Trending
THUMBS UP
Oktoberfest starts in New Ulm
It is the first weekend of Oktoberfest in New Ulm. The celebration began Friday with musical entertainment on Minnesota Street and at the Best Western. The traditional Oktoberfest Keg Tapping was held at the Best Western on Friday. At the same time, the US Steinholding Association State Championship Qualifying was held on Minnesota Street ahead of the State Finals Tournament held on Saturday. Both locations will be filled with music and other activities on Saturday. In addition to the Oktoberfest events, Brown County Fairgrounds will be hosting its annual Pumpkin Smash Demolition Derby Saturday afternoon. It's going to be a fun and eventful weekend.
THUMBS DOWN
Political text ads need to stop
Midterm elections are a month away and that means there are political ads everywhere. The ads are on TV, radio, and social media. These ads are annoying and their effectiveness is questionable. However, the worst form of political ad is easily the cell phone text. Why are politicians mass texting private cell phone numbers? Why do they think this is an effective campaign strategy? No one has ever looked down at an unsolicited text from someone running for Congress and said, "Good thing they sent that text; I wasn't sure who to vote for until I received this now." The opposite has probably happened. Several people have likely chosen not to vote for a candidate after receiving dozens of texts from their campaign. It is a self-defeating strategy and it needs to stop.
THUMBS DOWN
COVID-19 is still with us
At the start of the month, The Journal reached out to Brown County Public Health to see if respiratory illness was spiking since the start of the school year. The answer at that time was no. The data did not show a rise in illness in the county at that time. Then local wastewater testing data came in and Public Health contacted The Journal to confirm COVID-19 was more prevalent in the community than originally thought. The amount of COVID-19 detected in area wastewater suggests there are a lot of people in the county with the virus who either don't know they have it or are not seeking treatment at healthcare facilities. It's an important reminder that just because the virus is no longer in the news every day does not mean it is gone. COVID continues to impact health in the community.