To the Minnesota men’s basketball team.

 Congratulations to the Golden Gophers for winning the 32-team National Invitation Tournament and proving they should have been invited to the NCAA tournament after all. When life gave them lemons, Austin and Andre Hollins and the guys made lemonade. It is the third time the Gophers have taken home the NIT title trophy. They also won in 1993 and 1998. (Let’s not discuss the vacated 1998 trophy any further.) The Minnesota men defeated a talented Southern Methodist University squad with its Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, and young Minnesota coach Richard Pitino proved to fans he knows what he is doing out there. The team was well-prepared.

 

 To April snowstorms.

Just be warm outside already, Mother Nature. Keep the snow in northern Canada where it belongs. Minnesota is supposed to be thawing out these days. Kids are supposed to be waiting for school buses in spring jackets, not winter coats. In fact, let’s just keep the old thermometer above freezing. Let’s have the April showers, not flurries, bring our May flowers. The forecast for the coming week looks much better. The National Weather Service says Wednesday will have a high of 65 degrees. Highs hover around 50 degrees in the long-term 10-day forecast on Weather Underground. Not bad. Perhaps we can get the snow and ice gone for good.

 

To the Albert Lea school board and administration.

Whether you agree or disagree on the issue of adjusting the school calendar, kudos must be given to the school district leaders for opening a conversation with the community at an early stage of the decision-making process. The public appreciates the transparency and the open-mindedness. Oftentimes, government bodies will hold hearings, then go ahead and do what they wanted despite public outcry. In this case, it is clear that school officials are willing to say no to changing the calendar if the community doesn’t want it. But if the community wants it, then they are prepared to move forward starting in the 2015-16 school year. Considering several factors the Albert Lea district faces, it’s a conversation worth having. What’s more, Albert Lea residents are good at having these public debates. A good dialogue always seem to lift our community to the next level of quality. We expect a vibrant discussion in the coming months.