To 6-year-old Aiden Quezada and his family.

The story of 6-year-old Aiden Quezada — who is making fried chips with his family and selling them to raise money for school supplies for children in need — made it all the way to Good Morning America on Friday.

The idea began out of a concern that one of the boy’s friends from kindergarten would not have the means to get the supplies he needed. At the suggestion of his mother, Jackie Quezada, to do something to help, Aiden Quezada thought of the idea to sell the chips his grandma makes to help his friend out.

Thanks for taking the initiative to help others, and we hope the example of kindness continues to spread.

 

To cultural competency training completed by Albert Lea school district teachers and staff.

We appreciate seeing Albert Lea staff complete training about cultural sensitivity as the district’s student body continues to become more and more diverse. 

As of March, families in the district spoke 36 different native languages, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Mary Jo Dorman said. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, over 36% of Albert Lea Area Schools students are Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Asian, black or African American or two or more races.

We hope the district — and the rest of the community — continues to learn more about the heritage of our all of our area residents and recognizes the value that this diversity brings, including new life experiences and new ideas.

 

To decreasing daylight.

Let’s face it. Fall is right around the corner, and with that comes cooler temperatures and decreased daylight. It is already beginning to stay darker a little longer during the morning and get darker a little earlier in the evenings.

The sunrise Friday was 6:19 a.m., and the sunset was 8:19 p.m. While there’s still a long way to go to get to the extremely early sunsets in late fall and winter, we wish we could hold on to these late summer days a little longer.

 

To new Albert Lea City Planner Megan Boeck.

Albert Lea welcomed Megan Boeck as city planner last month after over a decade of experience.

Boeck started her career in city government as deputy city clerk for Winnebago and has since been a deputy city clerk in Wells and a city planner in Fairmont.

We wish Boeck the best in her new position and hope she can be a part of many exciting projects in the future.