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To “Happy Days” actress Marion Ross and to those who fundraised for a statue in her honor.

Congratulations to “Happy Days” actress Marion Ross and to all those who fundraised for the new bronze statue of Ross, which was unveiled Friday at the corner of Marion Ross Street and Broadway.

Though Ross did not live her entire childhood in Albert Lea, we are proud to celebrate the years she had here and the success as an actress she found in the years that followed.

Ross has also been a great supporter of Albert Lea Community Theatre and the Freeborn County Historical Museum.

Thanks to all those who made Ross’s visit to Albert Lea happen and to those who volunteered their own time to have the statue built. We are sure it will be a draw to Albert Lea for many years to come.

To the passage of a bill in honor of Arik Matson.

Hats off to Waseca Officer Arik Matson, and his wife, Megan, who lobbied with Waseca County Attorney Rachel Cornelius for the passage of a bill that strengthens state criminal penalties for individuals who are convicted of assault that causes great bodily harm to a police officer, judge, prosecutor or correctional officer.

Matson was shot and nearly killed in the line of duty in January 2020 as he responded to a call of a suspicious person in the backyard of a residence.

The legislation increases the maximum sentence from 20 to 25 years for great bodily harm, and if the assault causes great bodily harm and was committed with deadly force or using a dangerous weapon, from 20 to 30 years. In either case, a perpetrator will now serve a longer mandatory minimum sentence in prison.

Thank you for your diligence in getting this passed, and for all the lawmakers who supported this effort.

To the reduced hours at the city pool this weekend.

It’s sad to see a staffing shortage has led to the closure of the Albert Lea Aquatic Center on Sunday and reduced hours on Saturday.

We suspect this may have been one of the busiest weekends of the summer with the Fourth of July holiday and the warm temperatures forecasted.

Swimming is also not advised at Albert Lea City Beach because of a blue-green algae bloom that was found in the area earlier in the week. People are advised to check out water conditions before getting in the water and to not enter the water if they see blue-green algae. According to the Shell Rock River Watershed District, people can become sick if they swallow, have skin contact with or breathe in airborne water droplets from a bloom in the water. They can experience vomiting, diarrhea, rash, eye irritation, cough, sore throat and headache.

Despite the setbacks at the pool and in the lake, if you’re looking for somewhere to stay cool in the area, don’t forget the splash pad at the corner of Broadway and Fountain Street. It is free and open to the public.

To the new puzzles that will run in the Wednesday edition.

We are excited to share with you, our readers, that starting in the Wednesday edition of the Tribune we will have a new Crypto Quote puzzle and a few other fun facts that will begin running mid-week.

We know our subscribers have always enjoyed this part of the paper and were saddened to see many of these puzzles go away when we had to cut down last year because of cost— the puzzles and comics were $1,000 a month, and we had to make a change to be more economical.

As things continue to turn around, we are glad to start bringing some of these things back to you, and hope you enjoy them!