To Lake Mills veteran David Groe.

Congratulations to Lake Mills veteran David Groe, who was recognized last week for his service in the Vietnam War.

Groe was in the U.S. Marine Corps from September 1966 to September 1969. After basic training, he served in Vietnam for more than a year.

During his time in the Marines, he earned the following awards and citations: National Defense Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars and Rifle Marksman’s Badge.

We are grateful Groe’s family, friends and community members were able to be at the ceremony to celebrate him, and we thank him for his service.

 

To the Albert Lea City Council’s request to install dynamic speed signs on Minnesota Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 69 in Albert Lea.

We were pleased to hear the City Council on Monday request the installation of dynamic speed signs on Minnesota Highway 13 south of Sunset Street and near the north lanes of U.S. Highway 69, north of Southview Lane.

We believe the dynamic signs installed in 2015 along West Main Street near Euclid Avenue and on East Main Street near Ulstad Avenue have proven successful thus far.

These signs help keep motorists in check by posting their speed and reminding them what the speed limit is.

We think they will be just as successful at the new locations.

 

To new Albert Lea Director of Public Safety J.D. Carlson.

Congratulations to J.D. Carlson, who was appointed Monday by the Albert Lea City Council as the new public safety director for the city.

Carlson, who was one of eight candidates for the position, will oversee both the police and fire departments.

He began with the department in February 1997 as a patrol officer, advanced to lieutenant in 2007 and then became deputy director of police in 2014.

Carlson’s role also covers emergency services, disaster response and code enforcement.

We wish him luck as he begins the new position.

 

To a phishing scam that affected about 330 former and current city employees.

It was unfortunate to hear news that about 330 former and current city employees were affected by a phishing scam earlier this year.

Through the scam, an unauthorized third party reportedly obtained an electronic file containing 2017 W-2 forms of employees.

It is scary to see how easily these scams can affect people. In this case and with other phishing scams, people receive emails from what appears to be a trusted source. Scammers often use the information they obtain to file erroneous tax returns and divert the money to unauthorized third parties.

We wish the city could have informed employees sooner once finding out the scam, but we credit the city for offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to those who were affected.