Schell’s honor

THUMBS UP: The August Schell Brewing Company won a well deserved honor this week when voters on a WCCO-TV poll picked it as the best brewery in Minnesota. Ted Marti and family and all the employees at the brewery have earned their popularity the hard way, surviving Prohibition and the domination of the giant breweries, and rising the wave of the craft brewery explosion.

Its commitment to quality, innovation and tradition has brought the brewery a large number of loyal fans, who clicked vigourously in the online poll for Schell’s.

The honor comes just after Ted Marti, the president and owner of Schell’s, was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to Schell’s.

Leavenworth 150

THUMBS UP: The town of Leavenworth turns 150 this year and is celebrating its history this weekend with old-time threshing and plowing demonstrations, a school reunion and some good old baseball games.

Leavenworth is also home to Mathiowetz Consruction, a major player in road construction and other ground work projects in the state.

Congratulations to Leavenworth, and happy anniversary to all of its residents, past and present.

The signs of hatred

THUMBS DOWN: Let’s be clear. There are some symbols and designs that have come to symbolize hatred and bigotry. The Nazi swastika, the KKK’s white robes and pointy hoods are clearly such symbols, and those carrying or wearing them know exactly what message they send.

We don’t need the president to tell us this. In the wake of violence and death in Charlottesville, we can recognize the haters and the bigots by the symbols they wear. They are free to wear them, as the First Amendment guarantees, but they are also bound by them to be judged for what they are.