Are you ready for some more football without the Vikings?
The headline above is a little bit sneaky. This is actually a Cheers and Jeers column.
I know what you are thinking. Didn’t we just have a Cheers and Jeers column recently. Well, no, the last one was way back last year. OK, so it was about a month ago, in our Good News edition, on Dec. 19.
But that column was all Cheers and no Jeers, and there are a bunch of things happening that need to be Jeered, and a few that should be Cheered.
And since you know it is coming, let’s start with a Jeer for those Minnesota Vikings. Once again, they were heartbreakers. They made us believe that they could always pull out a win, even in the last seconds of the game.
But, when it really mattered, in their first playoff game, they could not do it. They lost to a team they had defeated three weeks earlier. Although our poll question this week indicates it was Kirk Cousins’ fault, that question was actually suggested by one of our readers.
It was probably more the defense’s fault than anyone, but we could not ask if you thought the defensive coach should be cut loose, because he already has been fired.
Actually I suppose we should give the Vikes a small Cheer for at least giving us an entertaining season of come from behind wins (including the biggest one ever in the NFL), and for now letting us just enjoy the rest of the playoff games without anymore angst.
Our other favorite Jeer recipient is the weather, and well, let’s just say that those who love winter and lots of snow are Cheering, and those who don’t, well, they may not be Jeering, but we sure are grumbling a lot.
We need a Cheer or two to, well, Cheer us up.
Our first Cheer goes to the Blue Earth Area BPA team, and their recent accomplishment of having 36 of their 38 members qualify to move on to the State Conference competition. Way to go! That is really amazing.
Another Cheer goes out to Parker Meyers and Eloise Blair, two BEA students chosen to be the Triple A (Arts, Athletics, Academics) award winners. Well deserved for these two students, who are excellent representatives of their school.
A Cheer goes out to the Economic Development Authorities in the county, including the Faribault County EDA. These groups have a goal of helping businesses start and grow, and have “put their money where their mouth is” by having numerous programs that give grants and loans to various businesses in Blue Earth, Winnebago and Wells and in the smaller towns around the county.
The latest one is loans and grants to child care businesses, as the EDAs try and fill a need in our county for more child care centers.
A big Cheer goes out to Healey Homes and owners Chuck Healey and Kathy Larsen. When I interviewed them for a story a few weeks ago, I was surprised at what they do in our community, and amazed at their business philosophy.
Their goal is to give their clients, people with developmental disabilities, the best life they can have. And that is just what they do. And they, and their adult children, have dedicated their lives to doing that. So, a big Cheer and kudos to them.
A Jeer goes out to the current price hiking product, eggs. First it was toilet paper, then gas, and now eggs. There is a shortage of them, and they have increased in price by leaps and bounds.
Perhaps more folks are going to get the permit at the Blue Earth City Hall to raise chickens in their backyard. Suddenly, that makes a lot more sense than it did before.
Another Jeer goes out to the unbelievable amount of violence that is going on in our country. It is almost a daily report on the national and state news each day. Several people I know have quit watching the news because it is all so awful, they say.
But, ignoring it does not make it go away. Something needs to be done about it, and I hope our leaders can figure out what that is.
For now though, it is something that needs to be Jeered, at the very least.
A Cheer goes out to the Blue Earth Area School Board and their decision to give every one of their employees a $1,000 retention stipend.
While some may question whether such an action is necessary or not, and whether those funds could be spent elsewhere in the district, the decision was to take this action to retain employees.
In this day and age, when it is difficult to fill open positions in many businesses and entities, such actions are now warranted. Schools and businesses have even taken to paying out sign on bonuses.
And finally, our usual last Cheer. It once again goes out to all of the faithful readers and to the advertisers and others who support their local newspapers.
Thanks again for reading us.