To Albert Leans Robbi Woodside and Dennis Dieser.

Woodside, a dental hygeniest, and Dieser, the executive director of the Albert Lea Family Y, ran in the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Dieser finished with a time of 3:48:49, and Woodside with a time of 4:02:18.

It’s inspirational knowing people who run marathons, let alone one as prestigious as the Boston Marathon.

Congratulations.

 

To the Alden-Conger supermileage team’s success in the Shell Eco-marathon competition.

Year after year we are amazed to see what amazing things the Alden-Conger supermileage team is doing on the national level.

This year, the team even set some national records.

It took first place in the urban diesel category, achieving 507 mpg and a new record for the Americas; first place in the urban concept E100 category, achieving 288 mpg and setting another record; third in the prototype diesel category, achieving 1,065 mpg; fourth in the E100 prototype category, achieving 654 mpg; and first in vehicle design.

It’s difficult to even imagine a vehicle with over 1,000 mpg.

We congratulate the team and their coordinator, David Bosma, for all of their hard work. We look forward to seeing what next year may bring.

 

To the identified emerald ash borer infestation in Fillmore County.

It’s starting to hit a little closer to home to hear the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on Friday announce that the emerald ash borer has made its way into Fillmore County.

Activity consistent with the emerald ash borer was found in a boulevard ash tree in the city of Rushford and was discovered through a routine visual survey of ash trees by the Agriculture Department.

This makes the eighth county in Minnesota under state and federal quarantine. The insect was first discovered in the state in 2009.

We ask people to be aware of the quarantine restrictions, to watch your ash trees for infestation and to not transport firewood. People should buy firewood locally from approved vendors.

According to the Agriculture Department, the state has over one billion ash trees, the most of any other state, which makes us particularly susceptible.