opinion

To the editor, In response to Joyce Nicolai’s March 6 letter, I think her letter really hit a nerve when she hit on the fact of the park land being taken out of the tax base. No wonder when I look at the real estate tax statements that came in the mail on March 7, 2014, that...

Building a healthy reserve should be a top priority when it comes to deciding what to do with the state of Minnesota’s $1.2 billion budget surplus. Encouragingly, Gov. Mark Dayton and his administration agree. Discouragingly, the agreement seems to be on a philosophical level...

To the editor, We write this letter regarding the eminent domain issue and the insightful editorial by the Hastings Star Gazette supporting the landowners and questioning the county’s blatant attempt to forcibly take private property. The issue raised goes much deeper than the...

To the editor, SEAS School wishes to thank the many players, parents, fans and alumni volunteers who helped make the SEAS 54th Annual Patriot Basketball Tourney a huge success. • All parent and student volunteers who helped with concessions, tickets, security, setup and take...

To the editor, I write this letter in total agreement with Kristie Nelson and Paul Curtis in the Feb. 27 Star Gazette letters to the editor. A county commissioner is elected to be a public servant, not elected to exercise power at the expense of the public. We saw this take...

To the editor, Shame on the Dakota County Commissioners, except for Mike Slavik. From what I have been reading, the families thought they had an agreement with you and you changed the rules – got greedy and wanted more. I told my kids many times, there is a difference between...

On Thursday morning, the Hastings wrestling team took the mat at the state tournament in St. Paul and went on to beat Willmar. Over the weekend, individuals in nine weight classes represented Hastings at the state tournament. Over in Minneapolis, the boys swimming and diving team...

To the editor, Thank you for your editorial on February 20 defending the rights of Dakota County citizens to own property without the threat of it being needlessly taken from them by our County Commissioners. I was surprised to see the Star Gazette take a stand on the issue and...

To the editor, Dakota County is trying to take land from homeowners because they want to put in a permanent mooring for house boats that they can rent out, a bath house and other recreational and rather luxury-type development. These people said, “No,” and that they don’t...

To the editor, Thank you to Hastings Community Education and the Hastings Public Schools Smart Choices Committee for having open gym on Saturday. I really liked it. They even have balls, jump ropes, beanbags and basketballs and hoops. You can play games, such as tag and duck,...

We tried this week to bring you a big story about a well-known face in Hastings and a significant anniversary he recently reached. But, true to form, that well-known face carefully took a step back and asked that the light not shine on him. Well, we are here to change that....

To the editor, The American Red Cross and Regina Medical Center Auxiliary would like to thank the donors at our recent community blood drive. We collected 175 pints of blood on Jan. 27-28. In 2013 we collected 860 pints of blood – 2,580 lives were saved. Thank you to Coborn’s...

On this week’s front page, you saw a big story about a big issue — landowners are trying to stop the county from taking their land. The county says it needs the land for Spring Lake Park. The landowner wants to keep the land, which includes about 1,200 feet of shoreline...

To the editor, We in our city are truly blessed with a vibrant community that can come together and celebrate outstanding institutions like the United Way of Hastings. Last Saturday, this organization celebrated 50 years of commitment to those of us and our neighbors who may be...

To the editor, The Hastings High School Trap Team would like to send a huge thank you out to Greg Wagner of Scab’s Place for sponsoring our team meat raffle on Feb. 1. Also for arranging and handling the fishing rod/reel raffle. We would also like to thank the following businesses...