To this newspaper’s subscribers, advertisers and other supporters.

The editor and publisher of the Albert Lea Tribune attended the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s annual convention this week, and we are proud to be a part of an industry that works day in and day out to be champions of truth.

Though we are not immune to the challenges facing this industry, we are grateful and honored to do what we do, which is to inform, involve and inspire our readers.

We have some of the best jobs around, as we get the opportunity to meet others in our community and tell your stories. It is not something we take lightly.

Thank you for trusting us with these stories and for our dedicated subscribers and advertisers who support the opportunity for quality journalism.

 

To the Albert Lea City Council’s vote to move forward with removing six hazardous properties in the city.

Thank you to the Albert Lea City Council for keeping it a priority to remove hazardous property from the community.

The council on Monday voted to move forward with orders for removal of six hazardous properties throughout the city.

The properties included houses and garages, and most have been vacant for many years — some even decades — and have been placarded as unfit for human habitation.

According to city staff, most of these property owners have been given multiple attempts to bring these properties to code with no long-term success. Some have started repairs only to stop again for long periods of time, and others have put in no effort whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the weeks, months and years continue to pass, and neighbors and the rest of the community must deal with the side effects of these blighted properties, including lower property values and unbecoming views for both  residents and visitors.

We hope the council’s action prompts these property owners to move ahead with major upgrades to their properties; however, if no action is taken on their part, we support the council moving forward with razing the structures.

 

To work happening through the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency.

We were excited to hear an update from Albert Lea Economic Development Agency Executive Director Phillip Johnson during the annual Greater Jobs Inc. meeting on Wednesday about work being done over the last year with economic development in the area.

In addition to $800,000 in loans being given out to nine businesses during the last year, the organization is in discussion with six new businesses looking to come to town and three existing businesses looking to expand. Two developers are looking to build new apartment complexes — one even on the Blazing Star Landing — and ALEDA and its four partners will soon be finished with a strategic plan on how to move the community forward for further development.

Though it’s too soon to see how some of these efforts will pay off in the future, we look forward to seeing where things go over the next year.

We remind residents of the impact for the good you can make for good in being a promoter of the community on social media and in your social circles both in and out of town.