What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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Colorado highways are among the worst in the nation. That's hardly news to anyone who travels across our state. Only two states report a larger share of interstate highway in poorer condition than Colorado. Less-traveled highways are even worse. In 2021, the Democrat-controlled legislature passed a $5.4 billion package of new "fees" – including an annual increase in fuel prices and that irritating 29 cents only Coloradans pay on every Amazon order – supposedly to boost the transportation bud...
With the presidential election just a few weeks away, the public is naturally interested in not just the outcome but what the results will mean for issues of national importance. As a citizen, you likely share these concerns - but how about as an investor? After the votes are counted - or even before - should you make some moves in anticipation of possible changes in policy? Let's look at the big picture first, through the lens of history. The financial markets have performed well - and at...
It is not difficult to hate these days. One could go as far to say that hate has become the tool of choice for many, a cheap and efficient instrument to vanquish modern day foes. How unfortunate that lowest common denominator intellectualism has supplanted thoughtful studied approaches to incumbent cultural and political concerns. Hate comes easily when we are one-on-one. We need only best the person before us through inference and innuendo, planting seeds of derision based on marginal truths an...
If you work for a midsize or large company, you may soon be able to review your employee benefits package, as we are entering the open enrollment season. So, consider your options carefully, with an eye toward making changes appropriate for your needs. Here are some of the key areas to look at: • Retirement plan – Depending on your employer, you could change your 401(k) or similar retirement plan at any time of the year, but you might want to use the open enrollment season to review your con...
Brilliance is often defined in terms of intellect: prowess, genius, ability, skill. We attribute it to scientists like Einstein, Edison or Tesla, and a host of others whose imaginations are not bound by limitations of the mind. Brilliance stands apart from most standard, often obligatory, patterns of thought. A different view of brilliance engages the senses by implicating wonders that surround and move us. Innovations in literature, music, theater and the visual arts tug at us with a gentle...
If you’re planning to retire in a few years, are you looking forward to it? Or are you somewhat apprehensive? Are you asking yourself: “What sort of retirement can I afford?” It’s a good question — because the answer can make a big difference in your ability to enjoy life as a retiree. And retirement can indeed be enjoyable, exciting and fun. Consider this from a recent survey by Edward Jones and AgeWave: A majority of respondents said retirement should be looked at as a whole new chapter o...
I love the fall palette of colors: burnt oranges, bronzes and yellows, deep gray greens and dazzling reds. I also love the anticipation that accompanies them, anticipation of holiday gatherings, cooler nights and campfires, fall sporting events and the company of friends. Yet for all their wonder, colors alone are never enough to evoke the full sense of fall. That takes a bit more; texture in the form of flower petals and knobby gourds, dry rustling corn stalks, creases and stems of pumpkins and bearded seed heads on perennials. Fall harvest...
We love structure even when it means restricting one’s own views. Structure prescribes rules and defines arenas for the games that we play — mental, political, relational, spiritual — in forms that are acceptable to the governing culture in the moment. When things are going well, we laud the architects of such structure, praising them for their prudence and foresight. When things sway in opposite less desirable directions, structure remains visible, though it is often used as scapegoat mater...
Letter to the Editor, The annual meeting of the Haxtun High School Alumni will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, which is the day of the Corn Festival in Haxtun. This year the location of the gathering has been changed. There will be an Open House reception held at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Haxtun. This decision was made by myself, LaVonne Hart, coordinator of the HHS Alumni. I have several reasons for the venue change. Most of the local alumni know me as being the coordinator for the organization for around 23 years. I am at...
The summer garden is winding down. Vibrant colors still abound, but they are distinctly more mature, bringing a different view of beauty into the fold. Deep yellows and golds permeate the garden as dusky sage and durable sedum provide a muted backdrop. Fall berries adorn many of the perennial shrubs, drawing late summer birds fueling for migration. And, while bumble bees are still making the rounds, they are fewer in number though welcome pollinators nonetheless. Garden wise, it has been a good...
Investing involves risk — and so does not investing. You should know how both these types of risk can affect your ability to reach your financial goals. Let’s start with the risks associated with investing. There’s not a single investment risk because different types of investments carry different types of risk. Here’s a look at three investment categories and some of the risks connected with them: • Stocks – When you invest in stocks or stock-based mutual funds, you will incur the risk that t...
So, 2024 is beginning to wind down amid some of the most childish and rancorous hyperbole attendant to presidential politics in modern history. Each party’s gloves are off, political prizefighters championed with ferocity by their respective corners and coached into landing every possible blow to inflict the most damage. The greatest damage, however, is not to the opponents, but to the very soul of the country. Is there yet a place for religiosity to ease our pain? I am a late sixties, white, pr...
