Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Starting a new business venture can be daunting, expensive and fraught with risk. Even once your million dollar idea has become a reality, you’re then tasked with marketing it. After all, how can people buy your stuff if nobody knows it’s for sale? What if there were a way, then of lessening your risk and raising awareness of your product or service while simultaneously locking in buyers? All of this, potentially before you’re even out of the initial design phase. Happily, such a thing exists, is proven and has meant big bucks for those leverag...
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a computer was stirring, not even its mouse. The cables were run all neatly with care, in hopes maybe a new screen would tomorrow appear. The cellphones and tablets hibernating soundly, lay ready for video of good friends and family. And parents and loved ones settle ready to gift, while snowfall outdoors settles nasty in drifts. Then out on the prairie there arose such a clatter, the good townsfolk of Glasgow could not help but gander. Swiftly to their windows the people did r...
I wrote so much about my growing poisonous plants, I didn't have room to include these great recipes. I'm not cooking with any of those plants. I'm not sure how much you'd have to ingest to get beyond an upset stomach, and I'm not willing to experiment. Besides, Dennis reminded me he doesn't eat greens! This first one comes from a Facebook page a friend inadvertently introduced me to when she shared a recipe from it on her page. It's a way to "lose weight by eating," authored by Audrey Johns....
This week I'm going to maybe bore you with the info I've gleaned on amaryllis plants. Aren't you excited? These bulbs are ubiquitous in the Christmas season. They are 'forced' to bloom during this time of year, when we long for that burst of color to cheer us in the blah-ness of the onset of winter. Normally, left in nature, these plants would bloom in the spring. In fact, the word amaryllis is taken from the Greek amarysso, which means "to sparkle." It also means "pride, determination, and...
Technology giants, during the age in which we live, are household names. You might wash your clothes in a Samsung. You’re perhaps reading this on an LG. I’m typing this right now, on an Apple. It’s not necessarily a new thing, as any brand of facial tissue being referred to as a Kleenex shows us, but unlike with the humble sneeze-catcher, we do now have ferocious brand loyalty. What’s surprising though is the number of technology manufacturers who don’t, in fact, manufacture anything at all. At least, not in their own offices or factories...
To achieve your financial security, and that of your family, you will need to create a comprehensive strategy. But for this strategy to succeed, you’ll need to guard it from various challenges – and that means you’ll need to build in different layers of protection. What are these challenges – and what types of protection can be used to defend against them? Consider the following: • Challenge #1: Protecting your ability to reach your goals – To achieve your long-term goals, such as a comfortable retirement, you’ll need to build adequate fina...
Now that it’s the holiday season, gifts are probably on your mind – and you might intend for some of those gifts to go to charities. Although your intentions are good, you could be shortchanging both your recipients and yourself with your method of giving. But with some guidance, you can make choices that work well for you and those charitable groups you support. Of course, you could simply give money to these groups. However, by donating other types of assets, can you increase the value of your gift and gain greater tax benefits, too? It’s cer...
The internet as it stands today with its cat pictures and weather updates and cleverly written articles, is around five million terabytes. To put that into perspective, a standard CD-ROM holds seven hundred megabytes, so you’d need a decent number of them to burn a copy of the internet for your friend to take home. What’s surprising is, we actually don’t see most of what makes up the internet we know and love. Only about four percent of that huge number is stuff we can Google, click on and consume. So if our favorite sites just make up that...
Let's start this week with some of the previously threatened "too much info" on plants. I have a Flamingo Flower, also called a Flamingo Lily or Tailfeather. It's similar to a Peace Lily, but has red, pink, or purple flowers rather than white. The flowers are called spathes, and the yellow center, which grows up at a 90 degree angle from the flower, is called a spadix. The flowers are waxy, look plastic, and are a single heart-shaped petal. The leaves are also heart-shaped. Flamingo Flowers...
You may be wondering why I titled this week's column as I did. I could have used a number of synonyms (assortment, conglomerate, hodgepodge, jumble, medley) but then I wouldn't have the built-in rather lame joke about olio not equaling oleo. One is based off the thick Spanish stew made of meats and veggies while the other refers to the various fats and oils used to make fake butter. This week's scribblings are neither a thick stew nor a fat fake. So, on to my hodgepodge: First, I'd like to...
If you receive Social Security, you’ve probably already heard that your checks in 2023 will be bigger – considerably bigger, in fact. How can you make the best use of this extra money? Here’s what’s happening: For 2023, there’s an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits – the largest increase in 40 years. Also, the monthly Medicare Part B premiums are declining next year, to $164.90/month from $170.10/month, which will also modestly boost Social Security checks for those enrolled in Part B, as these premi...
It’s often said we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Our ears while more numerous, tend to fail us much more readily, with around 48 million Americans suffering from some degree of hearing loss. On the flip side of this, only one in five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually ends up using one. In a move to help combat this, recent changes in the law make it much easier for an individual to obtain these small, but life changing devices. Let’s talk about what’s changed, how it’s made the market a much more consume...
