Memorial Day weekend held special meaning for the community of Byron this year with the long-awaited dedication of the Byron Veterans Memorial. As the rain fell on Monday morning, crowds still gathered to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have fought and fallen in service to our nation.

As the spring high school sports season comes to an end, a big congratulations to the local students who competed in the State Track Meet last week at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

While the verdicts in the Feeding Our Future fraud case are a step in the right direction, we still must be far more vigilant at addressing the failures in oversight by the Minnesota Department of Education that allowed this massive fraud to occur — and the Walz administration’s lackluster response. Where were the safeguards? Where was the monitoring? Where is the accountability and transparency?

It’s now official, the election season is here. Filings closed Tuesday for the U.S. Senate and House of Representative, the state legislature and county offices. Filings will open soon for city and school board elections.
The DCI wants to hear from readers and would like to have a robust discussion on candidates and issues on the Opinion page. However, there are a few basic rules that need to be followed.

I grew up in the town of Kiester which, according to the latest U.S. Census, has a population of 488. I know firsthand that small towns often face unique challenges, including limited access to financial resources and a reduced tax base.
I also know that the nature of living in a small town makes it easy for people to work together and enhance the vitality of the place they call home.

Some people feel local journalism is dead. Some feel it’s not important. Some feel Facebook and Twitter are good substitutes.
But last week, while one of our reporters was working on a storyfor the Dodge County Independent, another blatant example of the importance of local journalism emerged.