Investment opportunities don’t stop at the United States border. But what should you know about investing internationally? To begin with, what is an international investment? Essentially, it’s an investment in companies based outside the United States. Investors can purchase individual foreign stocks, but many people choose international mutual funds or international exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which can be traded like stocks and track a specific market index. It’s also possible to invest in bonds issued by foreign governments or entit...
When it comes to fruit trees, patience is perhaps the largest hurdle. After five years of gentle coaxing, three small apple trees have declared that this will be their breakout year. A couple dozen apples last year were reason enough to raise the hope of forward progress, but we were pleasantly surprised that this year’s crop is well over two hundred. The apples might not be perfect, but they represent a victory of patience nonetheless. My history with apples is long. I loved the smell of a...
During your working years, you know where your income is coming from because you’re working. But once you retire, you’ll have to identify your income sources, know how much you can expect from them and know how to manage them to help support a retirement that could last two or three decades. So, where will your retirement income come from? And what decisions will you need to make about these income sources? Consider the following: • Retirement accounts – If you’ve regularly contributed to an IRA...
In a close election, everything matters. Just ask Hillary Clinton about taking Wisconsin and Michigan for granted in 2016. This election looks like another close one because some voters will enthusiastically vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, but many others will again be voting against the candidate they dislike most. Based on recent polling, Trump has a base support of about 42 percent. He can likely count on those voters no matter what. Biden’s lowest numbers were similar, so Harris p...
Coffee is best "done" with others, conversation and fellowship combining with the ritual of sharing to create moments in which our lives intersect with others in mostly positive ways. According to coffee research.org, 54 percent of the United States population drink coffee regularly (over 3 cups per day) while another 25 percent drink it occasionally. Overall, daily per capita consumption of coffee in the U.S. is 1.9 cups for men and 1.4 cups for women. I pretty much like my coffee simple;...
As we transition from summer to autumn, change is all around us — leaves are taking on new colors, temperatures are dropping and the days are getting shorter. But you can also experience different seasons in various aspects of your life — including when you invest. What are the seasons of an investor’s life? And how should you respond to them? The first such season may happen when you are in your 20s and just starting out in the working world. At this stage in your life, it’s especially importa...
Plant scientists have been employing science to improve crops for centuries. David Harris from the University of London believes that gatherers began selectively breeding wheat about 12,500 B.C. Cutting edible grasses with rock-edged sickles they took the grain-bearing grasses home. Only the strongest kernels of wheat or barley were left on the stalk because they may have been hard to cut. Those plants had stronger stalks and those plant seeds fell to the soil nearest the Neolithic campsites, and after sprouting and growing, they produced...
Every year cattle producers will go through and cull part of the cow herd. Cows are culled for a variety of reasons and marketed. The sale of these animals can equate to 20 percent of the annual income for the operation. To get the most value out of these market cows, producers need to keep a few things in mind before heading to the sale. Cull cows purposely. Making a culling plan can help producers determine which cows need to be marketed. The top reasons for culling and marketing cows are being open at the end of the breeding season,...
16 plan can help ease college “sticker shock” The school year will soon be here. And if you have young children, you’re one year closer to the day when they may be headed off to college. When that day arrives, will you be financially prepared? College isn’t cheap. For the 2023–24 academic year, the average cost — including tuition, fees, housing, food, books, transportation and other expenses — was nearly $29,000 for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities and about $60...
Computer and phone apps have brought folded paper roadmaps to the edge of extinction. Instead of fussing with printed maps while driving with one’s knees, global positioning satellites provide directions with amazing clarity and accuracy. Running late and getting lost are no longer valid excuses to avoid unpleasant encounters with our least favorite family members. Detours and road construction are no match for GPS units that provide cautions and traffic concerns in real time. The phrase “I wou...
Every now and then it is helpful in one’s life to embrace gee-whiz moments that keep us knowledgeable, informed and humble to say the least. Out of such consideration flows inspiration and, hopefully, degrees of wisdom. To ponder something larger than ourselves gives nod to our divine author and creator. “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all … (Psalm 104:24 NIV).” Nothing exemplifies that more than a good river rock or two. Their chief characteristic is that they have be...
Wheat stem sawfly is a native insect that feeds on grasses in Colorado. The insect was first identified by entomologists in Colorado around the late 1800s and primarily fed on range grasses. However, wheat stem sawfly emerged as a Colorado wheat pest in 2010 and damage from this insect has been expanding and increasing since. Today, this pest is estimated to cause $30 million in damage, according to Brad Erker, Executive Director of the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. Sawfly damage to wheat is now found as far south as I-70 and continues...
During your working years, you know where your income is coming from because you’re working. But once you retire, you’ll have to identify your income sources, know how much you can expect from them and know how to manage them to help support a retirement that could last two or three decades. So, where will your retirement income come from? And what decisions will you need to make about these income sources? Consider the following: • Retirement accounts – If you’ve regularly contribut...
