PFAS, PFAS and more PFAS. The City of Hastings’ fight against the forever chemicals present in the city drinking water supply was an ever-present story in 2024.
It was a year full of a lot of highs and also some lows. Hastings learned it will host Hockey Day Minnesota in 2026 at the United Heroes League Complex. On Dec. 24, two long-running businesses closed their doors in Hastings – Dick’s Barber Shop and R.L. Johnson Jewelers.
Here’s a look back at the last 12 months through the keyboards of Hastings Journal reporters.

January
The Hastings Journal was selected by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners as the official newspaper of Dakota County. The contract for publishing legal notices and official Dakota County Board and Dakota County proceeds runs through Dec. 31, 2026. “We’re excited for the opportunity to serve Dakota County,” Journal Publisher John McLoone said. “This saves money for Dakota County taxpayers. Public notices are an important part of government and getting the word out of hat government bodies are doing. We’re glad that information is going to be in the Hastings Journal now.”
The organizational meeting of the Hastings School board ushered in change to the board with new chair Carrie Tate now directing the board, which consists of four new school board members. Take their oath of office were Philip Biermaier, Matt Bruns, Melissa Milner and Jenny Wiederholt-Pine. The four were the top vote-getters out of nine candidates running for seats.
The Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce announced its 2023 community award winners, honored at the annual meeting and dinner at The Confluence. Winners were Hastings Public House & Golf Club as business of the year, Kyle Kreuser as educator of the year and Jeff Carter as volunteer of the year.
Tina Folch announced she was stepping down from her Ward 1 seat on the Hastings City Council, because she planned to move out of the community. She was in the last year of her second term in office.
The Hastings City Council passed a resolution urging President Joe Biden to “immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire” in Gaza. The resolution was sought by the Hastings Progressives group.

February
Very little snowfall fell to date. Hastings Public Works Superintendent Joe Spagnoletti said that between Nov. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023, 55” of snow fell in Hastings. In that same time this winter, there was 4.6” of snow. “That’s pretty staggering compared to a year ago,” he said.
A huge announcement came with the news that Hockey Day Minnesota, presented by United Healthcare, will take place in Hastings at the United Heroes League outdoor rink in 2026.
It’s expected to be the biggest event ever in the community. “We’re incredibly excited to be selected as the host site for Hockey Day Minnesota 2026 in Hastings,” said Shane Hudella, President of United Heroes League. “We look forward to partnering with the Hastings Hockey Association and our community to support and grow youth hickey and make this the best Hockey Day yet.”
Local business owner and lifelong Hastings resident Jen Fox announced her candidacy for the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 41B.
The proposed large Walden of Hastings development cleared its first hurdle with the City of Hastings. The Hastings City Council reviewed findings of an environmental assessment on the 71-acre site and passed a resolution stating that no Environmental Impact Statement is necessary for the development to proceed. A handful of nearby residents expressed concerns about traffic from the development and abut the loss of prime agricultural land. The project is planned for the east side of Hwy. 316 at Michael Avenue. A preliminary plat received by the city shows 450 units and developers hoped to start site work in 2024.
One of the last prime pieces of real estate off of the Hwy. 55 commercial corridor could be home to a national retailer. The Hastings City Council voted to transfer ownership of a 3.94-acre parcel of land to the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority. HEDRA is working with local developer Rob Barse of Mint Development and commercial real estate company CBRE, which reportedly had a buyer for the property. The site is located across Pleasant Drive from Westview Mall.
The City of Hastings ordered the owners of the Hastings Cooperative Creamery property to clean up the eyesore left behind after a fire in 2023. The creamery closed in August 2023, and a fire decimated the building a month later. An investigation of the cause of the fire by the Minnesota Department of Public safety is ongoing.
A Burnsville firefighter killed while attempting to save the life of a Burnsville Police Department officer worked for 3-1/2 years as a firefighter in Hastings. Adam Finseth died in the line of duty, along with Bloomington officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge. A fourth officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott also was injured. Medlicott is from Cottage Grove and played baseball for years with the Hastings Hawks.

