This past year has been full of tragedy for the Mabel-Canton School District, Mabel and Canton residents, the Amish community, and all associated emergency responders. There have been a number of vehicular accidents that have claimed lives. To say it has been emotionally taxing would be an understatement. In smaller communities where people are more connected — … [Read more...]
Minnesota Report Card: Small schools score higher
Apparently, quality trumps quantity when comparing metrics from public education systems between small schools in Fillmore County and Rochester Public Schools. According to data available via the Minnesota Department of Education, with schools reporting results on behalf of 792,174 students statewide, most smaller school districts in Southeast Minnesota are performing better … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… The small school advantage
In the September 16, 2019, issue of the Fillmore County Journal, I wrote a commentary titled “One Moment, Please... A population crisis.” In that commentary, I said, “We need to work more diligently to sell our communities as the best place to live and raise a family.” I talked about how we need to promote what we have to offer in order to grow our population. We have … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Getting a little wordy
Every year, our award-winning newspaper team seeks to create more interactive experiences for our readers. We want to provide more value for our readers and participating businesses. We have members of our team attending newspaper conferences and coming back with ideas. Our challenge is always committing the time and energy to implement something new into our already busy … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Young people are buying homes
This past Sunday, I learned from a friend at church that her 20-year-old son just bought a house down the street from our home in Fountain, Minn. She was asking me who we used for Internet service in town, so she could mention it to him. I couldn’t believe that this young man was already old enough to purchase a home, because I remember when I was his Sunday school teacher … [Read more...]