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Community Voices

Choosing progress over perfection in city projects

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good” has been a phrase stated in government as a reminder that progress over perfection is important to the greater good of the community. In practice this mindset can help us as a city focus on our goals and ensure long-term success, whether it be for a planning tool, policy or a significant capital project. In particular, public construction projects are by far the most complex and challenging and often where we receive the most disagreement on whether the project is taking the right path forward. Some of the reasons we have extra scrutiny ...

Educators should take steps to ensure honesty in academics

The back to school season is always an adjustment; as students adjust to classrooms, a bell system, lunch lines and homework. Teachers are facing an adjustment in 2026. Artificial Intelligence technology has advanced to a point that it can complete homework assignments for students. They might be tempted to take shortcuts by using AI. There are good ways to counteract the AI factor. One is to have students write essays in class right away, in order to gauge their writing ability. If a homework assignment would far exceed their writing level, it would be obvious that they had AI ...

Enjoying Toast

My wife, my sister Jane, and I recently got toasted. It had nothing to do with overconsumption of alcohol or being feted at a festive gathering. This toast had to do with bread. Sort of. The music group Bread flooded the AM airwaves with hit tunes during the 1970s. Bread essentially created ...

Empty buildings now just ghosts

For 90 years, summers in Sleepy Eye followed the rhythms of the Del Monte factory on the west end of town. Sights, sounds, and smells that everyone knew ebbed and flowed through the pea and sweet corn canning seasons. Now the lot that saw trucks and employees busily crisscrossing sits empty. Weeds grow from the cracks. The conveyors that carried ears of corn into the plant sit quiet, rusting. It’s still weird to drive by, even though it’s been six years since there were piles of sweet corn. Depending which way you go through town, Del Monte is the first or last of three prominent ...

Exhibiting at the fair: it offers plenty of rewards

Last week I proved to myself that there can truly be a first time for anything. I decided on the spur of the moment to enter two of my raised bed garden items in the Lyon County Fair. I participated in the salad tomatoes category and in large marigolds. While I was at it I thought I’d enter a cross stitch project, one that features seven small projects arranged in a photo frame with seven compartments. The raised bed and the stitching both required effort. I wanted people who attend the fair to see my results, to know what I accomplished. It was a bonus when I found out last ...

Welcome back to Marshall Public Schools

As summer begins to wind down and excitement for a new school year starts to build, I want to take a few minutes to welcome everyone back and share some of the great things happening across Marshall Public Schools. First, I want to extend a tremendous thank you to our buildings and grounds, custodial, maintenance, and technology teams. While many of us were enjoying summer activities, these dedicated staff were hard at work preparing our buildings, grounds, technology systems, and learning spaces for the return of students and staff. Their efforts often happen behind the scenes, but ...