There’s always the other side of the story;

 
A disappointing controversy arose last week during the annual sale of the Cardinal Coupon Card. The folded card displays the names of more than 50 local businesses offering discounts totaling more than $2,000 in goods and services.
The Chamber does the legwork contacting interested businesses, and the athletes do the legwork selling cards. The proceeds are split between the Chamber and Luverne High School fall athletes.
This year about 800 cards were printed, and they often raise $4,000. It’s good for the Chamber, good for the athletes and good for the businesses that may draw more card-carrying customers.
This year downtown retailer Herb ’N Legend agreed to support the fundraiser. But when its name appeared on the card, parents called with concerns about students doing business with a “head shop.”
Here’s where the facts get murky.
It’s true Athletic Director Todd Oye got calls from concerned parents. There were two.
He wisely assumed there may be more concerned families, and he alerted his athletes that if they weren’t comfortable selling the cards, they could turn them in.
About half of the 45 football players (grades 10, 11 and 12 sell them) turned theirs in. (Some may have simply been relieved not to have to sell anything).
Then, prior to Saturday’s football game, Oye collected all the football cards from all the players — not because of the controversy but because all unsold cards are due back in his office before the first game.
Oye didn’t pull the plug on the coupon card, as the story was told. His athletes’ sales period expired with the start of the first football game.
The Cards are still available for purchase at the Chamber office, and participating businesses will still hopefully see card-carrying customers come to their stores.
(For the record, Herb ‘N Legend is a property-tax-generating legitimate business that has built a reputation in Luverne as a supportive Chamber member and active civic participant.)
Whether the Cardinal Coupon Card exists next year remains to be seen, but in the end, we learned that our Chamber and school leaders are looking out for the best interests of our kids.
And that’s a story worth spreading.