Community Dinner

THUMBS UP: Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and while most families are busy planning a dinner for 15 or 20 relatives, the New Ulm Community Friends are planning on feeding 500, 600 or more people on Thanksgiving Day.

This is the 32nd Community Dinner put on by the friends, a group founded after a Thanksgiving snowstorm fouled up a lot of people’s Thanksgiving travel plans and left them with nowhere to eat. Jim Thomas and some other friends decided to start up a community Thanksgiving Dinner for anyone and everyone, especially those who might otherwise be alone on Thanksgiving Day.

It has become a tradition for many families to go celebrate at St. Mary’s church hall with friends from all over the community. A legion of volunteers has refined the process for cooking turkey, dressing and all the trimmings for hundreds of people between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each year. Each year free will donations cover the cost of the food.

Community Friends hope you will come for the food, and stay for the camaraderie.

The end is near?

THUMBS UP: The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Friday that work is continuing on the 7th North Street bridge that is part of the Hwy. 14-15 Gateway project. The bridge deck is complete, and pedestrian guard rails remain to be installed. MnDOT is hoping to have the work done by the end of December so the bridge can be reopened to traffic.

Let’s hope the weather cooperates and allows the work to be finished quickly. It’s been a long two years.