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Take advantage of Memorial Day events

It is Memorial Day Weekend, a time for remembering those we have lost over the years. Many area communities are holding special Memorial Day programs on Monday. In New Ulm, Memorial Day observance begins at 9:30 a.m. Monday with a parade starting at the City Cemetery and traveling down Cemetery Avenue. At 10 a.m. the Memorial Program will begin at the Soldiers Rest section of the cemetery.

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Beware of start of road construction

Memorial Day weekend may be the unofficial start of the summer season, but it is also the start of summer road construction. The orange cones are already up on several roads, making travel an extra challenge. In New Ulm, the most prominent road work is the roundabout construction on Highland Ave. and Highway 14. The orange cones redirecting traffic off Hwy 14 to the new detour begin by the city cemetery. The construction will not impact access to the city cemetery during Memorial Day weekend, but the orange cones clash terribly with the holiday decorations already in place. The new detours will likely create a lot of additional confusion during the holiday weekend. However, there is no other option. The new roundabout and other road improvements across Minnesota are necessary infrastructure improvements, but it doesn’t make the process any less frustrating. All we can do is hope for an early and safe completion of all road projects.

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Candidate filing starts

Candidate Filing opened this week for the 2024 November election. Anyone interested and eligible to register for federal, state and some municipal offices may do so. This is a chance for members of the public to get involved in local democracy. Locally, there are two Brown County Commissioner seats up for election this year: District and District 3. The Brown Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor (BSWCS) also has three open seats in District 1, District 2 and District 4.

The New Ulm City Council has three seats up for election: First Ward, Third Ward and Councilor-At-Large. 

The cut off for registering as a candidate is 5 p.m. June 4. This filing period is for districts that hold primaries. Other municipal and school district offices will open candidate filing July 30 through Aug. 13.