There are plenty of accolades that come to a city that has the United States’ perennial No. 1 hospital and boasts an enviable quality of life.
Nationally recognized efforts to help prevent heart disease and strokes just mean that many of us will be around to enjoy these high-quality amenities with longer lifespans.
Rochester ranked 19th out of nearly 100 cities participating in the Move with the Mayor initiative , a program of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention .
That won the city silver-level recognition for its efforts this year, a step better than the bronze status the city achieved in 2020.
It’s a great time of year to commit to being more active. Let’s see if 2022 can be our year to win the gold. Thumbs up.
ADVERTISEMENT
Unsportsmanlike conduct in Byron
There’s no justification for theft of any kind, but the pilfering of money intended for children seems like a higher level of infraction.
Last week, a burglar made off with $4,400 from pull-tab machines at the Bears Den , a bar/restaurant in Byron. The money from the sales of those pull tabs was to benefit Byron Youth Football.
Because the machines were damaged and had to be replaced, the loss to youth football in Byron ultimately climbed into the five figures. That’s a real shame, especially coming at a time when opportunities for children have been so limited. And really, what a crummy thing to do over Christmas weekend. Thumbs down.
Not enough workers, not enough care
As the U.S. economic recovery is hampered by a shortage of workers, the availability of child care remains one of the chief barriers people face when deciding whether they will – or even can – return to the workforce.
Child care has its own labor shortage, with nearly 2,000 unfilled positions across Minnesota and North Dakota, according to current estimates, reported in Forum Communications’ “Help Wanted” series examining aspects of the current worker shortage.
A related shortage of teachers – more than 4,500 unfilled teaching jobs across the two states – afflicts K-12 education.
The child care situation particularly resembles a Catch-22: Not enough people can return to the workforce because of the availability of care, which is itself hampered by a shortage of workers.
Somehow, whether through financial incentives or some other way, there will have to be a solution to this problem. For now, though, this remains a big thumbs down.
