Once again, it is time to hand out acclamations and admonitions using something we like to call cheers and jeers.

Leading the list has to be a jeer out to our Minnesota U.S. Senator, Al Franken. Or should I say, our soon to be ex-senator.

Out of all the states in the Union, one would think Minnesota would be far down the list for having a senator who has to resign in disgrace for his past actions. But no, it is Minnesota that gets this serious black eye.

While there are those who still support Franken, his past sexual harassment actions and inappropriate behavior, some of which have photographic evidence, were not something anyone should do, much less a senator.

So our first cheer goes out to all the women who are being brave enough to come forward and report this type of unacceptable behavior.

A cheer also to the Blue Earth City Council for reaching their goal of a 3.5 percent property tax levy increase for local home and business owners.

While it is still an increase, the council was able to both balance the budget and still have a few of their special projects added in to the mix. Those include restrooms at the 14th Street ball fields, needed repairs at the swimming pool and a new hockey rink.

Of course, the council had to use some liquor store profit money to get these things into the budget without dramatically raising the levy. But we agree that using those funds for improvements to the city are exactly what they should be used for.

However, it seems to make more sense to use this money for items for parks and recreation, and not things which should be included in the general budget items.

A cheer goes out to that group of guys who run the You Can Make A Difference Campout every year for the last 20 years.

They once again raised a bunch of money, food items and toys for the food shelf and toy drive. Their efforts do indeed make a big difference in the community’s efforts to help others all year long.

And a cheer to the campout’s biggest supporters the Blue Earth Area Elementary students who go out and gather a ton of food items and toys. They, too, are making a difference in the lives of others and they should be commended for it.

There are a lot of good things going on in our schools, folks.

A cheer goes out to the Minnesota Vikings for giving their fans at least a glimmer of hope that they could maybe, possibly, hopefully, perhaps be the first ever NFL team to play in a Super Bowl game in their home stadium.

And I sure hope I didn’t just jinx the Vikings chances of doing it, by mentioning the possibility…

A jeer has to go to those people who spread unfounded rumors, accusations and innuendo on social media. Maybe the rumors are true, maybe they are not. But either way, the damage gets done and is hard to repair or correct when it is shared all over the place.

Cheers to Troy Timmerman, currently the county attorney, but soon to be the Faribault County District Court judge. We are glad to see the governor selected Timmerman to fill the position long held by Doug Richards. It seems like a very logical choice.

Cheers to all those who want to help stop bullying in our schools. It will take a concerted effort by teachers, students, administration and parents, as well as all citizens in the district, to accomplish this. It has to be a community effort. While the schools should do what they can to combat the problem, they only have the kids as students in school for about 15 percent of the year.

And, of course, jeers to those who bully others. And that goes for adults as well as kids.

Cheers went out by lots of folks when the news broke that Bomgaars is coming to Blue Earth and will fill the recently vacated Walmart building. There were those who thought the building would remain empty for some time, and wanted the City Council to do something about it. Looks like they did just that.

And finally a jeer to Mother Nature for her cruel joke last Monday. The day started out at 60 degrees and actually humid. It felt more like April than December. But by nightfall, Mother Nature let us know that it was just a joke, and winter hit us with full force.

Yes, it is December in Minnesota. I guess it is time for a reality check.