Health insurance brings Tax Day surprise for some

by State Representative Paul Anderson

Some Minnesotans who received a subsidy last year to help cover the cost of their health insurance may be in for a surprise when they file their tax return for 2014. At least one constituent reported to me that they must pay several hundred dollars of additional tax to cover the subsidy they received from the federal government to defray the cost of insurance. To be fair, this is not a problem brought on by the troubled MnSure exchange in Minnesota. It has to do with incomes that turned out to be underestimated, which resulted in subsidies received that were too large.

Back when folks signed up for health coverage and the associated subsidies for last year, 2013 incomes were used to determine the level of subsidy. However, if the actual income for 2014 increased by a certain level, it changed or eliminated the subsidy amount people were entitled to receive. That’s the reason why some will have to pay income tax on that subsidy, although they had no idea this might happen. And even if they knew, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to get back into the MnSure system to make a change in income, which would have also resulted in a lower subsidy and higher health insurance premiums.

In addition, an announcement late last week from Washington told of an error in sending out tax information to nearly one million Americans. It’s a new form called 1095-A, and it goes to all who received a subsidy to help with the cost of health insurance. This situation also serves as a strong message illustrating the new and complicated link between health care law and taxes. Nationally, it’s estimated the wrong information was sent out to one in five of those who received subsidies. The information represents a tax reporting error on the government’s part that will slow down the filing season, especially for those who file early in hopes of receiving a refund.

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I attended the opening of a new exhibit on space flight at the Science Museum of Minnesota last Thursday evening in St. Paul. On hand to mark the occasion was Col. Mike Fossum, an astronaut who spent nearly six months aboard the International Space Station and has walked in space on seven separate occasions. He gave an excellent speech and then opened the floor to questions from the audience. One of the questions pertained to motivating today’s kids to get more involved in activities that might increase their interest in space exploration. I thought Col. Fossum’s answer was excellent when he said that kids should be “unplugged” from their video games and cell phones, and that they should spend more time outside, playing and looking up at the stars above them.

License Plate Reader issue heats up

License Plate Readers Held Up In Committee Over Privacy Concerns

Submitted by the office of Senator Torrey Westrom - Elbow Lake

St. Paul – A new technology to identify stolen cars is producing major controversy at the Minnesota State Capitol. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Transportation and Public Safety heard Senate File 86, also known as the “Automatic License Plate Reader” bill, which authorizes law enforcement to retain drivers’ information for a period of 90 days.

The retention period is the source of the controversy, with legislators and data privacy advocates raising concerns over the infringement on the privacy of average, law-abiding citizens. Automatic license plate reader technology not only collects license plates; it also tracks time, date, and location of the license plate at the time of collection.

“Whether or not you have done anything wrong, you are under surveillance,” said Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake). “Your personal information is available to law enforcement for 90 days (and sometimes longer), even if you have not committed any crime, and it may be used in criminal investigations.”

Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (GOCRA) is one of the groups concerned with the retention provision. They have said there is nothing stopping law enforcement from collecting data on hundreds or even thousands of cars outside political rallies, churches, mosques, or gun shows. Law Enforcement officers are free to share personal information of Minnesotans with federal agencies – agencies that have no legal obligation under Minnesota law to protect the data.

To address these data privacy concerns, Senate Republicans introduced a “Zero Day Retention” bill that would eliminate the retention period. Senate File 31, authored by Sen. Branden Petersen (R-Ham Lake), allows for automatic license plate readers to be used by law enforcement, but restricts the data from being stored for any length of time.

“License plate readers are not inherently destructive, but the data collected needs to be more heavily regulated,” continued Sen. Westrom. “Sen. Petersen’s bill strikes a balance between the privacy rights of individuals and law enforcement’s ability to utilize this technology to apprehend criminals.”

Automatic license plate reader technology allows law enforcement to preprogram license plates of stolen cars into their system. The reader then collects plate numbers and automatically runs the numbers against the list of stolen cars. When there is a match, law enforcement is notified in real time. This has proven very effective at recovering and restoring stolen vehicles.

Automatic license plate readers streamline and automate what law enforcement officers have done for decades. This technology also has the capability of scanning for missing persons, warrants, and terrorists. It can more accurately identify possible suspects, rule out innocent people, and expands investigative capabilities of agencies.

City public notice

The City of Brooten will not be responsible for water line freeze-ups.  Please monitor your water temperature and if it reaches 36 degrees, you should let your faucet run slowly to prevent a freeze.

