Post Office workers stop scam

THUMBS UP: It’s a scam we’ve heard of before, and it nearly happened again recently in New Ulm. Police reported that a woman walked in to the New Ulm Post Office last Friday and wanted to buy an $8,000 money order to bail her grandson out of jail in Florida. He had called her, she said, and asked her to send the money.

Postal workers convinced her it might be a scam. When police checked the number, it turned out the call came from Canada, not Florida. Her grandson was no doubt nowhere near Florida, and the money she would have sent to help him would have disappeared into some swindler’s pocket.

Congratulations to the New Ulm Post Office employees who recognized the scam and saved this woman from being fleeced.

Let us all beware of these kinds of hustles, which target some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Good grazing

THUMBS UP: Flandrau State Park is benefitting from some organic weed control this summer, thanks to a herd of goats that is being used to chow down on buckthorn, garlic mustard and other undesirable plants that grow on the wooded hillsides of the park.

It’s the kind of terrain that people might not be able to easily get at, but goats have no problem climbing up, and they love to eat the invasive plants, poison ivy and thistles that plague the parkgoers. The park managers want to restore some of the hilly areas to native prairie, and the goats will help clear the area.

It’s a great idea, and we wish the goats bon appetit.

Flooding again

THUMBS DOWN: This year’s spring flooding has taken on an annoying yo-yo effect. We’ve had roads and bridges closed when the rivers overlap them, forcing travelers to take long detours to get to the next bridge. This week, after the water finally receded enough to re-open the roads, a heavy rainstorm hit, sending the water back up over the roads, and closing things down again.

We can’t wait for a nice, long stretch of dry weather to put the rivers back where they belong, and allow farm fields to dry up enough so farmers can get out and get their planting done.