To Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s promotion.

We congratulate Engstrom on his promotion to publisher this week with the Fergus Falls Daily Jounal, one of our sister newspapers.

Engstrom was the editor at the Tribune for nine years and before that was an editor at a daily newspaper in Ellensburg, Washington, for five years.

He was seen as a leader in the community and outside of work was the past president of the Albert Lea Noon Kiwanis Club. He served six years on the Albert Lea Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and coached youth baseball.

Many knew him in the community for playing disc golf.

We wish him the best in his new position.

 

To businesses promoting healthier living.

It is exciting to see businesses jumping on board to become certified through the Blue Zones Project.

On Friday, Hy-Vee was certified as the first Blue Zones-certified grocery store, and earlier this month Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services was certified as the first Blue Zones worksite in Albert Lea.

Certification is not as easy as it sounds and requires planning and then implementing different criteria.

To become certified as a worksite, 25 percent of the employees at the business have to complete the personal Blue Zones pledge and the business has to complete a certain amount of criteria. The criteria includes everything from hosting plant-based cooking classes to having at least 50 percent of food and beverage vending choices meet healthy guidelines.

Some of the criteria to become a certified grocery store includes limiting portion sizes of soda in the checkout lanes to 12 ounces or less, increasing display space of select fruits and vegetables, distributing health recipes in the store and having an in-store dietitian, among others.

Many other businesses are working toward being certified, and we look forward to hearing more stories of succses.

 

To shots fired through two trailers in Albert Lea.

It’s not very often we hear stories about guns being fired in Albert Lea, but that is just what happened this week.

Multiple shots were targeted at a trailer at 1101 Gene Ave. and at least one bullet went through that residence and into a second trailer next door.

Though both trailers were occupied at the time the shots were fired, no one was injured.

Police said residents in the area suspected fireworks or other electrical noises nearby but did not report the sound to authorities.

The bullet holes were reported the next morning.

The Albert Lea Police Department is investigating, and we hope those who fired the guns will be held responsible.

In the future we urge residents who hear suspicious noises to report them to police immediately.