Rec Center preview

THUMBS UP: Members of the New Ulm City Council took a tour of the improvements at the New Ulm Rec Center on Wednesday. The center, being expanded and improved through the RENU program, will have a lot more to offer when it is fully open.

On Monday the fitness center portion of the center will be open, and it offers a large, bright area for working out. A large indoor playground is being installed, and a new aquatic center will be finishing up in September. It will be a great facility for New Ulm.

No smoking zone

THUMBS DOWN: All the haze and smoke that has been hanging over New Ulm this week has been drifting down from the wildfires in southern Canada. It was particularly thick on Wednesday, not only casting a yellowish-gray tint over the sky but stinking up the air. The MPCA is warning people to stay inside until Tuesday, and not undertake any strenuous outdoor activity.

If only we could declare a no-smoking zone, starting at the border, and tell Canada to blow its second-hand smoke somewhere else.

Looking to Farmfest

THUMBS UP: We always look forward to Farmfest. It’s like the Minnesota State Fair, but totally devoted to farming and agribusiness. For three days at the Gilfillan estate there will be exhibits, displays, test plots, and all sorts of educational panels and discussions.

Farmfest always draws great crowds of farmers and that always draws politicians as well. This is the best opportunity farmers will have all year to hear what politicians have to say, and tell them what the farmers want them to hear.

It’s well worth the trip to the Gilfillan Estates. We missed it last year during the pandemic, but we’re glad it’s back.