March
Hastings’ Skylar Little Soldier won her third consecutive Minnesota State High School League wrestling championship. Little Soldier plans to wrestle collegiately at Grand Valley State University in Michigan and has Olympic aspirations.
The Hastings City Council enlisted the help of a lobbyist in its pursuit of funding to fight the PFAS forever chemicals in the drinking water supply that is forcing the city to build three new water treatment plants at an estimated cost of around $70 million.
Work is finally underway on the roof project potion of the historic Hastings City Hall. The city council voted to move ahead with bonding for additional money needed to complete the project. A bid of $3.3 million was approved with Renaissance Roofing, which specializes in historic restoration projects.
DawnMarie Vihrachoff was selected to fill the Ward 1 city council seat vacated by the resignation of Tina Folch.
The Hastings School Board planned to official return public comment to occur during board meetings. In August 2021, a previous board took it off the regular meeting agenda, citing fears that citizens may utter things that can’t legally be said at meetings, such as verbally attacking staff or students. The policy change would bring public comment back as of the April meeting.
Great food, and an even better cause. The Hastings Tastings event to benefit Hastings Family Service was sold out again, as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Parish Hall was packed with people sampling the best from Hastings dining establishments and stores. The hall was lined with tables occupied by food, beverage and treat purveyors.

April
Theresa Chatelle was appointed as new director of the United Way of Hastings. Chatelle brings with her a wealth of experience in community outreach, community building and program management.
The City of Hastings has a pair of environmental investigations in process to determine the source of the PFAS contamination in the city drinking water. The city is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to determine the source of the PFAS contamination.
Syndey Sticha got some really big news on her drive from Hastings to class in Red Wing. The 2023 Hastings High School graduate and current nursing student had accompanied her grandfather, Gary Reuter of Hastings, to Treasure Island Resort and Casino. She was asked to enter the $64,000 Bracket Battle to pick the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Final Four. Sydney, who said she had no interest in college basketball, made a random choice correctly picking the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
Former Dakota County Commissioner Pat Scully was remembered for his dedication in helping build the Dakota County Parks System. Scully, a longtime Dakota County Board Commissioner and Hastings business owner, passed away on Wednesday, April 3. “The legacy of Pat Scully is enjoyed by all Dakota County residents today,” said Dakota County Commissioner Mike Slavik of Hastings. “He was instrumental in the creation of the Dakota County Park system.”
Plans for the large-scale Walden at Hastings development on the new southern border of Hastings have hit a slight delay and are expected to start working their way through public meetings in May (Editor’s note: Those meetings never materialized). Final plans are still being developed.
Leota Dillon of Hastings celebrated her 106th birthday with family and friends at Oak Ridge Assisted Living in Hastings. Leota appreciates every day and keeps busy crocheting. Numerous paintings she created adorn the walls of her apartment.
Nine months after a fire at the closed Hastings Cooperative Creamery complex, city residents are growing impatient that little or no cleanup is being done at the site. “The neighborhood has made it clear to me that somethings’ got to be done,” City Councilmember Dave Pemble said. The owners of the property were ordered to erect a fence to keep debris from blowing off the site.
Prairie Island Indian Community is putting a cannabis growing operation on 13 acres of land it owns at Hwy. 316 and 200th Street in Ravenna Township. The property has been in Prairie Island’s possession for more than 30 years. Plans are to sell product grown and manufactured on the land at a new cannabis dispensary at Treasure Island Resort & Casino.
Hastings Middle School Principal Trent Hanson was honored at the ISD #200 Employee Recognition Banquet as the district’s Employee of the Year.

May
The City of Hastings is planning for a westward expansion. The city put out a request for proposals for a “small area plan” for a 400-acre site off Hwy. 55, just went of the current city limits. At the heart of the parcel is the Augustine property, where the city has been talking to a prospective developer for a large residential development.
A 53-year-old man was arrested and charged with fire degree burglary after being caught in the early morning hours at a restaurant in New Trier. When deputies arrived at the restaurant, two men were grappling on the ground, as the restaurant owner subdued the burglar.
An uplifting morning was hosted by the Hastings Clergy Association at its National Day of Prayer Breakfast at the Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel. The room was packed with City of Hastings, Hastings ISD #200, Dakota County Law Enforcement and Hastings Police and Fire Department leaders, community members and local clergy uniting in prayer for the community, the nation and the world.
The City of Hastings put everything on the table in a community meeting on PFAS contaminants in its drinking water. City staff was joined by experts from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency at the meeting attended by hundreds of people in the Hastings High School Auditorium. New federal standards mean that Hastings’ drinking water supply has contamination that exceeds EPA requirements. Hastings is in a precarious situation, as it needs to come up with upwards of $70 million to build three water treatment plants to remedy the crisis. The following week, Hastings learned that it would get no financial help through a state bonding bill, as the Minnesota Legislature adjourned its session without approving one. Hastings had asked for $20 million from the state bonding program.
The Hastings School Board welcomed four new student members in a program open to sophomores and juniors. Students serve a one-year term, attending each monthly board meeting. The first four students chosen are Jenevieve Behnke, Aidan Suarez Garcia, Victoria Steinke and Briseis Rusnacko.

