As Martin Luther College’s new president, I write with considerable gratitude for the overwhelmingly gracious welcome my wife and I have received as new residents of New Ulm. We consider ourselves very blessed to call your community our new home.

We also are thankful that you, our host community, have so graciously welcomed back our 700+ college students who, this week, have begun their fall semester on our campus.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, let me assure you that the health and safety of our whole community, as well as our campus family, has been regularly on our minds as our leadership team planned for our students’ return. For example, we have encouraged our students to remain on campus as much as possible this fall, even offering worship on campus each weekend so that they don’t need to head out into the community for worship.

Among the other precautions we are taking is COVID-19 testing for many of our fall athletes as well as any student teachers who will be entering grade school, middle school, and high school classrooms in New Ulm and around the area.

As our fall planning team anticipated, we have positive cases of COVID-19 as a result of our testing of fall athletes and their coaches. However, the number of positive cases remains in the single digits — lower than we expected. Nonetheless, our hearts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected — and to their families.  We have taken steps to isolate all positive cases either back home with their family or in two vacant houses on our campus. We have also quarantined those who were in contact with those who tested positive, again, either back at their family home or in separate wings of our dormitory.

We are very thankful for the way our students have already been a glimpse of their Savior’s selfless love by loving their New Ulm neighbors enough to stay on campus as much as possible. However, we are also aware of one incident in which one of our students who tested positive chose to socialize off campus with some classmates. We are partnering with Brown County Public Health to contact anyone who may have had contact with that student. And, that incident has served as a powerful reminder to the rest of our student body that our health protocols this semester do matter.

Thank you again for your warm welcome to the students of our campus family and to my family. Your welcome and graciousness go a long way in helping us build fond memories of New Ulm!