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Community Voices

Encourage Congress to safeguard the Older Americans Act

While Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are being reported on daily about potential changes from the current administration, one topic that is not being discussed is the Older Americans Act (OAA). The OAA has been around longer than Medicare and Medicaid but not being discussed. Which is disappointing, as the OAA supports core programs in our communities. The programs that the OAA supports include congregate meals (senior meals, meal sites are a few names they are known by), home-delivered meals (meals-on-wheels), chore services, transportation, caregiver services, and many ...

Pope’s death has symbolic worldwide meaning

Whenever someone dies on or near a major holiday, it leads to symbolism that loved ones always remember. I’m no stranger to holiday deaths. My maternal grandfather died on Christmas Eve in 1984. My paternal grandmother died on Good Friday in 1987. This week the death of Pope Francis on the day after Easter gave the entire world a chance to share that experience. It will be widely remembered for several reasons. For one thing, Francis died the way he would have wanted. He was out among the crowd on Easter Sunday, greeting people in St. Peter’s Square. He wouldn’t have wanted ...

On the Porch

Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 fishable lakes. The history of the resort business has been recounted in books such as Resorts of Minnesota by Neil Johnson with Adam Swenson and The Early Resorts of Minnesota by Ren Holland. These books trace the development of resorts in Minnesota ...

The Vietnam War – Bill Curwick — becoming a combat engineer

Bill Curwick was born in 1950, the eldest of Winifred and James Curwick’s five children. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1968 and enrolled in Southwest Minnesota State College. “I figured I’d get a two-year Drafting degree at Southwest and then attend the University of Minnesota for Architecture.” Bill described anti-war rallies on-campus and in town. “They held rallies at the college. Mostly it was speakers objecting to the war effort. A group came down Main Street one day and blocked traffic for a while. I began thinking, ‘Why protest something I don’t ...

How to deal with market volatility

Recent headlines have been dominated by economic policy and market fluctuations, sending shockwaves through the stock market. For investors, each new update seems to bring another round of volatility. While tariffs are the latest trigger for market volatility, the reality is that markets are always responding to something — from geopolitical events to inflation data to interest rate shifts — and the feeling these changes evoke are timeless: uncertainty. Whether you’re decades from retirement, approaching it in the near term, or already drawing down your portfolio, now is a good ...

Self-regulation and success

There are numerous factors that need to be taken into account if you will be able to achieve your goals and be successful. One of the key factors is self-regulation. Your ability to influence yourself and to develop your ability to control your actions, your emotions, and even what you think will enable you to adapt to new challenges and situations, control the urge to act on impulse, and ultimately to achieve your goals. To be self-regulated, you first need to decide what the goal is. Then you have to do what it takes to move yourself toward that goal while keeping track of your ...