June
The Dakota County Historical Society is working on projects to honor the history of Hastings’ early Black families. The Daniels Project will be located in the Carriage Barn at the Historic LeDuc Estate in Hastings, tracing the prominent Black family and the impact they made on the community. The Black Heritage Trail will be an interactive trail with historic points of interest.
With election filings completed, the Ward 2 seat for the Hastings City Council will have a contested race, with Maya Back and Wendi Shilts-Johnson filing. The seat is being vacated by Jen Fox, who filed to run for Minnesota House of Representatives.
The Hastings High School Class of 2024 held its commencement ceremony, with 346 students walking across the stage to shake the hands of school board members before getting their diplomas.
Kathy Gleich was honored at a surprise gathering after her retirement from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Hastings, where she taught for 41 years. She had worked at a McDonald’s prior to that and said that where she got her work ethic. Her party was held at the Hastings McDonald’s.
Rainbow-clad participants marched from Kennedy Elementary to Levee Park for the fourth annual Hastings Pride Festival, hosted by the nonprofit Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Alliance. The Pride Festival and parade started in 2020 as a way to foster community during the COVID pandemic.
Heavy rain over several weeks had the Mississippi River approach flood levels. The City of Hastings worked to prepare in case flooding did occur,
Hastings Senior Center Director Laurie Thrush retired on June 28 after 40 years of service. Creating programming that reflected and met the needs of the Hastings community was a key part of Thrush’s job.

July
The District 200 School Board joined many other school boards across the state by voting to switch to even year school board elections. Current members’ terms will be extended by one year. The move was discussed in numerous work sessions and is expected to both save the district money as well as increase voter turnout.
State officials came to Hastings to view the flooding along the Mississippi River at Levee Park. The water swallowed the lower paths along Levee Park as they peaked at 19.35 feet on June 29. Evidence of the inundated soil and high water can be seen across town at the Vermillion River and Lake Isabella.
Sen. Amy Klobachar and Rep. Angie Craig visited Hastings High School to speak about the Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act, a bill that would require social media platforms to report the sale of illicit drugs like Fentanyl to law enforcement and establishes civic and criminal penalties for not doing so. “You can’t fix this without fixing social media,” said Klobachar. The bipartisan bill is named for two victims of Fentanyl overdoses. Cooper Davis, a 16-year-old from Shawnee, Kan. died of a Fentanyl overdose after taking half of a pill bought on Snapchat that he thought was Percocet in August 2021. Devin Norring, a 19-year- old senior at Hastings High School, died after taking a pill thought also to be Percocet that was bought on Snapchat for a migraine and toothache. Norring died of a Fentanyl overdose April 4, 2020. The Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act has been gaining support in congress.
Animal lovers rejoice! A local concerned citizen posted on local social media about a kitten that was trapped somewhere on the Hwy. 61 bridge over the Mississippi River. Hastings Public workers, police and MNDOT employees went to work and freed the kitten.
The 45th Annual Hastings Rivertown Days was a huge success, featuring carnival rides, craft fairs, events across the community and live music, including national headline the Spin Doctors.
Missing: Mayflies. Mayflies are a hallmark of the Mississippi river town experience, blacking the skies for a few weeks every summer. While mayflies are certainly around this July, they haven’t arrived in the near-apocalyptic numbers they usually do. Every year, Hastings Public Works watches and plans for large hatches. Normally early into June, the city turns off lights downtown and along the river to stop mayflies from swarming the lights and dying in piles and puddles on streets and sidewalks. Hatches this year were small and in separate waves that didn’t have the usual impact.

