It is time to start the new year off right, with another round of the ever popular Cheers and Jeers from ye olde editor.

OK, maybe they are not all that popular with everyone, but here they come anyway.

Cheers go out first to Mother Nature for the weather. She has been the recipient of quite a few Jeers over the years, so it’s nice to be able to give her a Cheer once in a while.

After we named the nasty, bad, stormy weather as our top story of 2018, we have to admit this winter has been pretty tolerable. Oh sure, it has had some rather cold temps at times, and some snow, but after all, this is Minnesota and this is January. But there has also been some good weather and even some downright really nice days.

Cheers also to the Blue Earth Area School Board which was able to find a top choice for their interim superintendent. Dr. Jerry Jenson is well known in this area after having served as the United South Central Schools superintendent for a number of years. He seems to be a perfect fit as an interim for BEA for the remainder of the school year. We hope the board has as much success finding a quality full time superintendent as they did getting a part time interim.

Jeers to the fact there are so many people who end up in the county court system for drugs, sex offenses, domestic violence or driving while under the influence. Our Faribault County District Court has these types of cases pretty much every week. And, of course, when some of these stories get into the daily newspaper to our north, folks around the area are asking what is going on in Faribault County.

Luckily there are those who are working hard to try to enforce the laws and deal with those bad people.

Cheers to Blue Earth Light and Water for making deals with power suppliers which should keep electrical rates for Blue Earth residents and businesses reasonably low for several years into the future. They get a cheer also for being on the cutting edge of the future by having electric car charging stations installed around the city of Blue Earth, starting with one at the new Giant Welcome Center.

A Jeer goes out to those Minnesota Viking heartbreakers. You just knew this one would have to be on the editor’s list this time. A column last week about the Vikings last game brought a lot of comments, with most people saying they had similar feelings about the lackluster play of the team in the loss against the Bears.

Oh, and by the way, I still have not received my refund for my ticket to that game in the mail.

Cheers to all those groups, both private and public, that are working on some big projects in Faribault County. There is the Heartland Senior Living group with their new construction going on in Wells and Winnebago. The Three Sisters buildings in Blue Earth seem to be on the verge of a makeover by Rural Renaissance Group. A former church building in Elmore is getting a makeover as well, becoming a retreat center. The United Hospital District in Blue Earth has plans for a big construction project to redo their emergency room area and St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center is planning some remodeling of its own, creating more senior living apartments.

Then there is the new housing development in Blue Earth, new business park in Wells, and the plan in Winnebago to purchase the former school building there and turn it into a tech school and child care center.

These are some pretty exciting progressive times in Faribault County.

Cheers also to the Faribault County Economic Development Authority. With a new economic development specialist on board, some new goals in place and a full board, they are planning on having an active year in 2019. That should mean more progress for new projects around the county.

Jeers to those folks who still seem to be unable to figure out how to navigate their way through the roundabouts in Blue Earth. While most people have gotten the hang of it, there are those who just don’t get who has the right of way and when they should go or stop.

Seriously, it is not really that hard, but there are still a few drivers who come very close to causing an accident because they don’t know what to do.

Cheers go out once again to you, the faithful readers of the Faribault County Register. You deserve kudos for wanting to stay informed about what is going on in the county.

It is too bad that is not true about everyone. Some folks seem to take very little interest in what is going on in the world right around them. They could be called “blissfully unaware.” But not you.

Again, thanks for reading us.