EDITORIAL: Won't you be my neighbor?

Aug. 26—Thumbs up to the West Seventh Street neighborhood in Mankato and its tradition of getting together every summer to connect.

It's a National Night Out kind of event that took shape well before that became a thing locally. The late-summer block party started as a celebration of multiple August birthdays along the street and to say farewell to snowbirds soon heading out. Tuesday marked the 43rd annual block party.

Thanks to a $500 grant, this year the gathering got some extra support with hot dogs and a live band added to the mix, which also included games for all ages and ice cream treats.

Building community cohesion was the motivation behind the pilot project creating the Neighborhood Engagement Grant. The program was administered by the city, but the $3,000 in funding was provided by the Mankato Area Foundation.

It would be a good thing to keep the grants coming — the future of the program will be determined at the end of the year. It would be beneficial to spread the possibility of other gatherings throughout the city.

Help for homeless youth

Thumbs up to those who are making life a little bit easier for homeless youth and their families.

The city of Mankato and the Blue Earth County Board are collaborating on a program funded with about $350,000 in state money to support a program of homeless youth and family outreach.

It's part of the $50 million in funds the DFL Legislature approved.

The city of Mankato housing department will work with a similar program already operated by Minnesota Valley Action Council. The funds will go to getting people who are homeless into temporary housing and then assist them to get more permanent housing.

The MVAC program now is funded to a level of only helping about 10-20 youth and families a year. The new program could fund 40-50 people annually. The Mankato school district estimates 120 students could benefit from the program.

The program would assist those who have no viable nighttime sleeping arrangement, pay more than 50% of their income in rent or live in crowded conditions.

Homeless programs have long been underfunded and this boost will make a big difference in getting help to more of those in need. It's great to see the city and county engaged in this important effort.

Get together

Thumbs up to the arrival of the Minnesota State Fair.

The Great Minnesota Get-Together, which started Thursday and runs through Labor Day, has long held a coveted spot as the second-largest of state fairs as well as consistently ranked as one of the best in the country.

With all the stresses in life and turmoil in the world, the ability to escape to the wonders of the fair is a welcome respite for residents from across the state.

For many, going to the fair is a ritual that can't be missed and doing some of the same things year after year is part of the ritual. It might be visiting the animal barns, riding down the big slide, going through the fine arts building or watching the fish outside the DNR building.

Whether you haven't been there for a while or go often, heading to the fair is a fine way to end the summer.

Stearns County Syndrome in action

Thumbs down to the Stearns County Board, which this week reinforced the central Minnesota county's reputation as unfriendly to non-white people.

The latest example of what has been dubbed "Stearns County Syndrome" was the board's refusal to ease the process of excising racial covenants in real estate deeds.

The exclusionary language is no longer legally valid, but its continued existence in legal documents is a noxious legacy of the institutional racism that permeated this nation for so long. The board's inaction indicates how little it cares about that.