooting skills to the Raiders lineup for this year. His play during the section game shows a bright future for Raider basketball.

Hoops season ends at Rosemount

The Raiders boys’ basketball team (14-12) traveled to Rosemount (9-18) for the first round of the Section 3AAAA playoffs. Hastings earned the fifth seed and Rosemount the fourth which put the …

Blake Beissel Signs with Gopher Wrestling

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota wrestling’s 2024 signing class grew to eight members Thursday with the addition of Blake Beissel, who has signed a letter of acceptance with the Golden Gophers. …

What a show!

The Hastings High School show choirs, Riverside Company and Dynamic Edition, performed in their end-of-season show Wednesday night before a packed house! The choirs celebrated another successful …
Firefighters drove through the burned out area to look for hotspots.

High winds fuel grass fire

A grass fire spread rapidly on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 4, fueled by wind gusts in excess of 35 mph on land across Hwy. 61 from The Point Holiday station. A large area of grass was burned …

Dakota County retailers improve tobacco compliance

More Dakota County stores that sell tobacco last year passed compliance checks on underage sales. There were 276 tobacco compliance checks in the county in 2023 and 18 violations. Countywide …

Increase in Dakota County opioid overdoses prompts alert

The Dakota County Drug Task Force is warning residents about an increase in fatal and non-fatal overdoses since mid-February 2024 in Dakota County. This signals a possible increased presence of …

Hastings to send out survey

The City of Hastings announced that a community survey is being mailed to sample groups of residents to better understand the opinions of residents as they relate to city amenities, infrastructure, …
On the calendar
Business
The Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau welcomed the Radke & Mohrhauser Accounting firm to their new building at 1945 31st St. E. with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, …
Government
DawnMarie Vihrachoff was selected by the Hastings City Council to fill the Ward 1 council seat vacated by the resignation of Tina Folch. Folch’s last meeting on the council was Monday night. …
Crime
Two people residing in Hastings were arrested by the South Metro SWAT Team Wednesday and charged with the New Year’s Eve shooting that left a boy critically wounded in St. Paul. Kelci …
Community

Hastings supports families of fallen Burnsville officers at benefit

Those attending an appreciation event for the Hastings Police Department and Hastings Fire Department gave a round of applause for the work Public Safety employees do for the community. The event was held at the Hastings Golf Club Sunday afternoon. Photo by John McLoone
There’s no doubt that the Hastings community cares. It was evident again Sunday afternoon with a big turnout at a benefit to raise money for the families of three Public Safety officers from …

Kiss Me Once: Stories from the Homefront

HASTINGS, Minn. – The Hastings Concert Association Board of Directors will be hosting a Food and Fund Drive to benefit Hastings Family Service at a concert on March 14 at the Hastings Middle …

Campus Notes

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL - The following students have been named to the 2023 fall semester Dean's List at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. To qualify for the Dean's List, a student must …

South Washington County Schools busing decision fails Pine Harbor Christian Academy families

Just one year after school districts were told they would receive “historic” levels of state funding, it was maddening to learn that some local families are going to lose the opportunity …

Hastings native is Teacher of the Year finalist

Hastings native Rachel (Latuff) Betterley has made a lot of headlines for competing in pageants. The former Miss Minnesota was also named Mrs. Petite USA last year. Now, she’s being lauded …
Obituaries
Kathleen Henry
Kathleen A. Henry, age 86, passed away Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Hastings, Minnesota. Kathleen Ann (Kasel) Henry was born in Hastings, MN on September 17th, 1937 to parents George Kasel and …
Lewis Wilder
Lewis James Wilder, age 84, of Hastings, went to see the Lord God Almighty on March 7, 2024. He was born on September 14, 1939, in Rochester, MN to Louis and Violet (Schuchard) Wilder. Lew graduated …
Robert Gessner
Robert (Bob) Lloyd Gessner passed away on Sunday, February 18, 2024, while vacationing in Destin, Florida. Bob died suddenly after suffering a cardiac event. Bob was born on June 25, 1955, in …
Thomas Kimmes
Thomas H. “Tom” Kimmes, age 76 of Hastings, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, surrounded by his family. Tom, the son of Herbert M. and Dorothy (Murtaugh) Kimmes, was born on …
Randall Roberts
Randall D. Roberts, age 57, of Hastings, MN, passed away suddenly on February 28, 2024. Born in Waterloo, Iowa, on November 12, 1966, to Rick and Linda (Lockhart) Roberts, Randall’s journey led him …
Local sports

