Austin Daily Herald

The prospect of any corporate headquarters, especially one that will employ 300 white-collar workers, should have any community excited. With an anonymous company checking out Albert Lea for such a location, as well as for up to 1,700 other jobs in the meat industry, the southern Minnesota region should be supportive but cautious about getting hopes up until more serious discussions begin.

At this point, the company is tossing out the idea and seeing how the city reacts. We have no idea how many other cities are being considered, or how concrete the company's plan is. For the time being, landing such a company is a nice thing to think about, but not something to count on. Albert Lea could be one of three candidates or one of 100. City leaders say they don't know yet.

At the same time, the community should spend some time considering the possible impact of such an operation. The benefits would be many -- more money for our economy, work for the unemployed, a larger tax base, more kids for our schools, and the possibility of growth for other industries related to the new one. There would also be challenges to address. Affordable housing would become even more scarce, new roads and utility lines would be needed, and the area where a complex is built -- wherever that is -- would be drastically transformed.

For now, residents should consider the possibilities and react accordingly, allowing the company to see what the community thinks of the idea, while realizing that the development is far from assured.