Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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LCHS students senior Ifeanyichuwu Aniobi, juniors Mason Hilkemann and Rachel Pew, sophomore Emeka Aniobi and freshman Prestyn Klatt attended the Academic Olympics on March 20 at Glasgow, accompanied by Debbie Catel. Hilkemann placed first among the Juniors in all categories: Math, Science, English, Social Studies. The team took first place in both written exams and oral exams. Congratulations on a task well done! Thirteen seniors returned to campus on Thursday evening of Easter week from their...
April is National Financial Literacy Month — a good reminder that all of us can benefit from boosting our financial knowledge. But what is financial literacy? There’s no one single definition, but the term certainly covers these areas: • Saving – Most of us would probably agree that saving money is important, but actually doing it can be challenging given all the expenses of modern living. Still, techniques are available that everyone can follow, such as having money automatically moved each month from a checking or savings account to a finan...
As you know, if you read this column or are one of my Facebook friends, I'm once again in Florida. I've never been here at this time of year before. It's very unlike a Montana spring. Here there is green grass, blooming flowers, palm trees, and virtually no chance of snow. (We did have torrential rains the other afternoon.) It's pretty nice that way. My trip getting here was fraught with difficulties. The first of those was the last several miles driving into Billings on the interstate. Dennis...
Maybe my constant complaints about the weather have brought the results I've been wanting. And maybe Mother Nature is busy planning another blitz attack on us all after this week of warmth has sufficiently softened us up enough that it will be extra cruel when she hits us again with some misplaced winter. She does so enjoy dashing our hopes. We aren't the only beings that are now filled with dreams of summer. The robins have returned in force. There are flashes of red all through the yard....
We all hope to remain healthy and independent throughout our lives – but life can be unpredictable. If you were ever to need some type of long-term care, would you be financially prepared? Long-term care encompasses everything from the services of a home health aide to a stay in an assisted living facility to a long residence in a nursing home. You may never need any of these kinds of care, but the odds aren’t necessarily in your favor: Someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70 percent chance of needing some type of long-term care ser...
The weather just cannot make up its mind, can it? This last bout with trying to defeat winter brought us an icy rain. The farther north we drove last Thursday night, the more winter won. We had about two inches of heavy wet snow before arriving home. Our yard is a casualty of that battle. It's definitely wintry. There are a few nice things about this newest snow cover: 1) it covers all the dead leaves on the lawn; 2) it sparkles in the sunlight; 3) it's full of much needed moisture; and 4) it...
You’ve probably heard stories about fortunate investors who “get in the ground floor” of a new, hot company and quickly make a fortune. But while these things may happen, they are exceedingly rare and often depend on hard-to-duplicate circumstances — and they really don’t represent a viable way of investing for one’s goals. A far more tried-and-true approach is the “slow-and-steady” method. To follow this strategy, consider these suggestions: • Start small — and add more when you can. When you’re first starting out in the working world, you ma...
One of your important sources of retirement income will likely be Social Security — but when should you start taking it? You can start collecting Social Security benefits at 62, but your checks will be considerably bigger if you wait until your full retirement age, which is likely between 66 and 67. You could even wait until you’re 70, at which point the payments will max out, except for yearly cost-of-living adjustments. But if you need the money, you need the money, even if you’re just 62 or any age before full retirement age. However, if yo...
The 2024 Schmeckfest was held March 22, at the LCHS gymnasium on a 60 degree day. The walls were lined with displays of buffalo, LGS school kids’ beautiful art, quilts in honor of McKenna Bell, a student who completed her chemo treatments, and LCHS Basketball team pictures with their trophies and team ball. It is always wonderful to see the family heritage quilts brought to show, and new ones made for the occasion. The mild evening with good roads were all part of making it successful with an attendance of 744. The theme of the evening was “God...
This past week, while in conversation with a friend, we talked about pet peeves. I volunteered to air hers. She really wants everyone to have their headlights on at all times while driving. The lack of visible headlights in oncoming traffic, especially during snow and fog events, is not only annoying, it’s downright dangerous. You may feel you don’t need your headlights to see what you’re driving into, but they are definitely needed by the people you meet. Light-colored vehicles blend into that snow or fog. Even dark-colored vehicles can be ha...
Spring is almost here, which means it’s time for some spring cleaning. This year, in addition to tidying your home and surroundings, you might want to consider sprucing up your financial environment, as well. Here are some suggestions for doing just that: • Improve your vision. Once the days are warmer and longer, you may want to get outside and clean all the winter grime and smudges from your windows, allowing you to see the world more clearly. And you may want to bring more focus to your financial vision by asking some key questions: Is my...
I'm going to go on about a variety of things this week. The term "mishmash," which means 'a confused mixture of different types of things,' seemed apropos to me. Similar terms would include: hodgepodge, patchwork, mixed bag, jumble, assortment, or mess. Of course, mishmash is often used in a negative way, as if the person it refers to couldn't stay on topic. I'm okay with that, as often I am confused and disorganized. (I'm thankful that those who don't care for my ramblings don't bother to tell...
My sister Cece, who lives in southeast Missouri and is enjoying spring flowers (and her asparagus) already, recently sent me pictures of her Kaffir lilies. The mother plant has lots of red berries on the stalks the flowers had been on. Her smaller one is just now blooming. I’ve always cut off the flower stalks once they start puffing up to make seeds. I’d thought maybe if I didn’t, it would somehow diminish the plant and prevent future blooms. But Cece says she hasn’t and it’s always bloomed again. So now I need to go look up proper care of K...
