Business opening

THUMBS UP: It is nice to see businesses reopening in New Ulm, and it’s even nicer to see a new business opening on Minnesota Street. MNEIS is an ice cream and sweet shop that opened Thursday at 10 N. Minnesota St. Its opening had been anticipated since last winter, but had to wait for the COVID-19 restrictions to lift before it could be get opened.

We’re glad it is here. We hope it gets a lot of attention and business, and inspires other business openings on Minnesota Street.

Splashpad

THUMBS UP: Besides MNEIS, there is now another new way for kids to stay cool in the hot weather. New Ulm Park and Rec opened its new splashpad at North Park on Thursday.

Splashpads are water features that give kids lots of spritzing and spraying, without a pool. It’s like a giant collection of lawn sprinklers to run through, and just as much fun.

This splashpad was made possible by a donation by Barbara Haroldson. Kids will be thanking her during the hot summer weather for years to come.

As the COVID-19 restrictions are lifting, other New Ulm recreational facilities are opening, too, as is the New Ulm Public Library. This will make the summer a little more bearable for adults and kids alike.

Sorry, Calvin

THUMBS DOWN: Calvin Griffith certainly earned a permanent spot in Minnesota history when he moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota and renamed them the Minnesota Twins. But like many historic figures, he had his rough spots and imperfections, some of which became all too painfully public when he spoke at a Waseca Lions Club meeting in 1978.

Apparently, Griffith was expecting this to be an off the record kind of speaking engagement, but a Minneapolis Tribune writer, Nick Coleman, happened to be in the audience and reported the astoundingly rough and racist things that Griffith said. Among them, Rod Carew was a “damn fool” for playing for as little as Griffith paid him; ballplayers should take advantage of free love rather than get married and have their performance suffer like Butch Wynegar; Billy Martin “never punched anyone his own size”; the stadium commission “can go to hell,” and the Minnesota Twins decided to come to Minnesota “when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here.”

On Friday, the Twins announced they had removed the statue of Griffith from outside of Target field. He earned the honor of having a statue, and earned the removal as well.