A settlement has been reached between the Hastings Creamery Co-operative and its insurance, clearing the way for the site’s cleanup.
The burnt husk of the creamery has sat on the corner of Vermillion and 17th streets for more than two years following the site’s closure and subsequent fire in late summer 2023.
Since then, residents and even city officials have had few answers on when the site would be cleared and possibly sold as insurance claims on the site remain unclear.
Despite the insurance claim settling, the state investigation into the fire is ongoing, according to Kat Barrett, communications specialist with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
The state’s investigation can last as long as “several years,” said Jen Longaecker, deputy communications director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The State of Minnesota does not answer questions about ongoing investigations.
Hastings Director of Economic Development John Hinzman broke the news of the settlement at last week’s Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA) meeting, which will allow the site to be cleared and sold.
According to Hinzman, the city has been “impatient” for this settlement because of how long negotiations have gone on: “It’s been two years since the fire has occurred and we haven’t seen anything happen,” said Hinzman.
According to Hastings Economic Development Coordinator Alex Menke, there was no set timeline for the site moving forward, but creamery ownership “said they wanted to move quickly,” with the demolition and eventual sale.

Background
The Hastings Co-op Creamery opened its doors in 1913 selling milk, cheese, cream and other dairy products from local farmers.
In June 2023, the Metropolitan Council revoked the business’s sanitary sewer licenses after detecting a spike in fats, oils, and grease the weekend of May 13, 2023. The revocation cited seven different discharge violations from 2022 through June 2023.
Creamery leadership disputed the claim that the site had been dumping milk, but the effect of the ban was immediate. Over the next few months, the creamery hired wastewater trucks to come to the site daily as well as work to bring the site into compliance with the Metropolitan Council’s standards.
On Aug. 18, 2023 the creamery announced it would be closing, ending its 110-year legacy.
Less than a month later on Sept. 13, 2023, the Hastings Fire Department responded to a fire call at the site just after 10:30 p.m. It took Hastings Fire Department nearly four hours to bring the blaze under control and two days later flames again broke out amidst the wreckage.
The site was cleared for cleanup in February 2024 with the deadline of Feb. 9. Despite that deadline, the pile of burnt materials remained, blowing across the highway and around the area until April.
According to Hinzman at that time, the delay in cleanup was due to ongoing insurance disputes about whether the site would be rebuilt or cleared.
It took until now for that decision to be made.
Late last year, the city began reviewing its options to compel and expedite the demolition of the site. According to Menke, the city conducted a walkthrough of the creamery to determine if the site needed to be demolished for safety reasons.
“If they wouldn’t agree to demolish, we could and then assess that cost back to them,” said Menke about that process.
Now that the insurance settlement has been reached, the city’s measures to compel demolition are not expected to continue.
Menke estimated that residents might see movement towards demolition within a few months, but was unsure about any definite timeline: “what does quickly mean?”