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THUMBS DOWN
Sleepy Eye school year starts with a lockdown
The soft lockdown at Sleepy Eye Public and Catholic Schools on Sept. 1 is a frustrating start to the school year. The reason for the lockdown was a social media post involving images of Sleepy Eye Public and St. Mary's combined with threatening language. Sleepy Eye Police investigated and took an adult male student into custody, but based on information obtained in the investigation, there never was a threat to the public or the school. The whole thing was part of a nationwide social media prank trend that can be adapted to any school district. The idea is a poster finds photos of a school and attach vague threats to the images and watches a community devolve into hysteria over it. That's the goal of these trends, to cause panic. In a statement about the incident, Sleepy Eye Police Department (SEPD) asked the public to report threats like this to the police, but not to repost the threat. SEPD is correct. All threats should be taken seriously, but the public does not need to participate in the trend by reposting it. Threats on social media should be reported to the authorities, they don't need to share with your entire friend list. Do not help the perpetrators of the social media terror campaigns.
THUMBS UP
Remember the American labor movement on Labor Day
It is Labor Day this Monday. For many that means an extra day off from work, which is great, but it's important to remember the day off was only made possible thanks to labor movements in the United States. The standard eight-hour work week and many federal holidays are only possible thanks to the labor movement. What is also important to realize is that the negotiations between workers and employers are never ending. In the last year, the country saw the business world grappling with how to ethically use artificial intelligence without impacting the jobs of workers. There is also the ongoing fight over sick-day and parental leave. There is also the recurring question about minimum wage laws. There will also always need to be a strong and robust labor movement in this country. It is for the best that we do not take it for granted.
THUMB UP
The numbers confirmed Spikin' in the Street is a success
The two-day sand volleyball tournament held in downtown New Ulm brought $245,672 into the community. This information was gathered from a special application that collects cell phone data and cross references with transactions made during the event. It should be noted that the data collected by this app was only for cell phones 50 miles outside of New Ulm. That means the $245,672 is all tourism dollars. This is not locals attending the tournament or even visitors from Mankato. This is all new money that would not have normally circulated in the community. That's fairly impressive. For the last four years, Spikin' in the Street has proved to be an entertaining event, but now the numbers show it is also an economic driver.