Editorial: Thumbs

To possible dredging of Fountain Lake in 2016.

The Shell Rock River Watershed District this week announced that dredging may begin late next summer on Albert Lea’s Fountain Lake.

Most people will say the dredging project has been long-awaited, and we are excited to see all of the hard work up to this point come to fruition.

Watershed District officials said some more details still need to be figured out and permits need to be secured. The district also has plans in place to purchase land by March where all of the dredged material will be taken for disposal. If everything goes as planned, we may see some movement late next summer.

The lakes are Albert Lea’s gems, and we hope when the dredging is completed, even more people will recognize that.

 

To the dusting of snow received on Friday.

The light dusting of snow the Albert Lea area received on Friday was just enough to bring in the Christmas spirit.

Though the snow brought with it some colder temperatures, we hope it will stick around for Christmas Day so we can have a white Christmas.

It just seems magical to have snow on Christmas.

 

To not having a long-term infrastructure solution at the state level.

Our city and county leaders are in a bit of a bind when it comes to fixing our roads in the area. Without a long-term state infrastructure solution in place, our local leaders are having to pass the burden of fixing our roads onto the residents.

Just this week, we saw tax increases approved at both the city and county levels, some of which has been a result of heightened infrastructure needs.

We encourage the Legislature to come to an agreement this year for fixing the state’s crumbling roads without passing on the cost to the local taxpayers.