Editorial: Thumbs

To Mayor Vern Rasmussen and the Albert Lea City Council.

The way the mayor and the council are handling people who complain or even grandstand during the public forum at the City Council meetings is excellent. The public forum is near the start of meeting, not buried at the end. They let the person sound off while avoiding replies that result in disagreements right then and there. Mayor Rasmussen and the council simply listen, then the mayor thanks the comment maker for the feedback and states that a city official will get back to the person with an answer at later time. Why is this the right way to handle the public forum? Because the time is meant for listening, not as a question-and-answer period. We commend the city leaders for setting an example for future council members.

To Albert Lea city staff.

When holding an election, it only makes sense to let the public know where the people can see the results arrive. Traditionally, people expect to be able to go to the Freeborn County Courthouse on election nights and see the results firsthand. If an election deviates from that, it makes sense to tell the public — via the news media.

In 2007, Albert Lea School District held an election for a referendum levy. The results were not found at the courthouse. Instead, precinct officials brought their results to the school headquarters at Brookside Education Center. Weeks beforehand school leaders told people they could come gather there.

On Tuesday, the city held a one-precinct election for Ward 1. There was no notice beforehand, so anyone without insider information assumed the results would, like usual, be brought to the courthouse. They weren’t. The print and broadcast media were confused about how to get the results out to the public, driving from building to building, and who knows if any members of the voting public had hoped to stop at the courthouse, too?

In other words, let’s just avoid holding secret-ish elections.

To Lucas Hacker.

This 13-year-old seventh-grader who plays golf on the Albert Lea High School junior varsity team shot an ace in his first high school meet this spring at the Faribault Country Club. It was Hacker’s first hole in one. He nailed it with a six iron on a 137-yard par-3.