Editorial: Thumbs

To drivers who stop for ducks.

It’s always nice to see polite drivers on Lakeview Boulevard and other streets near local lakes stop and wait for mallards to waddle to the other side. Ducks are in Albert Lea this time of year, making the quality of life here just a touch more pleasant. We hear them outside quacking, almost sounding like they are laughing at us. And they probably are. But it’s no laughing matter when a drake, a hen or a duckling gets hit by an automobile. Keep watching for fowl in the front of our fenders.

 

To dumping tires in the Cedar River.

Holy moly! About 220 tires were pulled from the Cedar River in late October, bringing the total tires pulled from the waterway since 2011 to nearly 700. It’s hard to believe people could treat our natural places so poorly in the past. It reminds us that some aspects of the olden days were not that golden. Still, if you have ever rafted down a river in the Upper Midwest, you might be surprised to find entire automobiles, refrigerators and other big items embedded in the banks. Thank goodness people, companies and government agencies today are doing more to dispose of unwanted items properly and doing more to clean up our treasured landscapes and waterways.

 

To changing a court venue to Fort Dodge.

We understand changing the court venue for homicide defendant Tyrone Washington Jr. away from Northwood. We had hoped Mason City would suffice, but the next best locations would appear to be Waterloo or Fort Dodge, two county seats out of the local TV viewing area with populations large enough for an unbiased, diverse jury. We are glad the judge and the Iowa court system didn’t select a place farther away, such as Sioux City, Dubuque, Ames, Des Moines or Cedar Rapids.