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Graduation time

THUMBS UP: The snow has finally melted, just in time for high school graduations in the area.

Martin Luther College held its commencement ceremonies last Saturday, and this Sunday Cathedral High School kicks off a seven-day period that will see all three local high schools hold graduation. Cathedral’s is at 2 p.m. Sunday, New Ulm High School’s is on Friday evening, and Minnesota Valley Lutheran will hold its ceremonies next Sunday.

We wish all of our area graduates a happy graduation and a big step forward into the rest of your life. Whether it is college, vocational school, or work, we wish everyone all the success in the world.

And we hope they will remember New Ulm when it is time to settle into a career.

Another shooting

THUMBS DOWN: Sadly, today was also supposed to be graduation day at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. But a student with some kind of grudge and his father’s firearms opened up on his fellow students Friday morning. Ten people were killed, including nine students and one teacher.

The student suspected of the shooting is in custody, and is talking to police. He had planned to kill himself as well, according to reports, but couldn’t pull the trigger. So authorities will have a chance to question him on his motives, try to glean what information they can about the psyche of mass shooters, and then lock him away to spend the rest of his life in drab anonymity.

It is tragic that another school, another community has to go through this. We have no doubt it will swell the protests that grew up after the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.

Session chaos

THUMBS DOWN: The Minnesota Legislative Session is heading for another chaotic ending. Sunday night the session will end at midnight, and it appears the major work that needs to get done is in danger of dying unpassed.

The Republican bonding bill doesn’t have the votes to get through the Senate. Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the tax bill that would conform the state to the new federal tax law and pass along a lot of tax cuts to middle and lower income tax payers. Legislators and the governor have two days to get things done. If the past is any indication, it’s not going to happen.

A special session seems inevitab

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