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Thumbs up to braving the storm. Wednesday’s blizzard kind of put a stopper on a lot of things in Austin. Vehicles were in ditches, it was a struggle to get anywhere and after the temperatures from the days before were so high it made it difficult to bear the weight of the heavy snow. With all that in mind it’s worth recognizing the city, county and state crews who were out doing what they could to keep streets and roadways cleared. On days like that, it is always appreciate the work they do.

Thumbs up for a cause. It’s tough going when a demolition car needs to be pulled out of the mud just to run into other vehicles, but that was the case at times last Saturday with the Smashing Cancer Demolition Derby at the Mower County Fairgrounds. Wet, cold, breezy: all of these things made it a tough afternoon for crashing cars, yet people still came out to watch and there were plenty of drivers, which meant another successful year for one of the longstanding traditions of Paint the Town Pink.

Thumbs up to recognizing retirements. Any time somebody retires from an organization after around 20 years, it speaks to people who like what they do. Monday night the City Council recognized Parks Supervisor Randy Hofner and Austin Police Department Sgt. Mike Tischer, both of whom have been with the city for around two decades or more.

Thumbs up to EAB work. Work continues in an effort to try and stem the emerald ash borer infestation in Austin and while it won’t go away, the steps taken to mitigate it are encouraging. As crews from Carr’s Tree Service, along with city crews, continue taking trees down, we’re encouraged by the progress so far.