August
Hastings High School announced implementation of a cell phone usage policy, coming from new legislative requirements. Language already existing in school policy will be4 enforced in various schools throughout the district, including the high school. Under the policy, students are prohibited from using cell phones during the instructional day.
Dr. Heidi Welsch has been approved as the new Dakota County Manager. She currently worked as Olmstead County Administrator and before that worked in Dakota County as Director of the Office of Planning and analysis.
A data information request received by the Hasting School District that is expected to be more than 100,000 pages long even after the material has been pared down for relevance. The staggering request has led many to question not only the process, but the cost incurred by the district when putting together such a large request.
A man who kidnapped a woman in Hastings in 1983 and left her tied to a tree in rural Wisconsin has been apprehended in Iowa 29 years after escaping from a halfway house in Madison. George Hartleroad, 71, was convicted of the crime after kidnapping the woman from a wayside in Hastings. He kept the woman captive in the trunk of his car and raped her repeatedly, according to court records. She was later discovered by a jogger. He was arrested at a Chippewa Falls motel.
The construction of the first of three water treatment plants necessary because of PFAS contamination will take place in 2025. The start date was pushed back in order to better inform residents of the water rate increase of 35-40% at the beginning of 2025 that will fund the project.
A new chorale ensemble was announced to serve Hastings and the surrounding communities. The River Valley Chorale, with support from the Hastings Prescott Arts Council, has been launched.
The logo for Hockey Day Minnesota was held at a ceremony at The Confluence Hotel. The event brought together sponsors, members of the local planning committee and city officials as they spoke to hockey’s significance to Hastings. The logo, designed by the Minnesota Wild, features the famous Hastings bridge spanning to City Hall, all in Raiders’ yellow and blue. Hastings is hosting the event in 2026.

September
After a fire burned down the Lions Park warming house, the Hastings Fire Department began investigating the source of the fire as arson. A tip line offers a reward up to $5,000.
Hastings Marching Band Director Emily Chandler was recently awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Youth in Music Group. Under4 her leadership, the Hastings Marching Band has progressed to become a multi-time state champion, known for creative programming and high execution at its shows.
The Hastings City Council approved the preliminary city budget of $42.2 million with a preliminary tax levy of $20,049,930. The levy is a 7.5% increase from the prior year.
The city council approved a revision to a local ordinance that would allow residents to apply for a license to drive special vehicles, including ATVs, side-by-sides, golf carts and utility vehicles on city roads. Before this change, while it was not legal to drive any of these vehicles on city roads, the practice was not unheard of. Previous attempts to allow special vehicles on city roads were defeated.
Hastings will be the first municipality in Dakota County to allow special vehicles on city streets. The finalized language of the ordinance along with the permitting process is forthcoming.
Little Texas played to a packed audience on at the Hastings Rotary Club Rivertown Live event. Also headlining was Diamond Rio.
The Dakota County Board of Commissioners unveiled and adopted the 2025 maximum proposed property tax levy, which was set at $167,648,832, a 0.92 percent increase from the prior year.
Coborn’s donated $2,457 to Hastings High School as part of the store’s annual Raiders’ merchandise sales. The store donates $1 per piece of merchandise sold at the Hastings Coborn’s.
The District 200 School Board hosted its third Community Collaboration Committee meeting at Hastings High School, discussing a variety of programs and initiatives and an upcoming school survey.

October
In the final stretches of a contentious and by all accounts incredibly close presidential election season, the Hastings Candidate Forum showcased what civil, policy-focused politics can look like. Hastings Community Television and the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau hosted the forum for candidates running for Minnesota House of Representatives 41B and Hastings City Council Ward 2.
Downtown Tire and Auto celebrated its 50th anniversary serving Hastings area residents from the same spot, the corner of Fourth Street and Hwy. 61. Owned by Greg Kasel, the business has been a part of his family since his dad started working there in 1964.
Hastings is set to receive an estimated $14.5 million from the 3M settlement to cover the treatment for PFAS from well 5. Mayor Mary Fasbender and the city council broke into applause at the announcement of the first major funding of Hastings PFAS coming from 3M settlement funds.
The Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA) approved the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) to administer the funds Hastings received for Local Affordable Housing Aid. These funds, which stem from the new sales tax from the 2023 Housing Finance and Policy Omnibus bill, will be used by the CDA for two projects: the Home Improvement Loan Program, and the Radon Mitigation Grant Program.
The LeDuc Historic Site has received a slew of arti- facts, furniture and antiques original to the LeDucs and the LeDuc Mansion from the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). The more than 1,600 new items include furniture like William and Mary’s bed and William’s desk, as well as various other items like William’s breast- plate from the Civil War and trunks and boxes used by the family. Despite the fact that the items are original to the house, they were donated to the MNHS by Carol Simmons, an antique dealer who owned the house after the granddaughters of William and Mary LeDuc. The objects were donated by Simmons in 1958, with the LeDuc mansion becoming the first MNHS site in 1986.
The Lyle Russell VFW Post 1210 has had a busy 2024 that includes merging with another post and moving, this time to the old Extreme Sandbox Building that is now part of the United Heroes League campus. The merge brought over 350 members from South St. Paul to Hastings and gives the VFW access to potential new members in the form of soldiers that train on the UHL properties.

