To Albert Lea Anglers Griffin Thompson and Thomas Lundell.

Congratulations to the two high school anglers, who competed and placed fourth in the Fishing League Worldwide Mississippi River Wabasha Open last week and secured themselves a place at the national competition next year.

The competition included teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and other states.

Thompson and Lundell had a five-fish combined weigh-in of 14 pounds, 11 ounces.

We wish the other Albert Lea Anglers the best of luck on Aug. 10, as they attend the Bass Federation High School State Championship tournament and get another chance to qualify for nationals, too.

 

To incoming Albert Lea City Manager David Todd.

The Albert Lea City Council this week approved the contract for Todd, who will begin as city manager in Albert Lea on Sept. 23.

Todd, who has served as the Pine Island city administrator for four years, previously worked as the city administrator for Lanesboro and a police sergeant/patrol supervisor for Marysville, Missouri. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a minor in criminal justice, as well as a master’s degree in public administration.

The city manager position has been open since June, when former City Manager Chad Adams left the city to serve as CEO of the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership.

We look forward to having Todd in town and seeing his fresh ideas for the community.

 

To the Shell Rotella SuperRigs event.

It’s not every day you see decked-out semi trucks from all over the country coming to Albert Lea, vying for a chance to win $25,000 in cash and prizes.

Though weather dampened some of the festivities Thursday, we hope the remainder of the events go on as planned.

Thanks to the event organizers for selecting Albert Lea for the event, and thank you to Trail’s Travel Center and any other local businesses involved in helping to make this event happen.

 

To calmer weather.

After a crazy weekend of weather brought in damages all over the community, we were glad to see calmer weather this week.

Thank you to all who have been involved in cleanup from the storm, whether it’s city workers, crews with Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, tree trimming companies or residents.

Though there’s still more work to be done, the city has come a long way since Saturday when the storm took place.