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To shopping local this holiday season.

The holiday shopping season is now officially
underway, and while there are numerous opportunities to buy things online or out of town, we ask you to try to think first of stores in the local community before venturing elsewhere.

Local stores are owned by friends and neighbors in the community, who are trying to make a living. And when you shop local, you essentially support these people and their employees, as opposed to supporting the bottom lines of corporations elsewhere in the country or world.

We encourage you to get out and check out these small businesses. Not only will you usually receive good service, but we think you’ll be surprised at all the selection you will find. The merchandise also typically is higher quality and more unique than you’ll find in big-box store.

There’s more here than you might imagine.

To the return of the Albert Lea Art Center’s Festival of Trees.

We were pleased to see a popular Albert Lea holiday tradition be brought back this year with the return of the Albert Lea Art Center’s Festival of Trees.

It has been a few years since the arts organization has had the festival because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival usually features dozens of Christmas trees organized by area organizations and businesses and is a fun one for both children and adults to view.

The event opened Wednesday and will continue to Dec. 30 with an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 7 during the Albert Lea Holiday Bazaar.

To the 58th year of the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl in Albert Lea.

Congratulations to all of the participants over the years in Albert Lea’s Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl, which this year celebrated its 58th year.

The Turkey Bowl originated in 1966 when brothers Paul, Rich and Jim Wendorff were told to get out of the house while their mother was cooking the holiday meal. The brothers made a phone call to their neighborhood buddy, Rick Harves, and they agreed to organize a football game.

Many of those athletes lived in a 3-by-6 block neighborhood bordered by Fountain Street on the south, Vine Avenue on the east and Abbott Street to the north and west. Within 20 minutes of the call, 25 neighborhood boys were at lower Abbott Field to play in the first Turkey Bowl.

The game has lived on through the years through the sons of many of the first athletes, as well as new recruits and others.

It’s fun to see the game still continues, and we hope it’s fun for all involved.