Editorial: Thumbs

To the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

This department of state government seems to get beat up for nearly any decision it makes, or doesn’t make, but here is one decision the DNR is making that everyone can agree is a good idea: an eagle cam that people can watch on the Internet.

The best way to get people excited about natural resources and public spaces is to connect them to it. The old way was to get them to the state parks and preserves. The new way is to bring the state parks and preserves to the people. A camera was installed above the nest late last year in a nest, in an undisclosed Twin Cities area location. It already contains three eggs that are expected to hatch sometime in early to mid-February.

The eagle cam was paid for by DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program, which is largely funded by donations, including what’s known as the “chickadee check-off” on state income tax forms. Smart move, DNR.

 

 

To whoever ransacked the Eagles Club.

How could someone do such a dastardly deed to an organization dedicated to helping people? The Fraternal Order of Eagles is community-minded. They helped to establish the Mother’s Day holiday. They raise funds to fight diseases such as Alzheimer’s. They support police and firefighters. The local club was broken into at 3:25 a.m. Wednesday. Nothing was missing, but the building was ransacked. It’s upsetting to hear, and we wish the Eagles nothing but the best regards in terms of getting the place back to normal.

 

 

To Luke Behrends.

This one is a no-brainer. Writing a commercial that airs during the Super Bowl will easily earn a thumbs up. Behrends, a 2000 graduate of Albert Lea High School, was the co-writer for the “Miracle Stain” advertisement for Tide laundry detergent. It was about a man who spilled salsa, and the stain looks like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. He attracts the attention of media and fans, but then finds his wife, a Baltimore Ravens fan, has washed the stain out with Tide. “It had a stain on it,” she says. The ad received praise from TV critics because it was a crowd pleaser. It used humor, not shock value, and used the product to make that humor, not some completely unrelated joke followed by a logo. We were glad to see it ranked No. 2 on USA Today’s annual Ad Meter contest.