If you have student loans, you likely received a “payment vacation” over the past few years, due to legislation related to COVID-19. But if you’re like millions of other borrowers, you may have recently been required to resume your payments. How will this affect your overall financial situation? Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the effect on your monthly cash flow. But the amount of pressure you feel will depend on your income and the size of the required payments. If these payments do represent a real challenge, you may need...
The LCHS boys’ team were victorious over Harlowtown-Ryegate March 9 in the Consolation round of the State Tournament, winning by a score of 53-43. They placed third. First place went to Box Elder, second to Manhattan Christian. Lustre won three games at State, and lost only one, and it was by six points to Manhattan Christian....
I was remembering marching bands of the past. Since I do not live in town I shouldn’t make statements that I cannot verify, but I am pretty sure that folks living in the vicinity of the high school and middle school today do not get to see the band and baton twirlers practicing. As a youngster I lived on 4th Ave. No. in Glasgow and always thought it was really cool to get to watch the High School band practice on our streets. I remember going to Moose Jaw, Sask., for a band marching competition at one time (I can remember that but do not r...
On Feb. 10 Gary and Roxann Funk were in Great Falls as Gary’s dad, David Funk was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame along with 23 others from throughout Montana. The event took place at the Heritage Inn. Along with those from Montana, extended family came to the event from Tennessee, Minnesota, South Dakota, California and Washington. Gary and sister, Arlene, received a plaque in honor of their Dad. Congratulations to the LCHS basketball teams in their victories last Saturday in Glasgow. The girls beat Circle in overtime 44-42. T...
I apologize for not writing anything last week. We were away on another trip. This one was to Nashville. Our 13-year-old grandson and his hockey team from Clearwater, Fla., were competing in a President’s Day tournament just outside Nashville, in Franklin, Tenn. They won, without suffering a single loss, although they did have one game that ended in a tie. Their trophy was a guitar. What else would you expect from Music City? (Each individual player also got a medal to take home. That guitar will go in the trophy case at their rink.) We went ea...
When many people think about investing, the first thing that comes to mind is the stock market. And that’s not surprising, as the rise and fall of stock prices is constantly in the news. But if you’re going to achieve your financial goals, you may well need to look beyond stocks and include fixed-income investments in your portfolio. Fixed-income investments offer three important benefits: • Income – When you invest in fixed-income vehicles, such as bonds, Treasury securities and certificates of deposit (CDs), you receive regular income...
The LCHS girls basketball team defeated Frazer 68-30 in Wednesday's District 3C tournament game, and lost to North Country on Thursday at 3 p.m. They were victorious against Dodson 61-19 on Friday afternoon, qualifying them to play against Circle in Saturday's consolation game. Coach is Bill Reddig, assisted by Sadie Brown. The LCHS Boys tied for first place with 17 wins and 1 loss, but lost the coin toss for seeds in the tournament. They beat Frazer Wednesday at 4:30, and Circle Thursday...
If you’re a business owner, you always have a lot to do and a lot to think about. But have you put much thought into how you’ll eventually leave it all behind? Even if you’re a few years away from that day, it’s a good idea to create an exit strategy. If you’re like most other owners, most of your net worth may well be tied up in your business — so how you exit that business can have a big impact on your finances and your retirement. As you begin the exit strategy process, you’ll need to examine some basic questions, such as how much you want...
You may have read reports about an impending “debt crisis” in the U.S. Should you be worried about investing in Treasury securities? Part of the concern over debt has been driven by the cost of government borrowing, which has risen because of higher interest rates. But it’s worth noting that while interest expenses have risen to nearly two percent of gross domestic product (GDP), this measure had exceeded three percent in the early 1990s. So, while the upward trend of federal debt could prove problematic down the road, the claims of a current c...
I meant to open this column with some light-hearted joking about taking weather forecasts from rodents and fell down a rabbit hole. (And rabbits aren’t rodents.) Prepare yourself for a lot of useless information. It might come in handy next time you compete in Trivial Pursuit. It is true that the groundhog is a rodent. Sometimes known as a woodchuck of tongue-twister fame, these rodents belong to the group of large ground squirrels (family Sciuridae) known as marmots. Gophers are also ground squirrels, but are rather puny in size next to ground...
Mary Honrud For the Courier Usually our minds will turn to soups as fall arrives with the cooler weather and more gloomy skies. For me, that season of soups is now. Well, really, I think soup is always good. We’ve had some really nice weather recently, but the fog and no sun is here right now. That has me wanting comfort food. Soup fills that want. First up is a hearty soup featuring wild rice and mushrooms. I combed through several variations on this theme, and settled on one that didn’t call for cream or milk. Those of you who don’t do well...
Dense fog covered our region until Wednesday with rain last Sunday and 26 degree temps making ice on the gravel. Warmer temperatures and clearing skies came Wednesday and Thursday. Many prayers went up for those travelling to Billings with students competing in the FIRST Lego League Qualifying Tournament on Jan. 20. Students of the Lustre Lego Lions League are Liam Reyneke, Joseph Olfert, Coleman Hilkemann, Gunner Damboise, Justin Schiller, Jake Neufeld, Drew Reddig, Curt Teichroew, Nancy Schill...
