To Mankato.

Good golly, what guts the Mankato City Council has. It voted 4-3 against delaying a smoking ban for one year. That means the smoking ban goes into effect July 1. The council voted 5-2 to schedule a citywide referendum on the ban for the November ballot. It will be good that residents &045; and their children, who don’t get to vote &045; will get a whiff of how nice having a smoking ban really is before voting. We bet the November vote will be overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the ban. There are more nonsmokers than smokers, and what nonsmoker is going to vote for more smoke in the restaurants? Smoking bans always win when put to a vote. We challenge our Albert Lea City Council to put it to a citywide vote here in Albert Lea. Children shouldn’t have to inhale secondhand smoke in public places.

To &8220;Old Minnesota: Song of the North Star&8221;

The show Tuesday night performed by the Lake Superior Big Top Chatauqua was a journey through the past. Songwriter and producer Warren Nelson, who grew up in Fairmont, thanked the people who take photographs. He said in 20 years people will sing songs about the images taken today. So in this age of electronic photographs, SAVE YOUR WORK!

To all mothers.

We would not be here without them. They changed our diapers. They took us to practice. They cooked our favorite dishes. They taught us right from wrong. They picked up after us. They listened to our horrible teeny music. They listened to us when we knew it all, and they listened to us when we knew nothing. They picked us up when we were down, and they applauded when we were up. They wished us the best and cried the day we left home. Thank you again and again and again.

To John Gagliardi of St. John’s.

To St. John’s of Minnesota head coach, college football’s all-time winningest

coach, was among seven new members to join the divisional class of the College Football Hall of Fame. St. John’s is in Collegeville. The legendary coach has a career record of 432-118-11 and has won four national championships.

Thumbs down

To irresponsible dog owners.

We hear stray-dog calls on the police scanner and see them in the police reports, roughly six or seven every day. We see lost-dog posters around town and witness wandering dogs in our neighborhoods. It’s a shame. People should care for their pets.