Editorial: Thumbs

To Lea College.

Word came this week that Lea College graduates are planning a reunion for July in lieu of the 40th anniversary of the closing of the institution in 1973. We must admit that Lea College, while it has long since closed, brought an interesting and enjoyable East Coast influence on our Midwestern city. Many Lea College students who remain in the Albert Lea community today have backgrounds from the East Coast, and they surely liven up life in the Land Between the Lakes. It’s too bad the college closed 40 years ago, but it’s legacy and some of its buildings remain to this day.

 

To synthetic drugs.

These substances have found a way to get through legal loopholes, making their use fall into a gray area that has been hard for police officers and prosecutors to deal with, particularly with a head shop in Duluth called Last Place on Earth. Synthetics these days are banned in Minnesota, but other legal compounds are made that can get around the laws. In this case, a substance called analogs remain legal, and the 2013 Legislature didn’t get them banned before the deadline for adjournment. What has happened in Duluth with designer drugs could happen in other places if the problem isn’t curbed. We are glad to see state legislators and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson gathering in Duluth next week to find the means to change legislation and tackle the issue.

 

To Open Streets Albert Lea.

It is good to see the National Vitality Center team back in action by holding an event Saturday in conjunction with the city government. As always, we are pleased to see a bike rodeo because it is a good means to educate young bicycle riders about being safe in the public roadway. The bike rodeo was at the Brookside Education Center, but several other events were on Bridge Avenue along the southeast shore of Fountain Lake. Zumba, yoga, bike skills, archery and hula hoop demonstrations were available, and the Moais in Motion walking program got moving for the season. We like to see a community that exercises.