To the return of the Blue Zones.

We thank city officials for welcoming back the Blue Zones Project to Albert Lea and thank all the other entities, from schools to Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce to local volunteers, for participating. The 10-month pilot project in 2009 went a long way toward changing perceptions of what the future of Albert Lea ought to look like and highly influenced the city’s comprehensive plan. Adding jobs isn’t just about tax breaks till the cows come home. Adding jobs in the modern times means thinking of quality of life so that companies can attract talent away from bigger locations. We have that sense of community that suburbs lack and parents desire but Albert Lea has learned, thanks partly to the Blue Zones, that things like bike lanes, sidewalks, healthy options and cultural aspects are things people looking to move to Albert Lea care much about. Having the right talent on a work staff can grow a company, too. If residing here is a hardship, the talent won’t stay, or even consider it in the first place. Blue Zones, we welcome you.

 

To the Albert Lea girls’ swim team.

Do not, repeat, do not miss the action of the girls’ swim team. Some schools are fortunate to have a swimmer qualify for state in a single event. It gets splashed across that town’s sports page. Our school has Tigers qualifying for state in eight — count them yourself — eight events. In Rochester on Friday, Tigers set three section records and swam faster times than the Class A state record in two events. They set school records in the 200 medley relay, the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. Bailey Sandon set a school record in the 100 backstroke. Coach Jon Schmitz said it best when he called it “insane.” Let’s go, Tigers!

 

To Iowa’s 60 percent law.

A majority of voters in Winnebago County see the need for a new public safety center in the county seat of Forest City. One of the city’s the Tribune regularly covers, Lake Mills, is in Winnebago County. It seems un-American that Iowa voters must cross the threshold of 60 percent for a county to issue bonds for capital projects. The Winnebago County supervisors asked for a modest $4.6 million to replace an old facility with serious structural issues and code violations.

The election on Tuesday had 57 percent in favor of it — which is a fairly strong result. People want a place to lock up the bad guys. The proposed failed a March vote, too. It might be a wait, but we suggest the Winnebago County supervisors attempt to put it on the ballot in two years when there is a presidential general election and turnout is at its highest.

Besides, $4.6 million is not much to ask in terms of public safety buildings. The jail and courts building in Mower County, completed in 2011, cost $28 million.

 

To the end of election season.

On one hand, elections are fun. That’s because we Americans like democracy and are a proud, liberated people. We can agree to disagree and move on. On the other hand, election season sure can be a drag, and people have to wade through the garbage talk and smoke screens to guess at the truth of matters — and do it by the voting day. People are glad to be back to normal, making Thanksgiving and Christmas travel plans and thinking about winter preparation. Can you believe Freeborn County is supposed to get snow on Monday? Yikes.

 

To the fans of the Tribune on Facebook.

We were humbled to see during Election Night the number of likes the Tribune has on Facebook crossed 5,000. Newspapers in similar-size cities, or slightly bigger, in Minnesota and Iowa have Facebook likes in the range of 900 to 4,000. Only the Bemidji Pioneer is neck and neck when it comes likes. The best thing about a community newspaper — compared to metro papers — is the close connection to the audience. It’s easy to call us, email us, stop by the office or to connect in social media. The 5,000 likes on Facebook show that the Tribune’s readers care a whole heck of a lot about this community. That’s one reason why we love it here.