In Thursday’s newspaper, Halverson Elementary School Principal Del Stein said:

“If you don’t think that Albert Lea is a great community, you’ve been here too long and you’ve never been any place else.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Albert Lea is a wonderful place to live. Go live anywhere else for a time, and when you return you will be thinking how you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

There is a place for constructive criticism in any community, of course, but some folks just spout nasty comments all the time, often about people or issues they hardly know.

That’s OK, though, because every community has its naysayers. For the rest of us, we can enjoy the ride that is life in Albert Lea, where people wave at their neighbors, leave their doors unlocked and smile when they pass.

Many have traded such comforts for hour-long commutes in metro traffic to suburbs where they don’t know or barely know their neighbors. Sure, they might live closer to pro sports arenas and top-notch performance theaters, but they are missing out on friendly living, good people and a safe community.

Yup, Principal Stein is right. Albert Lea is a great place to call home.