When we at the Tribune sat down and tried to list the biggest news stories of the year in 2001, it was an easy task. We had the Farmland fire, a tornado in Glenville and a school referendum that failed, threatening to cut deep into the school district’s educational system.

Not real great news.

In 2002, the task is different. While there was no catastrophic focal point like we had with Farmland in 2001, there were a multitude of big stories and key events that defined this year, and will leave their mark on this area well into the future.

While 2001 was largely a year of tragedy, 2002 was a year of transition. Freeborn County dealt with the continuing fallout of the events of 2001 and, with 2003 dawning, appears to be on a new course that would have been hard to predict five years ago. If the transitions now underway aren’t complete yet, they have at least set the table for inevitable change.

One year ago, much of Albert Lea was still thinking Farmland might rebuild here, and the city’s most visible economic efforts were focused on that goal. In 2002, the city settled a dispute over the Habben industrial park, which became city property and was set aside for Farmland. At the Capitol, our legislators worked to pass a special tax-increment designation and a sales-tax exemption to lure Farmland back.

Then, Farmland filed for bankruptcy and the whole thing was thrown into question. Now, after months of silence, it’s safe to assume no plant is being built anytime soon.

Yet new opportunities could await. The acquisition of the Habben park makes it possible for the city to add new employers on the southern end of town &045; as we almost saw with Ford’s warehouse &045; and a deal to finally force demolition of the old Farmland plant will leave the city in possession of that prime piece of real estate between the lakes on Main Street.

So, we’ve gone from being a city hanging its hopes on Farmland to one with two key pieces of land in its possession and a world of possibilities that could come knocking.

Elsewhere, the county also saw a major transition this year: From a time of nagging courthouse problems to a day when a new jail and rehabbed courthouse will sit on Broadway Avenue. The costly project, approved after months of controversy, finally ended years of debate.

The architecturally attractive new courthouse will be a nice piece of a downtown area that is also seeing some signs of transition. Again, the city of Albert Lea helped lay the foundation with a key acquisition: By buying Lea Center, with a private developer set to take it over and renovate it into housing and some commercial space, the city set in motion what it hopes will be a domino effect. If all goes well, the historic Vault building could be next to find a tenant; that’s part of a plan that came into focus this year, along with the hope for grant-funded changes to the city-owned spaces like streets and sidewalks in that area. This flurry of activity could be part of a transition into a more vital downtown.

Politically, it was a year of transition, as well. The city of Albert Lea elected a mayor and two new council members, displacing two of the city’s longest-tenured aldermen in the process. The new council should be dramatically different than the old one; it started with the election of George Marin in 2000 and has culminated with voters’ choice of Jean Eaton, Randy Erdman and Jeff Fjelstad. This transition will be abrupt; the old are out and the new will attend their first council meeting on the job in January.

In retail business, it was also a year when new things happened. A Home Depot opened, seemingly paving the way for more development on the far east side of the city. Later in the year, final details of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter nearby were approved, and we’re on the way to seeing that project become reality. This trend could shift even more attention away from the west, where Skyline Mall was once dominant, and toward the east and I-35. Another transition.

Overall, it was a year that provided hope. Not everything went right &045; it never does &045; and with the economy gone sour and taxes rising locally, 2002 saw the birth of some hardships. But when the transitions begun in 2002 are complete, it’s a safe bet that Freeborn County will be on the way to better things.

Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.