Springfield response

THUMBS UP: As of Friday afternoon, Springfield school officials didn’t know what caused the outbreak of illness that led the district to evacuate the school and call off classes until Monday. When ten children became sick in the auditorium Thursday morning, the school, showing the kind of symptoms that are connected with carbon monoxide exposure, the school wasted no time in evacuating everyone to the Springfield Community Center.

While tests showed no carbon monoxide in the school, the school acted properly in firing up its emergency plan and clearing the building. It is much better to err on the side of caution, and protect the safety of students and staff than to keep school running and hope nobody esle gets sick.

Highway 14 post

THUMBS UP: New Ulm Mayor Robert Beussman was elected president of the Highway 14 Partnership recently, and will be leading that group’s efforts in the coming year.

It is a good position for Beussman, who represents the city on the farthest end of the Highway 14 expansion project. New Ulm needs to have four-lane access, not just for the safety issues that concern everyone, but for the economic advantages involved. New Ulm is going to be a second-tier city when businesses look to expand without a good four-lane road heading into town.

Minnesota needs to find a way to address its highway repair and improvement needs, and Highway 14 needs a strong advocate to keep it in the forefront of the state’s conscioussness. We’re sure Mayor Beussman will work hard to be that advocate.

Nicollet interchange

THUMBS UP: Speaking of Highway 14, the newest proposal for a Highway 14 bypass and interchange near Nicollet, unveiled Wednesday at a public meeting in Nicollet, is a great improvement over the Reduced Conflict Intersection (RCUT) that the Minnesota Department of Transportation had been proposing for that project.

MnDOT’s latest Nicollet interchange proposal would include a Highway 111 bridge and two “teardrop” (small, oblong) roundabouts, just north and south of the new four-lane Highway 14 project. Construction would take place in 2015 and 2016.

Nicollet residents and supporters had been very vocal in making their wishes known and expressing their opposition to the RCUT?plan. It is good to see MnDOT?is responsive to that kind of reaction.