Editorials

Innovation has been a big word since Jay Haugen took over as superintendent in the Farmington School District. Haugen talked early and often about the need to look at new ways of teaching students and -- maybe more important -- of helping them learn on their own. The most obvious...

Dakota County's prescription-drug disposal program is coming to Farmington, and that's a good thing. Home medicine cabinets have gotten increasing scrutiny in recent years as sources for recreational drugs. Kids take unused drugs from their parents. Adults steal from adults. According...

School security has been on a lot of parents' minds since the shooting last month in Newtown, Conn. It makes sense. While schools are still among the safest places a child can be, a high-profile incident like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School is sure to make an impact. That's...

There was a little hesitation Monday when the Farmington School Board discussed a possible move to the South Suburban Conference. Echoing concerns she said she'd heard from other parents in the district, board member Julie Singewald raised the possibility that a move from the relatively...

We spend a lot of time in this week's issue of the Independent looking back on the year that just reached its end. There are reasons for that. Reviewing the year gone by is a nice way to remember some of the things that have gotten us to this point. And sharing our favorite stories...

There has been so much talk over so long a time about adding another sheet of indoor ice in Farmington that in a way it's hard to believe something might actually be happening. That seems to be the case, though, as the group behind Ice tor Tigers, a community-based effort to expand...

Last year, not long after he took over as Farmington's city administrator, David McKnight spent most of a Thanksgiving break combing through the city's budget to find cuts. Coming into this year's budget process, he declared that would not be the case again. He was right, for all...

Farmington's present is built on the hard work done by a lot of people over the course of a lot of years. They provided activities for residents. They shaped the city's development as it grew from a small farm town to a full-fledged suburb. They helped make Farmington what it is...

We are big advocates at the Independent of residents getting involved in the decisions that shape their lives. The more informed Farmington residents are, and the more they make their opinions known to the city council and school board members who make those big decisions, the better...

It's easy to overlook your local library. It's there. It has books. If you fill out a form and carry a card with you, it will let you take those books home with you for a little while. It's, you know, nice. Easy. It's not actually that simple, of course. Libraries are more than...

Whatever the results of Tuesday's election in Farmington, no matter who is happy and who is sad, there is one thing that seems remarkably clear: The results, at least locally, are a good indication of what Farmington residents wanted. Everybody should be happy about that. According...

Unless you see the operation in action, it's hard to appreciate the full scale of Farmington's Halloween Walk, the annual community event that gives kids a chance to try out their costumes a few days early and collect some candy in a safe, controlled environment. Teams of volunteers...

On Saturday afternoon a healthy portion of the greater Farmington community came together to give one family a very special gift. For more than an hour, band members and sheriff's deputies, firefighters and Boy Scouts traced a parade route around an Empire Township neighborhood, part...

The Farmington School District wants your opinion. As the district starts work toward eliminating a projected budget shortfall of more than $1 million for next year, finance director Carl Colmark plans to hold public input sessions to hear what residents have to say about the matter....

There has been a lot of consternation in recent months about the state of Farmington's municipal liquor stores. Profits at the two stores have been smaller than anyone would like. The stores' profits trailed well behind the numbers turned in by other area municipal liquor stores,...