Imagine all the things the perfect mid-size city would offer for your family, your employees, your friends. You'd want great public services, like top-quality schools and health care. You'd want lots of fun things to do, ranging from sprawling parks and sporting events to art shows and concerts. You'd want a place where summer nights are safe for a stroll to get ice cream, to gaze at the stars, to get together with neighbors. And you'd want a city that brings a solid, diversified economic foundation along with opportunities to innovate, expand and grow.

All these features and more are right here  in our City of Hastings, Nebraska. We're a vibrant, prosperous community that blends progressive thinking with a respect for strong community values.  Throughout our history, Hastings has proved to be a wonderful place for people to live, work and play.

Of course, we'd rather have you explore Hastings Nebraska in person. But until you can schedule a visit, here's a snapshot of what the good life in Hastings Nebraska has to offer.

Cool arts and culture

Hastings Nebraska is home to many cultural opportunities starting with our own symphony orchestra, the only one in Greater Nebraska. Next, we have one of one of the nation's leading natural history and Plains history museums the Hastings Museum which brings in several new exhibits each year in addition to showcasing an outstanding permanent collection. The museum complex is also home to the J.M. McDonald Planetarium and the Lied Super Screen Theater.

Performances are part of our cultural scene as well. Hastings Nebraska highly regarded community theater troupe performs regularly, while The Listening Room hosts several nationally-known musicians annually. Beautiful Brickyard Park is the site of the annual Cottonwood Festival, a three-day celebration of the arts. The park's amphitheater also hosts several concerts throughout the summer.

Other cultural attractions include the annual Kool-Aid Days festival, which celebrates the invention of Kool-Aid in Hastings; the Hastings College Art Gallery; the Graham Gallery; and historic walking tours.  And of course, we have movie theaters, cool coffee shops, independent bookstores, our public library, our county fair and more.

World-class education

Are you seeking a strong K-12 education system? Or are you interested in advanced training and learning opportunities? Either way, Hastings has students of all ages covered. For K-12, the area offers four school systems: Hastings Public Schools, which operates eight K-12 facilities around the city; Hastings Catholic Schools; Zion Lutheran Schools; and the Adams-Central Schools, located just a few miles west of town. At the college level, Hastings College is a private, liberal-arts university. Recognized for many years as one of the finest liberal-arts colleges in the Midwest, it is earning an impressive national reputation as well. It serves about 1,100 students and also provides unparalleled cultural, artistic, and recreational activities to the greater Hastings area. Four other schools offer advanced vocational and technical training: Central Community College, the Creighton University School of Nursing, Mary Lanning Radiologic College and Joseph's College of Beauty.   

High-quality health care

Dentists, orthodontists, opticians, nurses, therapists and other health experts are major contributors to our quality of life. Hastings is a primary medical center with more than 55 doctors who care for patients across Nebraska and northern Kansas. All major specialties are represented by certified individuals, and Hastings has an excellent hospital: Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. Mary Lanning is an accredited, nonprofit 195-bed acute care facility offering 29 medical specialties. Its full range of hospital services includes specialty care in cardiac services, oncology, women's health, pediatrics, and behavioral health, plus a complement of outpatient, home health and wellness services. Rural Metro is a private corporation that provides emergency and non-emergency medical transport. Rural Metro employs about 25 people, including highly trained, skilled paramedics.

Great places to play

Whether you boat, swim, fish, hunt, hike or cross-country ski, or race cars, the Hastings area has lots of opportunities for fun. We have two lakes with public access, the nearby Platte River, and surrounding prairie areas filled with birds and other wildlife.

Within the city, both kids and adults can join one of several sports leagues, covering soccer fields to basketball courts. Where else can you play? Well, we also have 20 public parks covering 286 acres. Indoor and outdoor tennis courts. A bowling alley, a miniature golf course and two frisbee golf courses. An SCCA-approved race track, and a go-cart race track. Three outstanding 18-hole golf courses. A brand-new family water park, along with other city swimming pools. A YMCA with an Olympic-sized pool, racquetball courts, track, gym, and weight room equipment. And the Nebraska Softball Association constructed a new State Softball Complex in Hastings for tournament competition, complemented by the Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame and Museum. When the fields are not in use by the softball association, the complex is available to the community.

If watching sports is more your style, our Hastings High School, Adams Central School, and college teams participate in dozens of games and tournaments each year, including football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball and more. Hastings people also are fans of the Tri-City Storm, a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team in the West Division of the U.S. Hockey League. Based in nearby Kearney, the team represents the Tri-City region.

More about Hastings 

In the heart of one of the nation's top 10 "Most Livable States," Hastings Nebraska offers a good climate, and abundant commercial services.

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