Elkay closing

THUMBS DOWN: The word came late Friday that Elkay Manufacturing has decided to close its New Ulm plant, which manufactures cabinet doors and drawer fronts for Elkay’s line of kitchen cabinets.

The closing, expected to happen in June, will be a blow to the New Ulm economy. The plant employs 105 people, and the loss of 105 jobs will cause some ripples.

The silver lining in this development is that New Ulm’s unemployment rate is very low. Industries in town have found it challenging over the past couple of years to find good, qualified employees. We suspect that 3M, Kraft and other plants looking for skilled workers will be ready to hire on employees from Elkay.

Assistant City Mgr.

THUMBS UP: New Ulm welcomed its new assistant city manager this week. Chris Dalton is moving here from Santa Ana, California. We hope the lousy weather this week doesn’t scare him off.

One of Dalton’s main responsibilities will be economic development. The unfortunate news about Elkay Manufacturing closing its New Ulm plant will provide him an early challenge.

We welcome Dalton to New Ulm and wish him well in his new position.

New Ulm Club

THUMBS UP: This weekend, the New Ulm Club will hold its 64th annual Athletic Appreciation Banquet. The banquet selects one male and one female athlete from each of the three high schools in town as the school’s Outstanding Athletes of the Year. The banquet will host close to 100 student athletes tonight at Martin Luther College.

This long-standing tradition is a great undertaking. To have it keep going after so many years says a lot about the dedication of the local sports fans who belong to the New Ulm Club. It is the longest-running banquet of its kind in Minnesota.

Congratulations to the New Ulm Club for its support of local students.