From Rick D. Shackelford
Head Boys and Girls Track Coach
Renville County West High School

I would like to thank Leader Sports Editor Eric Kraushar for his kind words in his online blog about the loss of Al Handahl. Eric knew him for about a year and it was easy to read the impression Al had made on him. The kids at Renville County West have known Al their entire lives and I have known him for close to 20 years, so you can imagine the imprint he has made on our lives.

From Mayor Steve Cook
Hutchinson

Because of the importance of Local Government Aid to Hutchinson and many other cities in Minnesota, a few comments that have been made recently in letters to the editor in the Leader should be addressed. First, the LGA program replaced several other aid programs and was designed to provide tax base equalization so all Minnesota cities could provide basic levels of services at a reasonable tax rate.

From Shelly Grorud and Tari Niemeyer
McLeod County Thrive Action Team Coordinators Hutchinson

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is today, May 8.

Research shows that there have been rising numbers of children birth to 5 years old who are experiencing mental health concerns. You may be asking, “So, what is early childhood mental health?”
Early childhood mental health is synonymous with healthy social and emotional development. Mental health in children can be explained by the child’s ability to:

• Self-regulate and express emotions appropriately.

From Edwin Engelmann
Franklin

I live in rural Minnesota. I am a Veteran of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service, an ongoing patient at Veterans Hospital for service-connected disabilities, a father and grandfather.

I am also on the board of directors for the Aurora Borealis chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws of Minnesota.

Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day when we honor mothers of all kinds. In Minnesota, we might jest that moms come in two distinct groups: anglers and non-anglers. Most moms belong to the latter group.

But even moms who are crazy about fishing aren’t all that crazy about Mother’s Day falling on the same weekend as the state’s walleye opener. This year, a Minnesota outdoorsman who also happens to be a state senator tried to move the state’s walleye opener to the weekend before Mother’s Day.

From Sandy Tracy
Darwin

A recent article in the Leader (Tuesday, April 29) reported on Sen. Norm Coleman’s visit to Hutchinson to promote his health care initiative. Coleman is quoted as saying that every American should have affordable health care “outside a government-run program.”

From Cliff Carmody
Executive director, Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative, Marshall

Tuesday, May 6 is National Teacher Day. Be sure to thank a teacher for making your schools great.

Teachers in southwest and west central Minnesota touch so many lives. National Teacher Day is a great time to recognize and thank teachers for the contributions they make to our communities every day.

Cheers to the more than 75 volunteers for the assistance with the initial food outreach program April 24, at the McLeod County Fairgrounds. Special thanks to Randy Starke and the fairgrounds staff for the use of the facility. Thanks to the participating Common Cup Ministries congregations for the volunteer recruitment and promotion of the program. The outreach benefited 489 households made up of 1,252 individuals. The next distribution will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17, at the fairgrounds.

Bev Bonte, director
Common Cup Ministries

Cheers to all the volunteers at Burns Manor Nursing Home. Thank you for all you do!

Burns Manor residents and staff
Hutchinson

By Steve Barton

For those of those who don’t know me, I would like to introduce myself. AKA “Fish,” I have owned Aquaria Pets in downtown Hutchinson for almost 40 years. My wife Deb joined me in the business 15 years ago. As the name implies, Aquaria Pets was started as a fish store. As a growing number of customers requested a bigger selection of pets, our selection grew. In the process, we’ve learned a lot from our customers.

This is National Pet Week. In the spirit of helping you and your family select your next family member, I want to share some concerns and tips with you.