What have we accomplished in twelve years?

Hello, All, Having served on the Hastings City Council for the past 12 years there have been all the usual items we’ve handled like park and trail upgrades, street improvements, fees and finances, capital improvements and keeping the streets plowed.

However, there are a few items that stick out in my mind as game-changers that improved our quality of life and made for a new and improved face for Hastings.

The first is the new river bridge funding and construction in coordination with the city council and MNDOT. The groundbreaking ceremony was 10 years ago last week. It was built up-river in Jay-Cee park and floated down river, hoisted up and set into place while thousands of people from all over the region came to experience the history being made. Before the new bridge there were plenty of accidents with many fatalities and huge traffic backups as we squeezed over 30,000 vehicles a day from four lanes down to two lanes. The bridge made Hastings a true 21st century Community . The second big event was the city council committing to the development of the Riverfront Renaissance which transformed the Historic Downtown into a true tourist attraction for families. Safer crosswalks, a transformed Oliver’s Grove, the Depot Playground and of course the Hastings Riverwalk with the Rotary Pavilion, Veteran’s Memorial, educational information and spectacular views truly made for a lovely atmosphere.

The third big event was the city council coordinating with The Hastings Prescott Area Arts Council (HPAAC) to bring the Art Space Lofts to Hastings, attracting a wonderful variety of artists and craftsmen here to live and work and show their talents. HPAAC was formed to foster the arts and appreciate the economic impact that the arts offer to the local economy. As a lifetime artist, myself, I was a very enthusiastic supporter of Art Space and HPAAC.

The fourth big event was the city council committing support for a coordinated 911 system to render efficient and safe emergency support for out constituents. I’ve served for 12 years on the Board of Directors of the Dakota Communications Center (DCC 911Center.) It’s a model of efficiency with state-of-the-art equipment and fully trained personnel ready to handle any kind of issue. I personally am very proud to have been on the board since the center’s inception.

The fifth event is the pandemic, which is still with us. As a member of the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA) we’ve provided economic development funds to our local small businesses and helped coordinate grants with money supplied by Dakota County.

The last event is yet to come with the transformation of the Hudson Building into a hotel, apartments, event center, public park and offices. When you drive downtown you can see the work in progress, now known as The Confluence, all to be completed in the next few months. Your city council and HEDRA worked for over six years to make this project a reality. It will be a true jewel in the crown of Hastings when the ribbon is cut on its opening day.

It’s been a pleasure being involved in all these projects. I’ve devoted my whole professional life to public service with 22 years of military service, 2 years as the Hastings American Legion Commander, 35 years of teaching and 12 years on your city council. And I have to say that my years on the Hastings City Council have been the most rewarding of all.

Sincerely, Joe Balsanek Ward 2 Hastings City Council

Differing opinions

Dear John: In last week’s paper, I read Dr. Glenn Mollette’s article, “Standing Together”. It would be nice to do so, however, I think he missed why this is hard to do at this time.

First of all, Colin Kaepernick and other’s peaceful protest of taking a knee during the National Anthem is the result of a large group of Americans being treated differently because of their skin color. Peaceful protesting is a constitutional right, even if you do not agree with what is being protested. What Mr Kaepernick protesting was systemic racism which has been and still is a problem today. More historical education is necessary to give us an understanding of how this became so firmly ingrained in our country and maybe give us a key as how to stop it.

If we are to stand together, we must first acknowledge our own feelings or beliefs on the matter adding to the divisions in this country. Do we lump everyone of a race or religious group into “them” and then when something happens blame the whole group when there is an unlawful act? This type of thought adds to the problem. As the old saying goes, clean you own house first.

Who does Dr. Mollette believe is the far left winged media? Why didn’t he also mention the far right winged media that has divided people, some of which have put forth false conspiracy theories or agendas that have further the polarized the country. Both sides have some work to do.

As for standing with the President, I for one, cannot stand with someone who has tried to separate the country by calling white supremacists; fine people, calling peaceful protestors; thugs, calls our fallen war heros, suckers and won’t listen to experts on issues such as the pandemic that affect so many Americans but rather make it into a political issue.

We will never stand together until we first, take a look at ourselves to see what we can do better. We need to be able to voice our opinions without fear of violence to ourselves, our families or our property. Today, that seems not to be the case. I recently read of a family that was afraid to put a sign in their front yard because they were not sure what their neighbors would do.

If you continue to include articles by Dr Mollette, I would like you to also include someone with a more progressive view on matters.

Best regards, Deb Miller Household differences Dear Hastings Journal Readers: Mr. Michael D. Qualy’s letters dated October 1, 2020 to the Hastings Journal Editor do not necessarily reflect the other Qualy household member opinions.

#1, I believe the Minnea p o l i s policeman who killed George Floyd will be convicted of the crime of which he is accused. Hopefully Justice will prevail and cooler heads succeed.

#2. Furthermore I fervently believe Senator Karla Bigham is an excellent, experienced, knowledgeable civil servant who deals forth rightly with all issues presented to her and the Minnesota Legislature. I believe in her candidacy and her message.

Thank you, Teresa D, Qualy