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What a great summer to be playing baseball in Austin as both the Post 91 Legion and Post 1216 baseball teams made the state tournament.

The Legion won their tournament in front of the home crowd at Marcusen Park, finishing the tourney undefeated, while Post 1216 blistered its way through its Sub State Tournament in Northfield, also undefeated.

We congratulate these teams for their hard work and success this season and encourage you all to check out the VFW State Tournament when it comes to Austin the week of Aug. 10.

Thumbs down: CDC recommends masks for schools

The Centers for Disease Control recommended this week that schools once again implement mask wearing this school year.

This is another indication that COVID-19 continues to be a problem, not only in Minnesota, but across the nation, largely driven by the delta variant. While cases are going up in Minnesota, key metrics like deaths and hospitalizations remain low. Numbers are also rising in Minnesota slower than other parts of the United States.

If you haven’t been vaccinated, we urge you to get the shot. This is about making sure we continue the positive strides we’ve been making lately.

Thumbs up: Bridge opens back up

The bridge on County Road 2, east of Lansing, that spans the Cedar River is back open to legal loads. Structural flaws in the piling forced the bridge’s closure in June and will ultimately force a replacement in the future.

However, temporary repairs have made the bridge usable for the time being to typical traffic, meeting the county’s goal of keeping the road open through harvest. However, the permits for loads bigger than the legal limit will not be given. Still, we’re happy the county was able to work hard to ensure disruptions were kept to a minimum.

Thumbs up: Fritcher heading to the U

Hard work pays off, just ask Hayfield’s Easton Frichter. Frichter was a major driver of the Vikings’ baseball success this season, which ended in the school’s first state title. That hard work has drawn the attention of the University of Minnesota. Fritcher has verbally committed to play Gophers baseball and is the second Viking in recent history to play for a U of M program. Dani Wagner had a successful career playing Big 10 softball with the Gophers.

Fritcher’s example shows that you can be from a small school and find success on the big stage.

Thumbs up: Another successful visit to Austin

Congratulations to Discover Austin, the City of Austin and Ride MS for another successful visit to Austin last weekend. Over 300 riders spent the weekend riding around the Austin area, the first time back since 2011, when it was known as the TRAM Ride.

This was another example of how good of a party Austin can throw.

We love seeing this kind of activity come to Austin and hope for more such events in the future.