To a partnership between Albert Lea Select Foods and the Albert Lea Art Center.

This month, the Albert Lea Art Center is showcasing the artwork of employees of Albert Lea Select Foods.

The exhibit, which is an extension of an earlier collaboration between the two entities, features more than 40 pieces. It showcases the talents of the business’s diverse workforce.

We hope more collaborations like this continue into the future, and we encourage people to check out this multicultural show.

 

 

To Minnesotans outpacing the 2016 early voting rate.

Hats off to the Minnesotans who are taking advantage of the opportunity to vote early through the state’s no-excuse absentee voting.

Votes for the statewide 2018 general election began Sept. 21 and as of Thursday, more than 301,000 absentee ballots had been requested. This is more than 170 percent over the same time in 2014, during the last statewide non-presidential election.

Of the ballots requested, almost 160,000 had been turned in and accepted by election officials. The rate of accepted balance is an increase of 252 percent over the same time in 2014, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.

We encourage people to continue to take advantage of early voting if you know you will be unavailable on Election Day or you’d just like to get your vote in. No excuse is needed to vote early.

 

 

To work underway to help Albert Lea students with career exploration.

We appreciate all the people who are involved in the Albert Lea school district’s Pathways to Success program and the Albert Lea Greater Education Project, which are helping students identify career and college pathways and give them an inside peek into professions in the community, among other purposes.

At the Albert Lea School Board meeting this week, John Double, a school administrator on special assignment with the Pathways program, said he had visited over 70 businesses or community contacts since September. He also had several other site visits planned.

In addition, at least 20 business and industry professionals gave presentations with the eighth-grade Pathways Career class, and 66 seniors job-shadowed at businesses in the community.

These efforts are helping our students not only get an idea of what they’d like to do after graduation, but also helping them see that there are many great jobs in the community.