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To organizers of the Out of the Darkness Walk and Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Though planning for these two community walks changed this year with COVID-19, we thank the organizers of both of these events for finding a way to make their walks happen and to, most importantly, continue raising awareness of both of their causes.

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s was last weekend and raises awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and raises funds for research of the disease. Instead of being in a large group setting, participants were encouraged to walk in their own smaller groups.

The Out of the Darkness Walk, which raises awareness of suicide, collects money that goes toward educational programs and resources for better understanding mental health and training about the importance of making mental health a priority.

This year’s event will be Sept. 12 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Modifications are also in place for this event for safety purposes.

We encourage residents to support the two causes if they are able.

 

To the first reported case of COVID-19 at Albert Lea Area Schools.

It was bound to happen at some point, but it was still sad to hear of the first lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 of the school year at Albert Lea Area Schools.

The case was reported in a member of the district community at the high school — though it is unclear whether it was a student or staff member. The district was notified of the results Aug. 28, and eight others were identified through contact tracing to have been exposed to the individual within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes. These people will be quarantined for 14 days.

We thank school officials for handling the matter in an efficient, thorough manner and for the protocols in place to keep cases contained.

We cannot stress enough to students and their families the importance of basic actions such as wearing masks, hand-washing and social distancing.

We hope that by doing these things, the cases at the schools in the district can remain at a minimum.

Thank you to all who are dedicated to keeping the school as safe as possible.

 

To the fall season on the horizon.

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and with that comes cooler temperatures as we transition into fall.

According to the National Weather Service, highs for at least the first half of next week will be in the 50s and 60s, with a low in the 40s for most days except for on Wednesday night, when it is expected to dip into the 30s.

If you weren’t ready for fall, it seems now is the time to prepare. It is right around the corner.      

Though fall means shorter windows of sunlight and then eventually winter, there are lots of good aspects of fall, too.

Get out and enjoy the weather while you can. Two or three months from now, it may not be as favorable.