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To opportunities for the community to get involved in the search for the new Albert Lea superintendent.

The timeline was announced this week of all the steps that will take place in the search for a new Albert Lea Area Schools superintendent. 

The first part of that process — a survey — is already underway. Business leaders, parents, teachers — literally any community member — can go online and complete the survey about priorities for the next superintendent. 

Next week there is also an opportunity on Wednesday for interested community members to find out more about the process from the Minnesota School Boards Association, which has been hired to facilitate the process for a new superintendent. 

The public is invited to attend the meetings along the way, including when the board meeets May 17 to determine finalists, when the board meets May 23 and 24 for first-round interviews and when the board meets May 26 for second-round interviews. 

We encourage community members to get involved in the process. This position could lead the school district for many years to come. 

To all of the volunteers in the area.

Thank you to all of the residents in the area who take time out of their busy schedules to volunteer for the betterment of others in our community. 

Whether it’s volunteering at your church, at your child’s school, with a nonprofit or some other opportunity, we are grateful for you. 

For those of you who have some extra time and are looking for something fulfilling to add to your life, volunteering is a great way to give back. 

Many of the organizations in our community depend on volunteers to make their operations happen, and many opportunities are available. 

Figure out what you’re interested in, and give it a try. You’ll be glad you did. 

To the new commissioner districts approved this week.

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners approved some big changes this week in the district boundaries as part of the redistricting process. 

Though the changes are quite significant, we think this plan will set the county up for success in the coming years, and make for better-balanced districts geographically for whomever is elected to serve there in the future. 

Four out of the five districts include both parts of Albert Lea and the rural areas in the county, while one district only covers parts of Albert Lea. 

With the new district boundaries in place, we are sure the upcoming election season will be an interesting one, as all of the seats will be up for reelection. 

Longtime commissioner Dan Belshan has announced he will not run again, so there will be at least one new face on the board next year.