Editorials

There have been a lot of tributes during this 9/11 anniversary week to the men and women who keep us safe both at home and halfway across the world. Farmington's emergency workers are unlikely to ever have to deal with a disaster on the scale of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but...

We're not opposed to the idea of introducing a noise ordinance in the city of Farmington. Everybody deserves a life of relative peace and quiet if that's what they're after. If there is an easy way to accomplish that, then by all means go ahead. We wonder, though, how much effort...

It has been interesting watching Dakota County's newest regional park take shape. Over the course of several months and many meetings, Whitetail Woods Regional Park has gone from a rough outline on a map to a master plan that gets more detailed every time it is presented. After the...

When the Farmington City Council agreed to turn its former city hall into a new home base for the city's seniors, the senior community agreed to pitch in. They raised money and volunteered their time to do much of the work that went into the conversion. Now that the seniors have...

It's going to be a busy weekend in Farmington, and it's starting early. Depending on when you get this particular issue of the Independent, it may already be going on. Thursday night will be busier than usual, for a start. There will be the usual third-Thursday Ladies Night activities...

There is something important happening this summer at North Trail Elementary School. Kids, freed from the burden of assignments and homework and tests, are coming to school and checking out books. They're reading, and they're having fun doing it. Considering the concerns that exist...

A few weeks ago in this space we laid out the reasons we thought moving Farmington's city-owned downtown liquor store to a new location on Highway 3 was a good idea. At the time, it appeared city council members agreed, having voted to direct city administrator David McKnight to prepare...

Organizing an event like Dew Days is a thankless job. You deal with complaints for months before the first activity takes place. You deal with complaints while everything is going on. And then, when it's all over, you deal with some more complaints. There are probably a few compliments...

On Friday night nearly 400 Farmington High School students will walk across the stage either at Tiger stadium or in the FHS gym. They will receive their diplomas and they will take their first steps, at least symbolically, toward whatever is next for them. No doubt FHS principal...

There has been some skepticism over the past few months about the Farmington School District's plan to provide iPads to all students. Residents have raised questions about whether the district is spending its money in the right place. Board members have asked whether it is really...

There is a lot of history in Farmington's cemeteries. Many of the city's founding families have members buried there. There are graves that go back nearly 100 years, including veterans whose service includes the Civil War. It is a remarkable resource for people interested in genealogy,...

Modern technology has made it easier than ever for government bodies to share their discussions with their constituents. Farmington residents no longer even have to leave the house to see a school board or city council meeting. They can tune in on TV, or watch online, either live...

Earlier this week the Farmington City Council accepted an oversized ceremonial check from members of the city's Rambling River Center, symbolic payment for a $90,000 loan the city made three years ago to help complete renovations at what would become the center's new home. That the...

The world of community newspapers like the Farmington Independent seems to change nearly as quickly as the technology that is available. Where once we were limited to bringing our readers news once a week in print, now the Internet allows us to distribute breaking news as quickly...

Even if the Farmington School District does not move forward with plans to buy iPads for every student -- and it seems increasingly likely that it will -- there is no denying that new technologies are changing the way students learn in Farmington schools. As teachers get more tech-savvy,...