County job filled

THUMBS UP: The position of Brown County Administrator has been filled, after St. James City Manager Sam Hansen agreed to accept the position this week.

Hansen was one of two finalists interviewed by the Brown County Board to fill the position of outgoing County Administrator Charles Enter. The county board originally offered the post to Winthrop City Administrator Jennifer Hazelton, who declined the offer. Hansen obviously made a strong enough impression that when Hazelton decided to stay in Winthrop, the board felt very comfortable in offering Hansen the job.

We congratulate him and wish him well in his new position.

He will have large shoes to fill. Enter has been a quiet, competent leader in the Brown County Courthouse for many years, and he will leave a legacy of excellence.

Prom night pileup

THUMBS DOWN: We don’t know how or why, but the past few years the three high schools in New Ulm — New Ulm Public, New Ulm Cathedral and Minnesota Valley Lutheran — have all held their spring Proms on the same night. And tonight is the night for this school year.

We don’t know whether this is a conspiracy to keep the kids from having too much fun in the spring, or simply lack of coordination in scheduling, but from our standpoint, it is annoying to try to find three competent photographers to shoot three different grand marches that all start about the same time.

We’d guess the kids don’t like it. There are bound to be some “mixed” couples, Cathedral guys dating NUHS girls, for instance, who might want to attend both schools’ proms. There might be some prom-related business — florists, hairdressers, tux or limo rental places — that might prefer the crunch be spread out over a couple of weekends.

On the other hand, some parents might be just as happy to have it all over with in one night. We don’t know. Maybe the three schools should all have one giant New Ulm prom for everyone. Think about it.

Chalk talk

SIDEWAYS THUMB: The big news out of the federal court system this week is not about immigration or abortion, it’s about tire chalk. A 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Michigan case this week that chalking tires for parking enforcement violates the 4th Amendment — it’s considered trespassing and an unreasonable search. This affects the states in the 6th Circuit, including Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

This may not be binding in Minnesota, but how long will it be before someone raises a test case in our area?

People may not like the chalk or the $10 to $20 tickets they get in New Ulm, but let’s stop and think. Get rid of the chalk, and we’ll probably be going back to parking meters, which people hated just as much.