Celebrating a birthday curbside

Luverne Elementary second-grader Isley Smith celebrated her eighth birthday with an unusual party Wednesday, March 25, by receiving birthday wishes curbside at her home on West Dodge Street. Parents Andrea and Michael Smith originally planned to take Isley and her friends to a bowling alley for a birthday party. But these plans were canceled by shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus, so Andrea got creative. “When we told her there would be no school on her birthday and no bowling party, she was very understanding,” Andrea said. “So I thought it would be a fun surprise to let her see her friends, if only for a few minutes, on her actual birthday.”