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To the outgoing elected officials.

As the year comes to a close, the community will soon say goodbye to several longtime elected officials on the Albert Lea City Council, Freeborn County Board of Commissioners and Albert Lea school board.
We thank all these people who have dedicated years of service to improving the community. The community as a whole is better for your dedication.

These individuals not only spent time attending their bi-monthly board meetings, but also other board and committee meetings and workshops — not to mention time spent answering calls and emails from constituents and even meeting in-person to discuss issues. They often attended business groundbreakings and community events to celebrate the positive things happening here.

Their work has not gone unnoticed.

We encourage these individuals to continue to look for other ways to serve in the community. Join a service club, help head up or participate in a fundraising effort or get involved in your child or grandchild’s school.

Though this next phase of your life might look a little different than it has in the past, just remember you can make an impact there, too.

To Albert Lea High School students who collected food and money for the Albert Lea Salvation Army.

Congratulations to the students who recently collected over 850 pounds of food and more than $3,000 during a food drive at the school for the Albert Lea Salvation Army.

The drive was an effort by teacher Therese Netzer and the Student Council.

Thanks for the example this drive and other efforts like this make for our youth in teaching them the value of helping others and giving back when they are able.

Many in the community can benefit from the generosity, and we hope it plants a seed of goodwill for years to come.

To the Albert Lea City Council voting to participate in a new scholarship fund for Freeborn County graduates who attend Riverland Community College.

The Albert Lea City Council this week voted to participate in a new scholarship initiative that could provide two years of free community college education to graduates of Albert Lea, Glenville-Emmons and Alden-Conger high schools.

The hope for the Freeborn County Community Promise Scholarship is to encourage high school graduates to reach their career and educational goals, stay local and gain exposure and experience in area businesses. Students would apply for funding through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program first, and the Community Promise Scholarship would pick up the remaining gap not covered by federal or other student aid.

In addition to helping the students, the hope is that by increasing the number of students who stay in the area and are trained, this will help the businesses looking for more employees.

Currently, the initiative is a partnership between Riverland Community College, the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency, the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, business and industry partners, and the three high schools. The county is considering participation in the program on Tuesday.

We hope other industry partners will also jump on board and help provide this opportunity to our youth.