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To announcements about upcoming events.

We’re starting to see more and more events promoted on social media for the coming months, which is exciting after COVID-19 put a damper on some of our regular summer activities the past two years. 

Most notable is Wind Down Wednesday, Albert Lea’s summer festival that takes place one Wednesday a month during June, July and August. There’s also a new event this year for Cinco De Mayo that will be in the North Broadway parking lot. 

We encourage people planning events this summer to contact Tribune editor Sarah Stultz with more information. We would love to include the events in our upcoming Summer Times special section, which comes out in May and highlights all of the happenings during the summer. 

We also encourage residents to get out and support these events. Many are in place simply for entertainment and some are fundraisers for causes in the area. Most of them also support area businesses in one way or another. 

Albert Lea’s busy season is about to ramp up, and we hope you’ll join in.

To more job growth in Minnesota in March.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced Thursday Minnesota gained 11,500 jobs in March, as well as 13,000 jobs in February. 

Most of those jobs were in the private sector. 

The state agency also said the number of people working increased slightly from 67.9% to 68.1%. 

Though it’s good to see the growth in jobs and that the unemployment rate is decreasing, it is now at the lowest level ever recorded — tied with February 1999 — at 2.5%. 

On a national level, the unemployment rate is 3.6%.

With such a tight unemployment rate, it’s clear it will continue to be a challenge for businesses to find workers. 

Remember, it is an employee’s job market right now, so if you’re looking to change your career path, now might be a good time to do so. 

To U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s recognition of the late Albert Lea Fire Rescue Lt. Brett Boss.

We were pleased to see Sen. Amy Klobuchar make a stop in Albert Lea on Wednesday to honor late Albert Lea firefighter Brett Boss, who died in February after battling cancer. 

Klobuchar presented Boss’ wife, Danielle, a statement for the Congressional Record, which talks about the legacy her husband left and the efforts he was a part of to help obtain safety measures for his fellow firefighters. 

Klobuchar and Boss worked together to lobby for a national firefighter cancer registry, which will keep track of firefighters affected by cancer and study any similarities they might have, with the goal of figuring out why more firefighters are developing cancer and what can be done to better protect them.

Boss was a great example of someone who took a hardship he was given and used that to help others.