Much fun was had Friday night at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds. People walked all night around the track in front of the grandstands, and they enjoyed one another’s company as they visited and had fun over the night and enjoyed good food. It’s the kind of event you don’t really understand why it is such fun until you participate. Then you get it. Oh, and by the way, you raise money for cancer research. That’s the best part.

To Freeborn Mower Cooperative Services, Thumbs up

It takes a lot of planning to host a bus of people. When U.S. Department of Agriculture officials visited, the co-op did it well on Wednesday evening, offering local food: pork chops from Albert Lea Select Foods, salad from Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen, dinner rolls and dessert from Trail’s Travel Center, hors d’oeuvres from Lansing Corners and milk from Roger and Lori Read’s dairy. And considering the economic good Freeborn Mower does for local businesses, it deserves a thumbs up all year. Keep in mind that it is Freeborn Mower’s neck, not the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s, on the line when it offers rural business startup loans.

To Floyd Landis, Thumbs down

Cycling doesn’t grab the attention of baseball, football, basketball or hockey in North America, but there are many cycling fans nonetheless. They watched the Tour de France, rooted for Floyd Landis of Pennsylvania throughout the race, watched him slip into 11th place, marveled at his Stage 17 comeback, and celebrated his victory. Now he offers excuse after excuse for why he flunked a test that found synthetic testosterone, not produced by his body, in his urine. That’s hard-to-beat evidence. Now even The Onion, a humor newspaper, proposed &8220;Cheat to Win&8221; Landis bracelets.

To Sgt. Traci Edwin, Thumbs up

The family of National Guard Sgt. Traci Edwin will always cherish the memory of the time she surprised them at Applebee’s Neighbord Bar & Grill in Albert Lea. They thought she was in Kuwait and wouldn’t be home for Christmas. Wearing an Applebee’s shirt, Traci served them water. In return, they showered her with hugs. Everyone in Albert Lea enjoyed reading that story, too. We salute your skill at planning a surprise attack, sergeant.