A fair sentence

THUMBS UP: Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd on May 25, 2020, was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison on Friday. It was an upward departture from the state sentencing guidelines, and the longest sentence handed down to a police officer in the U.S. for the killing of a Black person, but still not as much as Floyd’s family and their supporters wanted. They would have liked the full 40 years the law allowed.

Judge Peter Cahill kept his comments in the courtroom brief, but did say his decision was not based on “emotion or sympathy,” and was not meant to send a message to others. It was meant to apply to Chauvin and his actions, and as disappointing as the sentence it may be to some, it was fair.

Del Monte deal back on

THUMBS UP: Good news this week in Sleepy Eye, where a deal for a pet treat manufacturer to purchase the former Del Monte plant is back on. The company, Chasing Our Tails, had a purchase agreement after Del Monte closed the plant and sold it to Seneca Foods, but the deal fell through last winter.

But the economic factors that caused the company to back out have been worked out, and the company is hoping to start up operations this fall.

The plant has been closed for two years, and while the new operation may not employ as many as Del Monte did, especially in the packing season, it is a step forward for the community.