Raiders swim and dive send two to state

Tristan Herbst finished his state swim prelims in 23rd place with a time of 4:55.72 in the 500 freestyle.
The Raiders swim and dive team sent two to state, Tristan Herbst for the 500 freestyle and Charlie Jensen for diving. Jensen performed on Thursday in the preliminary diving rounds where he finished …
On Thursday, February 29, the Raider Wrestlers took another trip to the X thanks to their section team win just two weeks prior. Additionally, 13 individuals, four girls and nine boys, stayed near …
A successful season is in the books for the Hastings girls basketball team. After a big win in the Section 4A opener at Burnsville Thursday, the Raider season ended in the Section semifinal game at …
The Hastings boys basketball team heads into postseason play after putting an exclamation point on the regular season with a 74-48 blowout of Simley on Friday. The Raiders now have their sights …
The Hastings boys hockey team played their final two games of the season last week, a lopsided win to start things for the week, and a lopsided loss to end the season. For sections, Hastings opened …
Education
Dr. Tamara Champa

Superintendent Report

Finally, a little Minnesota weather, but the outlook this week looks like it will be short-lived. All of the students and parents who took advantage of the opportunity for sledding at the middle …

Features
Abigail Englin was honored as the Hastings Rotary Club Student of the Month for January, being nominated by math teacher Paul Olson and National Honor Society advisor Jacquelyn Morrison. Pictured attending the presentation at the Hastings Rotary Club meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15 were Superintendent Dr. Tamara Champa, Hastings School Board Director Jenny Wiederholt Pine, Englin and her mother, Vicki, Olson and Morrison.

Rotary Student of the Month embodies putting community service first

Abigail Englin sets a high bar for leadership at Hastings High School. Englin was honored at the Thursday, Feb. 15 meeting of the Hastings Rotary Club as its January Student of the Month. The …

Opinion
Columns

No more trapping

To the editor: Re: Dave Beck’s 2/22/24 article in the Hastings Journal. As an animal loving woman, I am appalled that trapping is still allowed in this state/country. It is cruel and barbaric. …

Resurfacing project on US 10 in Pierce County to start March 11

To invest in Wisconsin’s transportation system, Gov. Tony Evers has signed a $14.35 million contract with prime contractor Monarch Paving Co. of Amery for a resurfacing project on US 10 from …

Dakota County Tax Delinquent

Op Ed: Should Joe Mauer actually be in the Hall of Fame?

When we’re talking about Hall of Fame catchers, we’re really talking about a select group of 10 players who form the (almost) uninterrupted top of every statistical category. These guys …

Spelling Bea Time June 4, 2023 Good Things In June! Writing Number 158

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you”. Anne Lamott   The gardening stores  are starting sales on their products. It …

Spelling Bea Time

“What falls but never gets hurt?”   ….........The rain!   The green color of our surroundings is really kicking my hormones to get outside and DO THINGS. I …
Letters
Zoning bill should be canned
To the editor: A bill is being formulated at the legislature that would restrict a city’s ability to control its zoning ordinances. The state law would even supersede any zoning ordinances …
Letter to the Editor: Postal dilemma
To the editor: John, A very nice job on the story about the postal dilemma that we are all facing today. All is forgiven about the "lion's share" comment. You've done your research and correctly …
Respect for end of life decisions
To the Editor: On behalf of the DFL Senior Caucus, I would like to extend our gratitude to Representative Tina Liebfling for hearing the Minnesota End-of-Life Options Act last week in the House …
Deal only with civic issues
To The Editor: I read with disappointment your January 18th article which stated the Hastings city council passed a resolution pertaining to the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and …
Govern Hastings
As a former Hastings resident and current property owner, it saddened me to read of the Hastings City Council passing a resolution calling for a cease fire in the Israel-Hamas War, especially so when …
Web Extras
How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight
U.S. airlines carry more than 800 million passengers per year. Lasha Kilasonia/iStock via Getty Images Plus Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If …
San Francisco's burning question: Are we ready for Waymo Google cars?
After an incident with one of Google's driverless vehicles in San Francisco, Way.com explores whether the city is ready to adopt these vehicles for service.
Can background checks show whether your identity was stolen?
Money.com offers tips and information to consider when conducting a background check on yourself.
Safest and most affordable cities in the US
MoneyGeek analyzed cost data from the Census Bureau's one-year American Community Survey and MIT's Living Wage Calculator, focusing on the top cities from our safest small and mid-to-large city studies.
Tobacco imagery rising in top entertainment, including among the 2024 Best Picture winner and nominees
(BPT) - To find a smoke-free setting among this year’s Oscar Best Picture nominees, you’d have to go to Barbie Land. Of the 10 films nominated for the Oscars top prize — including …