Community is defined by Google as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” I would love to expand on that, and not just the definition, but about the Glasgow community itself. It’s no secret that I was not born nor raised here, but I am happy to have lived here now for eight years. I am sure the tale is as old as time…someone moves here from a “bigger city” and they are sad about it, mad about it, whatever emotion comes to mind. But generally, the consensus is initially not a good one. B...
We attended the most recent NAN (Northeastern Arts Network) concert held up at the Glasgow High School last week. There are four concerts held here each winter. You've now missed the first two. The next one will be held Feb. 6, and is "a modern-day folk trio inspired by the music and legacy of Peter, Paul, and Mary" called The Band Called Honalee. Really, more people here should make the effort to attend these events. How often do you get quality live musicians giving concerts up here in the...
Perhaps I’m old, but I have never understood the appeal of watching someone else play a video game. Even though I can hold my own at MarioKart, the idea of using my computer to log on and stream someone else racking up points is wildly foreign. It’s possible however that I’m in the minority; platforms like Twitch and Youtube Gaming have streamed hundreds of millions of live gaming hours directly to eager watchers, while popular content creators practically reach celebrity status. What’s driving this hugely successful market though? Is it just a...
The Valley CARE Coalition proudly presents stories from Valley County residents who have struggled, continue to struggle, or have found peace surrounding mental health, substance use disorders, or behavioral health. Battling this is a symbol of strength and courage and should be highlighted as such. My dad is an alcoholic and relapsed after 20-ish years when I was 16. I was in denial for about a year before it just wasn’t a possibility anymore. It was painful but keeping myself busy and coming home mostly to sleep helped keep it at the back o...
The number of things which we routinely interact with as hobbies, through work, or just in day-to-day life are rapidly becoming more and more digitally augmented. Connected homes, smart variations of devices we’ve used for years and the ever lower barriers to entry when it comes to smartphones and tablets. Even this very newspaper article is available in a digital manner! One area which has always had a solid relationship with technology is art, with one influencing the other throughout the course of history. What happens when the lines b...
I'm afraid winter is here to stay. Our Opheim snow-birds have or are preparing to fly the coop. The last of the couples have just deserted us for warmer climes. I can't blame them. I'm starting to dream of our annual Christmas trip to sunny Florida. I won't miss this brutal cold or that blanket of snow. The two days of ice-fog up here did make everything sparkly and pretty. But sparkly and pretty isn't at all warm. I'm sure the deer that are dining on my lilacs (the leaves didn't get a chance to...
It’s unfortunate, but recessions are a fairly normal part of the economic landscape. When a recession occurs, how might you be affected? The answer depends on your individual situation, but regardless of your circumstances, you might want to consider the items in this recession survival checklist: Assess your income stability. If your employment remains steady, you may not have to do anything different during a recession. But if you think your income could be threatened or disrupted, you might want to consider joining the “gig economy” or lo...
The amount of personal data we have floating around out there on the internet is staggering. Online banking, shopping, social media; all filled to the brim with email addresses, passwords, financial information and more. We take for granted simply logging into a site, taking care of something such as a purchase or a financial transfer, and reaping the convenience of such. The trust we place with these sites and services is that they’ll do a good job of keeping that data safe and private. What happens, then, when this trust is misplaced and a w...
We arrived back home in time to enjoy the last of the beautiful fall weather. (I do hope we get more, but I won't hold my breath.) Didn't we all enjoy a rare relatively warm (and snow-free) Halloween? Costumes didn't need to include snowsuits. We were away on my family reunion trip (and to see our youngest and her family) when those of you still here in lovely northeastern Montana got that first taste of winter's return. We saw the dregs of that first snow lingering in sheltered areas and on...
Here’s an interesting statistic: Some 72 percent of retirees say one of their biggest fears is becoming a burden on their families, according to a 2021 survey by Age Wave and Edward Jones. Both before and during retirement, what steps can you take to avoid burdening your loved ones in the future? Here are a few suggestions: • Build your retirement savings. The greater your financial resources, the less likely it becomes that you’d ever have to count on your grown children for financial support. You may have access to a 401(k) or similar retirem...
The internet in all its vastness, with its more than five billion users, can sometimes be a place filled with noise. An overwhelming amount of information from a near-infinite number of sources. Happily, there are systems in place which give us clues as to which sources are more reliable, and which accounts on social media are in fact who they say they are. How does one, then, use these tools to verify the source of any given post, tweet or article? What methods do sites and services use to make sure there isn’t impersonation of famous f...
Editor's Note: This column was submitted on Oct. 22. We are currently out of state, at my family reunion in Nebraska. My father was born and raised in Ponca, Neb. His dad was a railroad man, with a small farm on the side. His mom was a German immigrant. Dad had three brothers and one sister. Dad dropped out of high school, lying about his age, to join the Navy so he could fight for our country in WWII. By the time I was born, WWII was long over and dad had switched to the Air Force. Because of...
Editor's Note: This column was submitted to us Oct. 8. There was ample warning, for those of us who check weather forecasts, that a hard freeze was coming. This forced me to stop (some of) my procrastinating. I'll always have something I'm putting off doing until forced into action. I spent two full days (actually, two afternoons: I still had to cook a noon meal and haul it to Dennis in the field) getting the houseplants sorted out. (This should be a clear warning that I have too many plants.)...
