Editorial: Thumbs

 

To the spelling bee champions.

Congratulations to all the super spellers at schools in our region. You did a fine job representing your schools and your school districts at the regional spelling bee Tuesday in Rochester. No local spellers advanced to the Feb. 26 bee for the southeast Minnesota finals, but one student, Jens Lange, is an alternate, and he will compete if another becomes unable to attend.

 

To Congress.

Members of Congress need to learn they cannot have it both ways. They want the U.S. Postal Service to operate like a business without any federal funds, but when the Postal Service leaders attempt to make the hard decisions that come with operating like a business, Congress steps in and reverses them. When the Postal Service wanted to close many small, rural post offices, Congress axed that plan. Now when the Postal Service wants to end Saturday delivery of the mail, except for packages, members of Congress propose bills to reverse that plan.

Congress is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to operate a postal service, so it never will go away. But in its responsibility, Congress needs to either step up and subsidize the service like a government agency or step back and let the Postal Service operate on its own like a business — not both.
To participants of The Big Freeze.

Whether you are taking the polar plunge or taking your kid ice fishing, we thank you for showing up the Big Freeze and especially thank you if you donated food toward one of the Big Freeze’s many events. The donated food or proceeds benefit local food shelves. Kudos to that!

In addition, the annual festival shines a light on winter activities in Albert Lea. People tend to think of wintertime as a rather dormant season for outdoor activities, but many people embrace the cold by getting out to enjoy the ice and snow. The Big Freeze is their way of inviting the rest of the community to join them