Congratulations Herb

Thumbs Up: The late Herb Schaper is being honored this month by the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Association, which is presenting him with the Glenn Carlson award.

Schaper, a former sports journalist, former publisher of The Journal, and former business owner, retired from all those professions, but never from his committment to baseball. Not known for his playing ability, he worked hard to support the game off the field, organized successful tournaments in New Ulm, served as president and board member of the New Ulm Baseball Association, and helped found the New Ulm Baseball Hall of Fame.

He will be honored posthumously during the state HOF banquet on Sept. 18 in St. Cloud. It is an honor well deserved.

Split decision

Sideways Thumb: The District 88 School Board’s inability to come up with a decision on the question of masking policy for students and staff this year is a great example of the differences of opinion surrounding this issue. People care about it, and those opposed and those in favor are equally fervent in their opinions.

The school board could not come closer than a pair of 3-3 ties on a couple of the options they considered, so the current policy, that masking will be recommended but not required, will remain in place. It’s not a bad policy, and we hope a lot of students and staff will follow the recommendation.

We hope it will be sufficient to protect students and staff, but the board should be ready to revisit this decision if COVID numbers rise in school.

Projects nearly done

Thumbs Up: September is turning out to be a good month for people who have been watching local construction and improvement projects with great interest.

The New Ulm Recreation Center, which opened its health club facilities last month, is getting ready to complete the Aquatic Center and the Gymnastics Center in September. There should be a lot of kids looking forward to the water slides, and gymnasts looking to get their flips in.

The new Kwik Trip on the north end of town is also nearing completion, and should open Sept. 10. People have been watching this with interest.