EDITORIAL: Make the season brighter

Dec. 10—Thumbs up to all the charitable efforts that are going on to make other people's season bright.

Donors have been giving to various drives and benefits that provide gifts for children, families, people with disabilities and the elderly who need some extra support and care. Even so, needs have not been yet.

There are still over 300 giving cards to be picked up and filled in the The Holiday Sharing Tree program. Giving cards list the name of a recipient, gift card choice and are at River Hills Mall, Hy-Vee stores, Fleet Farm, North Mankato Taylor Library as well as Nutter Clothing and First National Bank in St. Peter.

The deadline to return giving cards is 5 p.m. Sunday. And if you have no time to shop, donations can be made through PayPal at www.holidaysharingtree.com or P.O. Box 4261, Mankato MN 56002.

The deadline for the local Toys for Tots campaign is also approaching with businesses that are drop sites having to turn in the toy donations Dec. 13.

And the Salvation Army Kettle Bell Ringing Campaign is also in need of a boost and reminds donors that the holiday season is when the bulk of the money is raised to support their programs.

Area residents are known for their generosity and always step up in a time of need. It's not too late to give to others less fortunate during the holiday season.

New digs in Madelia

Thumbs up to the city of Madelia for its hard work to build a new Government Center.

The $3.2 million project has been years in the works and provides a new, roomier home for the fire department as well as bringing together the police department and city offices, including City Council chambers.

The new space for the fire department, which includes bigger bays for larger fire equipment, is especially poignant. Many of the firefighters who helped commission the new building last weekend had fought the devastating 2016 fire, which destroyed a large part of the historic downtown.

The old 1916 fire station will be renovated into commercial space.

A new federal judge

Thumbs up to the Senate confirmation this week of Jerry Blackwell as a federal judge for the District of Minnesota.

Blackwell, whose private law practice has been devoted to corporate law, came to public prominence as a volunteer, unpaid prosecutor in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. He had never before taken part in a criminal trial, yet his reputation in Twin Cities legal circles was such that Attorney General Keith Ellison eagerly accepted him on the team.

It was Blackwell who delivered the searing rebuttal argument against the killer police officer, dismissing the defense argument that an enlarged heart caused George Floyd's death with the line: "... the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin's heart was too small."

Blackwell, who has long mentored young Black attorneys (including Ellison), will continue to be a role model in his new post.

Read and Feed help

Thumbs up to organizers and members of the Alliances and Outreach for Kids, or A-OK, nonprofit that helps groups working with underprivileged children with whatever they may need.

Former teachers Beth Christensen and Kinney Eberhart lead the group that started about 4 years ago but now has some 50 volunteers.

The group has assisted the youth center My Place with helping prepare meals, giving kids rides from school or reading with children. They also organize fundraisers to buy books for children and have them added to the BackPack Food Program that provides take- home meals for children.

The group has partnered with the North Mankato Taylor Library for books and the Wooden Spoon for a meal recovery and feeding program.

A-OK is the kind of group and volunteer effort one sees regularly in the Mankato area. Their efforts provide solid support for nonprofits serving children and a great example for the community.