Biz Bits: Smart and convenient solutions for busy consumers

Weekly business rail, with tips for busy consumers, BBB watch on senior citizen scams and more.

Dave Ramsey: When is it OK to splurge?

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on buying “toys,” military investing and financing a small business.

Making Cents: Retirees need sustainable-income plan

Retirees and workers have differing views of how to invest and draw income from their assets. Retirees typically share a few major issues in common. They don't like losses. They are afraid of running out of money. They are reluctant to learn new things or change their vision of what they should do with their money.

Harvest 2010: A record crop?

Ideal conditions have led to potential for high corn, soybean yields

Paul A. Eisenstein: Nissan Juke is pretty and peppy

Some vehicles just catch your eye, like the new Nissan Juke, which seemed to draw a crowd wherever we went during a recent drive around Vancouver.

Checkout Lane: Tips on growing green grass

Jason Klemp, lawn care manager at Barcellos and Kane Landscape Management in Hingham, Mass., says late summer and early fall are the best times for seeding a lawn.

Shoestring Living: Pulling out the stops for a fun night in

While going out is rarely on the schedule these days, there’s a way to feel like we’re being social and having fun, even when budgets are tight. Stay home. Here are some tips for great times at home on the cheap.

Auto Bits: Make your tractor safer

Weekly auto rail, with tractor-safety tips, Car Q&A with Junior Damato and more.

Eric P. Bloom: Work is not a democracy, it’s a dictatorship

You are not only the manager of your group, you’re also its leader, primary advocate, mood setter, chief bottle washer and of course its chief decision maker. That said, feel free to get input from your staff and/or other knowledgeable parties, but at the end of the day, the decision is yours and yours alone. In fact, if you try to be too nice and leave every decision to a department vote, you will be viewed as indecisive, weak, ineffective and an obstacle to getting things done.

Talking Cars: OK, where’s the squeak?

I have a 2001 G Mercury L.S., a nice car, and I take good care of it. I’m an older gent, past 87, so don’t put a lot of miles on it (it has 80,750 miles). Today, Aug. 10, they are installing the fifth or sixth power brake booster on it. No one seems to know why it starts to squeak a lot when you apply the brake! I thank you for your time.

Farmers unite to rein in corporate control, part 2

It appears there is a collective David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration that has been using its muscle to take over the markets and dictate what farmers should get for their livestock.
It appears there is a collective David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration that has been using its muscle to take over the markets and dictate what farmers should get for their livestock.
It appears there is a collective David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration that has been using its muscle to take over the markets and dictate what farmers should get for their livestock.
It appears there is a collective David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration that has been using its muscle to take over the markets and dictate what farmers should get for their livestock.

Over 100 farmers from all over the state and outstate gathered for one of many regional meetings in Redwood Falls Tuesday, Aug. 17 to discuss ways to defend themselves. 

Dearly departed

 

After 42 years as a funeral director, Jim Johnson of Redwood Falls retired on Aug. 1.
Also retired are his white shirt, coat, and tie.
“Even when I went out at two in the morning, I would put on a white shirt, coat, and tie,” he said this week. 
“At one hospital in the Twin Cities, the nurses used to compare me to another funeral director who would show up in a t-shirt and Bermuda shorts.”

Biz Bits: How to make the most of your job interview

Weekly business rail, with job-interview tips, a BBB warning about deceptive auto loan modification offers and more.

Making Cents: Options to protect your portfolio

The traditional wisdom on Wall Street is to make wise investments and hold them for the long term. Most of those same advocates would claim that 10 years is generally considered long term. For those who did buy and hold for the first decade of this millennium, the results weren't too rewarding.

Dave Ramsey: Parents need advice on son who's living at home

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on son living with parents and keeping college costs in check.

Farmers unite to rein in corporate control

It appears there is a collective David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration that has been using its muscle to take over the markets and dictate what farmers should get for their livestock. Over 100 farmers from all over the state and outstate gathered for one of many regional meetings in Redwood Falls Tuesday to discuss ways to rein in corporate control of the livestock industry.

Paul A. Eisenstein: Small Mazda handles impressively

Unless you’re talking about an exotic sports car, driving something small has typically been an act of endurance. But there’s no reason a subcompact has to “feel like a cheap penalty box,” says Dave Coleman, product development engineer behind the 2011 Mazda2.

On Computers: $250 for headphones? How much do you want to hear?

Jim Hillibish strapped on the new V-Moda Crossfade headphones, soon forgetting their price.

iPhone app checks products for potentially harmful chemicals

In the quest to minimize toxic exposure, many people have started transitioning to more organic fruits and vegetables, but fewer people think to look for toxins in baby shampoo, cosmetics or toothpaste.

Got goat milk?

 

If a farmer is producing corn, soybeans or wheat, there isn't much risk in the elevators turning him away. 
But if a farmer is producing goat’s milk, for instance, the risks are much higher. 
That's what Martin and Mary Larson from south of Clements found out this past year when the dairy they were selling to stopped taking milk.

    Events Calendar

    Upcoming

    Loading…

    Site Services
    Contact Us
    Online Forms
    Place an Ad
    Purchase Photos
    Market Place
    Classifieds
    Employment
    Autos
    Homes
    Shopping
    Lifestyle
    Family
    Food
    Health
    Home and Garden