Here are highlights in history for April 12, gleaned from the files of the Albert Lea Tribune:

1988 — What was intended to be a controlled burn on two five-acre plots of grassland north of Maple Island went out of control and burned 200 acres before it was extinguished.

1978 — The Albert Lea Board of Education voted to discontinue operations of the Gateway Vocational Cooperative Center. This action came as a result of Glenville, Emmons and Ellendale-Geneva districts deciding to withdraw from this school’s operations.

1938 — The newly remodeled Rivoli Theater opened. The first film was “Judge Hardy’s Children” starring Mickey Rooney.