November
The Hastings School Board is currently updating its strategic plan to guide the direction of the district for the next several years. It was last updated in 2021. A Community Input Session was scheduled with a representative of the Minnesota School Boards Association Nov. 18.
The staff of Rivertown Eye Care threw a party to honor the retirement of Dr. Joe Slapnicher, who served Hastings residents for nearly 51 years. “The years just went by fast, and you just work hard, and I enjoy people. And, you know, I’m just glad everybody came to me, trusted me,” said Dr. Joe.
Whoever coined the old adage that rain keeps the voters away, did not account for the 2024 United States Presidential Election. Through the gray and wet voters flocked to polling places, not just in record-breaking numbers for early in-person voting in Hastings, but also in some of the highest numbers recorded for voter participation across the country. An estimated 76% of Minnesotans—some 3.2 million residents—voted on Nov. 5, according to the un- official results from the Minnesota Secretary of State. That figure is a high-water mark for voter participation, a full 10 points above the national average for 2020 at 66% which itself was “the highest rate for any national election since 1900,” according to a study from the PEW Research Center. In Dakota County, an estimated 261,000 voters turned out for the election. Hastings voters broadly reflected national trends in the presidential election with 6,706 votes cast for Trump, roughly 50.6% of the vote, just a hair below the national rate of 50.9%. Despite not choosing her overall, Hastings residents were more favorable to Harris than the national average; 49.3% of Hastings voters chose her, 6,539 votes, over the national average of 47.6%. Voters chose Republican Tom Dippel as the new Representative for district 41B over DFLer Jen Fox. Strangely, more Hastings residents voted for Dippel than Trump or Harris, an oddity given the broad trend of high vote counts for races at the top of the ticket versus those below. In Hastings, Dippel received 6,915 votes, 52.2% of the vote to Fox’s 6,333 votes, some 47.8%. Hastings residents stayed the course with their national representatives, overwhelmingly sending Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig back to Washington D.C. over their Republican challengers. For the city council, Ward 2 residents chose Mya Beck over Wendi-Shilts-Johnson to take the seat vacated by Jen Fox. Beck received 1,343 votes to Shilts-Johnson’s 1,135. All other city councilors will be returning to their seats from uncontested races.
Nathan Ray Justice, 30, Hastings, was charged with making terroristic threats to a Hastings Police Department officer. The charges stem from threats Justice made in an attempt to get a cell phone that was seized by Hastings Police when they executed a search warrant at his residence.
Longtime small business owner and Hastings community supporter Dan Rother passed away Nov. 14 at the age of 65. Rother started his photography career in 1979 in Hastings. He was honored for his efforts to make the community a better place at the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner in January.
The Hastings Chamber of Commerce hosted a PFAS update for members. While residents are often the ones thought of with the water rate increases, local businesses face the same issue. Businesses that use lots of water like landscaping companies or breweries like Spiral Brewery could see spikes in operating costs due to increased water rates. Hastings Chamber of Commerce President Kristy Barse was clear about this point: “We are going to see businesses close over this.” City Administrator Dan Wietecha spoke to a question he often receives in the face of water rate increases and a lack of funding from 3M which is why the city doesn’t wait for funding from 3M in order to construct WTPs. Wietecha’s answer is that “we don’t have a choice.”
Through flurries of snow and 20-degree weather, runners and walkers celebrated Thanksgiving morning with Hastings’ 27th annual Gobble Gait. This year marked a significant milestone for the event, which passed the $2 million mark for funds raised to Hastings Family Service.

December
Two businesses that have been local fixtures in Hastings for decades announced they were closing Dec. 24. Dick’s Barber Shop, owned by Dick Greiner, closed after 44 years. It started after Greiner came home from the Vietnam War and started his barber career in Hastings. And after nearly 40 years of service, R.L. Johnson Jewelers closed. Since 1985, Johnson Jewelers has been a staple of the Hastings business community, marking special events for generations of Hastings residents. Started by Dick Johnson, the business was taken over by son, Tom, in 1999.
In a season dedicated to giving, United Heroes League and Tradition Companies (UHL) have once again made an extraordinary impact on military families in the region. On a chilly December morning, the organization welcomed thousands of families to their holiday gift giveaway event, which, according to organizers, is expected to distribute over $2 million worth of gifts and toys, benefiting more than 5,000 families. The event was made possible through a generous partnership with local businesses and numerous volunteers from the community.
A Hastings man has been charged with multiple counts related to the production and possession of child sexual abuse material, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, on May 19, 2022, Hunter James Geidl, 27, knowingly possessed a video file of a minor victim engaging in sexually explicit activities. From approximately July 29, 2022, until March 22, 2024, Geidl employed and used minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing sexually explicit video images.