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To informed voters.

July is already here, and that means we only have a little more than a month until the primary election in Minnesota. 

While not every race will appear on the ballot that day, there are several in the area that will be because of the number of people who filed for the position. 

We encourage you to look early to see how you will be affected by the primary and then to begin your research into each of the candidates. 

While the primary tends to get fewer voters than the general election, it is a critical step in choosing the final outcome. 

It is important to know who you are considering for office, so get out there and find out about the candidates’ backgrounds, their goals and where they stand on important issues. 

And if you don’t want to wait until Aug. 9 to cast your ballot, or you will be out of town that day, don’t forget about absentee voting. 

In Minnesota, voters don’t need an excuse to vote by way of absentee ballot, so take advantage of the opportunity if you’re anticipating a busy day on Election Day or simply want to vote early. 

To NRHEG student Andrew Phillips.

Congratulations to NRHEG’s Andrew Phillips, who has accepted a scholarship to play baseball at South Dakota State, a Division 1 school. 

From the sounds of it, Phillips has worked extremely hard to achieve this recognition, and our community wishes him the best in this endeavor.

He started out in Albert Lea and in his eighth-grade year transitioned over to the Hartland area and began playing at NRHEG.

In addition to playing high school baseball, he has played for the Minnesota Blizzard team.

We applaud Phillips for his efforts and look forward to hearing more about his success.

To living in a community that likes to showcase its patriotism for the Fourth of July.

If you haven’t been one to get too involved in all of the Fourth of July activities in Albert Lea in the past, consider this your invitation to get out and check out a couple of the activities happening this year. 

There’s everything from the traditional parade and fireworks, to live music, food, a ski show, a car show and cruises on Albert Lea Lake. New this year there’s a boat parade, too. 

It’s a great time to be an Albert Lean, and a great time to be an American, and we welcome anyone from outside of the community who comes to visit our beautiful town this weekend.

We hope you enjoy your time here, and encourage you to come back and visit our land between the lakes.