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To the Albert Lea girls’ hockey team.

Congratulations to the Albert Lea girls’ hockey team, which on Thursday punched their ticket to the girls’ state hockey tournament with a 3-2 win in overtime against Dodge County.

This will be the second year in a row for the Tigers to advance to the tournament — and the second time in school history — which will take place next week.

Congrats to all who have played a part in making this happen and for the hard work of both players and coaches.

To the more than 44,000 fentanyl pills taken off the streets this week.

Congratulations to law enforcement in Minnesota and across the country who helped recover more than 44,000 fentanyl pills from two Minneapolis men who were reportedly headed back to the Twin Cities with the drugs from California.

The men, Savontray Orlando Dwayne Collins and Cortez Ananias Williams, were charged in Freeborn County District Court on Wednesday with aggravated first-degree controlled substance crimes.

With how many overdoses that have been reported in our area, across the state and across the country, we are pleased to see law enforcement’s focus on tracking down those who are distributing these sometimes lethal pills.

The men are expected to be indicted on federal charges related to the incident, though as of Friday, nothing had been filed yet.

To suicide awareness advocate Darcy Nielsen.

Congratulations to Albert Lean Darcy Nielsen, who has been selected to receive the annual Rose Olmsted Advocacy Award.

Nielsen has been a tireless advocate of suicide awareness after the death of her cousin about five years ago. She not only organizes the Out of the Darkness walks in Albert Lea, but also seeks to fundraise and speak at various places about suicide prevention.

On Friday night she was scheduled to speak at a teen event at Grace Christian Church about depression and combating teen suicide.

We thank her for all she does and for the impact she has made in the community. We are sure there have been numerous lives changed because of her efforts.

Nielsen took a tragedy in her life and is now using her own life experiences to lift others up.