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To the Albert Lea boys’ golf team.

Congratulations to the Albert Lea boys’ golf team, who this week won the Section 1AA golf tournament, defeating 19 other teams over the course of the two-day event.

The boys now advance to the MSHSL state golf meet June 9 and 10 at The Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.

A special shout-out to Archie Nelson, who shot a Section 1AA record of 140 (4-under par), with rounds of 69 and 71.

Good luck, and we’ll be cheering you on!

To the return of Thursdays on Fountain.

The first Thursdays on Fountain of the season took place Thursday night with Eclipse.

Though the event had to move indoors because of the threat of rain, we’re glad that one of the community’s favorite summer pastimes has returned.

The summer concert series is held at Fountain Lake Park from 5:30 to 7 p.m. every Thursday except for the week of the Freeborn County Fair.

The Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Albert Lea Recreation Department have a variety of music scheduled for this summer, and we hope you will invite some friends, kick back and enjoy some good music along the lake.

To the closing of St. Casimir’s Catholic School in Wells.

It’s sad to see the closing of any school, and the closing of longtime St. Casimir’s Catholic School in Wells is no different.

After 110 years in operation, the school will graduate its final class on Sunday.

The school has had differing age groups over the years and at one point even had high school grades. Since 1919, the year of its first graduation, more than 1,600 have graduated from the school.

We thank those who dedicated their careers to teaching these children and for the lifelong personal characteristics the school sought to teach to its students.

To all of the students who earned their GEDs or English as a Second Language certificates this week.

Congratulations to all of the students who attended classes through Albert Lea Adult Education and who this week received either their GEDs or certificates in English as a Second Language.

Many of these individuals are also working full-time or are parents or caregivers, and it does not go unnoticed the amount of time and effort it takes to achieve this milestone.

We look forward to seeing how they take this achievement and use it to advance their lives forward into other successes. We hope they remember that this is only the beginning.

We also thank those educators who lead this program. Not only do these individuals help teach, but they become cheerleaders and friends to those in their program. We thank them for the support that they show these members of the community.

This is a bright spot in the Albert Lea school district each year — one that deserves more recognition.