See all posts in the Mayor & Cities Corner series

(Mayor’s Corner is a regular feature where Carver County mayors share updates, insights, and messages with their communities. Chaska Mayor Taylor Hubbard is providing this edition.)

Hello everyone! I’m excited to finally add Chaska to the Mayor and Cities Corner for Carver County Local News. I appreciate all the news that the volunteers over at Carver County Local News brings to our community and it is exciting to add some updates from the City of Chaska. 

In this update, I’d like to start with an overview of our strategic vision and direction for 2030. 

Back in the spring, the city council and city staff completed a strategic planning session where we laid out a vision and direction for 2030. 

We focused on eight visions and four directions that will help us meet long-term infrastructure needs and enhance our community identity. 

Strategic Visions for 2030:

• Chaska has a destination downtown
• Chaska is a hometown for all
• Southwest Chaska is actively developing
• Chaska is continuously reinvesting in city facilities
• Chaska has a fully funded and defined capital improvement program
• Chaska is an emergency services leader in the metro area
• Chaska is using innovation in tech to drive efficiency
• Chaska has consistent, effective and reliable communication platforms

Strategic Directions for 2030:

• Position Chaska to meet long-term infrastructure needs
• Foster community partnerships
• Enhance community identity
• Empower organizational excellence

I encourage you to check out the full plan on our website: chaskamn.gov/415. 

You probably have seen some of these directions in action. 

Recently, we mailed our first edition of Chaska Today to all Chaska addresses. I am really excited about this addition to our communication efforts. Chaska Today should help fill the void left from the Chaska Herald closing. Hopefully, you enjoyed the first issue. We will mail these out every other month, so keep an eye out for the next one.

We also have another visible city project going on – the Public Safety Facility. This will be the new home of the police and fire departments at the site of the old fire station on Engler Blvd. We are still tracking to have construction wrap up by the end of the year. We expect both departments to move in January 2026. 

It’s hard to believe that we are already in the “ber” months. You might think that means that community events are winding down, but that’s never the case in Chaska!

Here are a few events to mark on your calendar:

• Saturday, Sept. 20, 5 to 10 p.m.: Chaska Cares Music Fest at Firemen’s Park
  This fall music festival has something for everyone from local artists to national names. It’s a free festival with ways to support the future Miracle League Field in the SW Chaska Community Park.  
• Friday, Oct. 24, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Festival de la Catrina at the Chaska Event Center
  Enjoy music, performances, traditional sweet Mexican bread, traditional Latin American craft vendors and more! Free to attend.
• Saturday, Oct. 25, 4 to 6 p.m.: Halloween Jamboree at the Chaska Community Center
  Enjoy kid-friendly Halloween crafts, spooky games, and trick or treats! Free to attend.
• Friday, Nov. 14, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Celebrate India at the Chaska Event Center Experience the variety of Indian cultures! We’ll have food, performances, henna and fun activities for the kids. Free to attend.
• Sunday, Nov. 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Chaska Tree Lighting at Firemen’s Park
  We’ll light the 50-foot holiday tree and get to see Santa! Free to attend.