Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

To the people who have filed for Albert Lea school board.

We are proud to see several candidates come forward since the filing period opened for Albert Lea school board.

As of the end of this week, there have been nine people who have filed for the board, including the following: Kasey Wolters, Ryan Quigley, Jane Kepple Johnson, Shannon L. Cox, Kim Nelson, Gary H. Lerud, Christopher John Seedorf, Davy Villarreal and Gary Schindler.

Running for public office is no easy task, and those who have been elected will likely tell you it’s often a thankless job. 

We thank all of these individuals for seeking to better the community and for the time and effort those who serve in elected office give. 

We remind the community that the filing period closes at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Affidavits of candidacy are available from the school district clerk’s office, at 211 W. Richway Drive. The filing fee is $2.

Four people will be elected for four-year terms. 

To Freeborn County’s voter turnout in the Tuesday primary and special election.

Though turnout for primary elections is always much lower than that of the general election, we were proud to see Freeborn County voters come out in higher-than-normal numbers this week to cast their ballots. 

According to the Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, almost 37% of Freeborn County residents eligible to vote cast their ballots during the Tuesday primary and special election.

The voter turnout is higher than the turnout in primary elections dating back to at least 2006, according to unofficial results from the Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office. 

The second-highest turnout at a primary election in the same time frame was in 2010 with 31.36%.

According to the results, in this week’s election there were 18,557 people registered to vote in the county as of 7 a.m. on Election Day, and 185 people registered the day of the election.

A total of 6,806 people voted — or 36.68% of those registered — including 1,160 through absentee or mail ballots.

On the ballot was the race for Freeborn County sheriff, a local City Council and county commissioner race and the race to fill the 1st District congressional seat vacated with the death of former U.S. House Rep. Jim Hagedorn, along with other various state seats.

We hope the involvement in this election translates over to the rest of election season and people will continue to find out about those on the ballot and — most importantly — make their voices heard in November. 

To the upcoming school year and all who will make it possible.

It’s hard to believe the summer is already gone and on Wednesday, students in Albert Lea Area Schools will return to the classroom for another year of learning. 

Though students don’t return to the classroom until next week, teachers and administration have already been hard at work preparing for students to arrive. 

Thank you for your preparations and for all you do to help our students succeed. 

We hope this will be a great year for all.