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Thumbs up for support. Thursday night’s Providers Empowering Providers and Parents event, sponsored by Austin Aspires through a SMIF grant is a wonderful new opportunity to support Mower County child care providers. It is no secret that child care providers are feeling an enormous amount of strain these days with mental health being one of the top concerns. Austin Aspire’s program seeks to address this while supporting these important contributors to our communities at the same time.

Thumbs up for celebrating history. This week it was announced that the Mower County Historical Society was honored by the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums for its locally generated play, “The Gertrude Project,” which tells the story of one of Austin’s most enlightened and significant citizens, Gertrude Skinner. It was a novel way to showcase local history and as such a congratulations is in order for the entire staff of the Historical Society.

Thumbs up for Skills success. Another congratulations is in order for those from Riverland Community College who were honored with awards at the recent Minnesota SkillsUSA competitions, which showcases excellence in technical education across several career pathways.

Thumbs up for musical showcase. This coming Sunday, the Austin Symphony Orchestra will wrap up its current season with pianist Kenny Broberg. The show takes place at 2 p.m. in Knowlton Auditorium with tickets available at Hy-Vee, Coffee House on Main or at www.austinmnsymphony.org. This final show only serves to once again act as a reminder of just how fortunate Austin is to year after year be treated to unique musical experiences by an orchestra filled with so many talented musicians.

Thumbs up for past success. While this could just as well be a thumbs down for losing such a valuable coach, it has to be a thumbs up for Packers girls basketball coach Eric Zoske, who is leaving the position after eight years to accept a position in Iowa that brings the Zoske’s closer to family. Year in and year out, the Packers girls basketball team has been one of the area’s premier programs and that’s in large part thanks to the passion and dedication of Zoske in his role of guiding the young ladies that have come through his program.