Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

To action toward the sale of another piece of the Blazing Star Landing.

We are pleased to see the Albert Lea City Council take a preliminary step Monday toward the sale of a corner piece of property on the Blazing Star Landing, the site of the former Farmland Foods plant.

The council declared there was no public purpose for the property and that it would serve the public better as a developed lot that is privately owned.

In this case, there is an offer for the purchase and development of the property into a convenience store with multiple filling pumps and a car wash. The name of the proposed developer has not yet been released.

We hope this development of the property will spur additional interest at the site, which housed a meat-packing facility for many decades.

The Farmland Foods plant burned down in 2001, and the Blazing Star area has remained mostly vacant for decades due to soil contamination and related remediation costs.

After all these years without any activity, it’s exciting to see action being taken to get the ball rolling.

We look forward to seeing this project unfold.

To Linda Lares.

Freeborn County on Thursday announced longtime Semcac employee Linda Lares will be the recipient of the 2024 Rose Olmsted Advocacy Award.

Throughout her career, Lares has been a role-model to the community and an advocate for those in need of financial and physical assistance. And she did it all with kindness and a smile.

Great job to the selection committee for your choice for the award this year, and thank you to Lares for her dedication to the community for all these years.

She is a great example of what this award stands for.

To the Albert Lea dance team.

Congratulations to the Albert Lea dance team, which last weekend made history when it qualified in high kick for state for the first time.

We know how hard these young women and their coaches have worked, and we couldn’t be happier to see their success.

The team will participate in the tournament today, and we wish them nothing but the best. We’re all rooting for you and can’t wait to hear how it went.

To Marshall Baseman of Glenville-Emmons.

Congratulations to Marshall Baseman of Glenville-Emmons School, who this week surpassed 1,000 career points.

What makes Baseman’s feat even more noteworthy is that he played junior varsity for ninth grade, and his sophomore year he had surgery for an injury sustained during football that sidelined him for all but three games, where he saw limited play time on varsity.

Baseman has led the Wolverines in both points and rebounds this year, and he has much to be proud of.

With two more games next week, it’ll be exciting to see how many more points he earns.

Hats off for this achievement — we know it’s no small feat.