Students in one of Robin Hundley’s math classes at Southwest Middle School pass around a butterfly Hundley raised before releasing it in September. Hundley was interviewed for the Tribune’s Raising Royalty series, about monarch butterfly conservation efforts. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

People gathered in July in front of the Freeborn County Courthouse as a part of the nationwide movement Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Concentration Camps. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

A boy plays with one of the children’s games set up by Hope Church after having his face painted during the first Wind Down Wednesday in June in downtown Albert Lea. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Rose Subek admires the English language literacy certificate she received in May at the Adult Learning Center graduation at Brookside Education Center. - Sarah Kocher/Albert Lea Tribune

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources personnel load children — some of them reluctant — up with nets of walleye fingerlings to put into Fountain Lake during the Governor’s Fishing Opener in May. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Megan Garrett performs in August with Casting Crowns at the Freeborn County Fair. - Sarah Kocher/Albert Lea Tribune

One of Hairball’s three different lead singers shoots off a confetti gun while performing as Ozzy Osbourne during the Freeborn County Fair in August. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Members of Albert Lea Police Department, Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and Albert Lea Fire Department convened Feb. 23 for active killer response training at Hawthorne Elementary School. The training started last year and was designed by members of the police and fire departments. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

People gather in preparation for a prayer vigil in honor of Joseph Alan Roberts, an Albert Lea man who died following an officer-involved shooting in January. - Sarah Kocher/Albert Lea Tribune

The Itasca Rock Garden, built in 1925, has become overgrown and in need of maintenance over the years. The Tribune got to tour what is left of the garden in July. In September, an offer by a Wisconsin-based preservation foundation to purchase the garden was accepted; the foundation said it plans to preserve the garden. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune