To smart demolition of a building near City Garage.

In between their other responsibilities of clearing snow and ice, Albert Lea Street Department workers have been demolishing the former storage building and apartment near City Garage in preparation for an expansion of the garage.

This is positive for two reasons.

Having the Street Department crews lead the demolition saves the city money from having another contractor do the job, and it also allows the city to separate the demolished materials.

Some of the usable lumber will be reused for concrete formwork, and the metal has been recycled. 

Demolition started in mid-January and is expected to be completed in about a week or two.

To an education proposal by Gov. Mark Dayton released this week.

Gov. Mark Dayton, along with Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger and others hosted a conference call Wednesday to discuss a new education proposal by the governor.

The proposal includes a $609 million investment in elementary through 12th-grade education. More than $370 million would be invested in the next two years in all public school districts in the state.

Specifically for Albert Lea, the proposal called for an additional $2.1 million over the next biennium.

The funding address special education, childhood poverty, racial disparities and increasing school counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses in districts.

To an unusual incident at Lakeview Elementary this week.

Parents and the community alike were puzzled to hear that 11 students in one classroom at Lakeview Elementary School fell ill Tuesday with headaches and nausea in what appeared to be flu-related symptoms.

The school’s principal said some of the students went home for the day, while others stayed at the school.

Air quality was checked in the classroom and the school, and nothing was found to be of concern.

While it is odd, hopefully it was simply a bad case of the flu.

To forecasted temperatures in the next week.

Air temperatures were expected to rise to near 40 degrees Saturday and are expected to stay in at least the 30s for most of the week.

We hope people take advantage of the weather at this time of year. With temperatures above freezing for several days, however, it’s important to keep a close watch on the conditions at area lakes. As more warm weather continues to stick around, the ice on the lakes becomes threatened. Always be aware of how thick the ice is before making any rash decisions.