Letter: Church will miss food shelf

Greetings to the community of Farmington. My name is Kevin Fox and I have been truly blest to serve in this community as the pastor of Faith United Methodist Church.

Editorial: Numbers support German reduction

Running a school district can be a dirty job. It's a delicate balance making sure school programs serve the students while simultaneously keeping the bills paid. And given the sheer number of programs a district like Farmington's operates, the number of people it serves, it is inevitable that reductions to one program will upset someone.

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Editorial: A long walk and a memorable journey

Jordan Dibb has an incredible journey ahead of him. On March 27 the 2005 Farmington High School graduate will leave his Minneapolis home and start walking. By the time he is done he will have covered somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 miles and, he hopes, raised at least $100,000 for relief efforts in Haiti.

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Editorial: Still many questions on arena proposal

There is a lot to get excited about in the proposal John Colby made to the Farmington Economic Development Association Monday. There are ice rinks to solve the city’s problems with Schmitz-Maki Arena. There are sports domes. There are hotels and mini golf courses and driving ranges. If the project comes off the way it was presented, it could be a big benefit to Farmington. But there are also plenty of questions associated with the project.

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Letter: State must improve business climate

Anyone who has picked up a newspaper in the last month knows about the Minnesota budget situation. It’s ugly. We face a $1.2 billion deficit in 2010, and that number is expected to increase to $5.4 billion in the next budget. We need to make dramatic structural changes to bring our spending back down to sustainable levels and balance the budget.

Editorial: Sheriff leaves department in good shape

In the years we have known him as Dakota County's sheriff, Don Gudmundson has been a pleasure to deal with. He's been accessible, and he's been willing to talk about subjects that weren't always pleasant.

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Editorial: Rescue was an impressive team effort

A remarkable act of cooperation took place last Thursday in Farmington. Over the course of about eight hours more than 100 people came together to devise and execute a complex plan to save one man who had become trapped in a corn silo.

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Letter: No to ‘Sportsplex Jr.’

Last week I attended the joint Farmington City Council and school board meeting as they received the task force report on ice arena options for our community. Their first recommendation was to construct two new ice sheets, which would obviously close the Schmitz-Maki Arena.

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Editorial: New Empire park can’t come soon enough

Steve Sullivan says in park planning terms the development of a new Dakota County Regional park in Empire Township is moving at lightning speed.

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Editorial: Support for soldiers was good to see

A large crowd gathered Sunday night to welcome the returning soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division It was a wonderful sight. Family, friends and complete strangers stood and waited. They held signs and waved flags to greet Minnesota National Guard soldiers who were finally back home after nearly a year away from family, friends and the rest of their civilian lives.

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Locals have long known needs in Haiti

Haiti has gotten a lot of attention lately, and rightly so. The earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation Jan. 12 left hundreds of thousands dead, many more injured and much of the country lacking even the very basic comforts they had before the quake.

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Editorial: Blight-removal money can help many

Blight is never easy to get rid of, and it doesn't matter if you're in Farmington, Minneapolis or New York. Properties fall into disrepair because there is nobody either willing, able or available to care for them. The people who are able to fix them aren't the ones responsible, and the people who are responsible aren't always willing, able or available to take action.

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Letter: Thanks for making Toys for Town a success

Another Christmas has come and gone and the residents of Farmington should be proud of their generosity to those less fortunate. When I was promoted to chief I had no idea the monumental task ahead of me. Chief Siebenaler had started the Toys for Town program and ran it successfully for 18 years. This year was another year of economic roubles for some, which resulted in the program’s largest demand to date. It would be impossible for me to remember everyone who played a role, so I will tro to thank everyone this way.

Editorial: Everyone can make a difference

This week’s issue of the Independent is filled with stories of people reaching out to help others. There are stories of a benefit put together help an ailing friend with mounting medical bills. Of clergy cooking for a local family. And of a young girl whose idea to recycle crayons has developed into a rapidly growing effort to make life a little bit easier for cancer patients and their families.

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Looking forward to a new year

We’ve reached the end of another year in Farmington, and it’s been a busy one. The Farmington School District answered a lawsuit filed by the architect responsible for its new high school with a suit of its own and still opened the school successfully in September. Farmington’s seniors put on their work clothes and pulled out their fundraising baskets to help turn the former city hall into the new Rambling River Center. And one Farmington teen found himself unexpectedly in possession of a bag full of drug money.

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