To the Wells Area Food Shelf.

Thanks for the work volunteers from in and around Wells do for the Wells Area Food Shelf, including holding a concert today to raise funds and food for the food shelf. Whether it is Wells, Albert Lea or any community, food shelves always need support. They always have more people needing food than they can provide for and rely heavily on regional food banks. This concert helps the locals do their part for the hungry. It starts at 4 p.m. today at St. Casimir’s Catholic Church, 320 Second Ave. SW. The price of admission is a donation to the food shelf, whether it is money or a nonperishable food item. Musical acts Stub Highway 253 and Spirit Driven are slated to perform. We encourage people to go.

 

To the selection of a pope not from Europe.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is a figurehead for Christianity as a whole, whether other denominations appreciate it or not. It is refreshing that the cardinals who guide the church selected a pope from Argentina. Pope Francis is the first pontiff not from Europe in more than 1,200 years and the first from Latin America. It is good to select popes from around the globe, not merely Europe. After all, St. Peter, the first pope, was from the Middle East, and many early church leaders were from the Middle East or Africa. The modern-day church can learn a lot from the early church.

 

To Albert Lea High School Principal Jim Wagner.

Talk about going out of your way to show that physical fitness is important. Wagner is willing to wrestle to raise funds for the weight-training facility at Albert Lea High School. We couldn’t agree more with him that physical fitness is important to learn at young ages. Proper, up-to-date equipment encourages young people to exercise. Learning fitness during youth establishes traits that last a lifetime. If learning to use exercise machines during youth means going to the gym as adults, that’s an all-around good thing. That’s especially important considering the problem America’s children are facing with obesity. And research shows being physically fit no matter the age helps increase alertness and productivity. Thanks, Principal Wagner, for caring about a key issue, yet showing it in an entertaining way.