To Albert Lea’s No. 5 ranking on the Top 10 Affordable Small Towns Where You’d Actually Want to Live by realtor.com.

Albert Lea residents should be proud to hear our city ranked fifth in a nationwide study released this week about the Top 10 Affordable Small Towns Where You’d Actually Want to Live.

The study evaluated median home prices, unemployment rates, serious crime rates and households that spend no more than 28 percent of their annual income on housing costs in more than 500 U.S. Census-designated micropolitan areas — communities with a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

The study looked at food options, history, culture, scenery and recreation opportunities.

It credited Albert Lea’s home prices, unemployment rate and health initiatives taken on through the Blue Zones Project, which have not only improved things like nutritional offerings but volunteerism as well.

Albert Lea is a great community, and we’re glad others are beginning to see it. Let’s keep spreading the word.

To Albert Lea Public Safety Director Dwaine Winkels.

Congratulations to Albert Lea Public Safety Director Dwaine Winkels, who is set to retire Friday after a 33-year career with the city.

Winkels started in law enforcement in Blooming Prairie for two years before being hired in Albert Lea, where he worked his way up the ranks to become police chief and in recent years was public safety director over both the police and fire departments.

The Police Department has seen much growth under Winkels’ leadership, including community policing initiatives. These initiatives have strengthened relationships of officers with residents.

We thank him for his dedication to Albert Lea and wish him the best in his retirement.

To students showcasing their talents in Tigers Roar.

Hats off to the Albert Lea High School students who are letting their talents shine at this year’s Tigers Roar.

Tigers Roar has been a long-standing tradition at the high school, and this year’s event includes 21 acts with everything from instrumentalists and comedians to vocalists and dancers. The theme is “Fairy Tale Roar.”

If you missed the event on Thursday and Friday, don’t worry. There is still one more at 7 p.m. today.

Tigers Roar is in the Albert Lea High School auditorium.

To ongoing issues with the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System.

It’s unfortunate that there are still ongoing issues with the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System, commonly known as MNLARS.

From the onset of this program last summer, it has been riddled with problems, including delays and even errors in transactions. State officials have said it would cost $43 million to fix all of the problems.

While we agree that something needs to happen to get this resolved, it is disappointing to have to spend millions of additional dollars to get things resolved. We agree with the compromise the House and Senate reached to pull from a special revenue account for the Department of Vehicle Services and not pull additional funding from other areas. We encourage legislators and state officials to take a hard look at how this money is spent.