Brooten City Council

Looking back: Brooten elementary teachers

Hello friends of the Bonanza Valley Voice!! The publisher is seeking input from near and far on a special ongoing project for the newspaper. Attached is a snapshot from the 1977-78 Buccaneer yearbook with some of the elementary staff shown. What we want is not specific to any year. Here's what we want: in a private message send us a special memory or a small story related to your favorite teacher or event or time during your childhood while attending Brooten Elementary School between 1964 and 1994 prior to the remodel and consolidation with Belgrade. You can e-mail us at bonanzavalvoice@tds.net.

Classroom teachers in the picture include: Phyillis Imsdahl (Grades K-3); Margaret Jacobson (Grade 6); Joanne Heieie (Kindergarten and first grade); Keith Lundquist (Grade 5), Keith Krebsbach (Phy Ed); Marcella Mickelson (Grades 1-2); Marlene Mohr (Grades 4-5); Helen Philipsen (Grade 3); Susan Ruf (Kindergarten).

National FFA Week

The Minnesota FFA Association will celebrate National FFA Week next week from Feb. 21-28.

http://www.mnffa.org

National FFA Week provides an opportunity for students with completely different backgrounds across the country to connect with each other by celebrating the same great organization they are a part of.

“FFA week is a time when members across the nation pool their efforts to spread excitement about the National FFA Organization,” state president Jack Roessler said. “We all want others to see how FFA and agriculture are relevant and changing lives for the better.”

Local agricultural education programs around the state of Minnesota will participate in various activities throughout the week. Through meetings with government representatives, appreciation meals for the community, high school dress-up days, agriculture awareness events and many more fun activities, local FFA chapters will celebrate the motto of our organization.

Even social media will connect people across the country. On Sunday, Feb. 22, students will have the opportunity to engage in #FFAchat, a national conversation between FFA members and alumni.

“During #FFAchat, members from around the nation will join in and have a conversation about National FFA Week,” state reporter Erin Larson said. “Through the conversation, members and supporters will talk about what they do to celebrate and gain new ideas to implement in their communities.”

Based around agriculture and previously an acronym for the Future Farmers of America, FFA changed its name to the National FFA Organization in 1988 to reflect the growing diversity of careers in agriculture. Students are now able to learn about research, technology, business, management, communications, the economy and a variety of other careers in agriculture.

Middle school and high school students have the opportunity to prepare for career success in any field through events that develop future career skills such as public speaking, communication, leadership and hands-on job experience. Agricultural education provides a unique opportunity for students to learn about a field that is relevant to their everyday lives.

Interested in celebrating National FFA Week with your community? Contact your local FFA chapter for more information.

“Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”

FFA is a national organization preparing students for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture through applying knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. The Minnesota FFA Association is a key component in each of the nearly 200 agricultural education programs dedicated to developing student’s potential in premier leadership, personal growth and career success for all students. Minnesota FFA has more than 10,100 members of the 610,240 National FFA organization members representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Agricultural education engages students through applied learning experiences in the classroom, experiential learning opportunities known as Supervised Agricultural Experience projects, and FFA activities.

You can learn more about the experiences of FFA members and supporters by visiting www.mnffa.org and www.ffa.org.

This news update is brought to you by Lakeside Foods of Brooten, who currently has a job opening as outlined below:

Goat Ridge Brewing Company nears opening

The building on the right is the home of Goat Ridge Brewing Company.

Don't miss one of two feature stories in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice about the Goat Ridge Brewing Company. One of the company's co-founders is a 1991 graduate of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.

The company has a crowd-funding website at indiegogo: http://igg.me/at/goatridge/

They have just one week left in their fundraising campaign and would love more support from the area!

The company's website is www.goatridge.com.

Turkey dinner!

South Lake Johanna Lutheran Church of rural Brooten will have their annual Turkey Dinner on Sunday,  March 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They will serve turkey and all the trimmings! Everyone is welcome!

Global Play Day

Video from Global Play Day on Wednesday, February 4 at the B-B-E elementary school:


Read more about what Global Play Day is all about here:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201501/spread-the-word-feb-4-is-global-school-play-day

Online payments for subscriptions!

This can be used to renew or start a subscription to the Bonanza Valley Voice:
http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2015/01/online-payment-for-subscriptions.html

Congressman Peterson statement on CFTC legislation

Opening Statement by Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson
Hearing to Review the 2015 Agenda for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission

--As Prepared for Delivery--

“Thank you Chairman Conaway. Good morning everyone and welcome Chairman Massad to the Agriculture Committee. This is the Chairman’s first appearance before the Committee but I’ve had the opportunity to meet with him and have been impressed by his commitment to implementing the new regulations called for under Dodd-Frank and being inclusive of all points of view throughout the process.

“The rulemaking process has maybe taken longer than some would like but, given the limited resources they’ve had to get these new rules in place, I think the CFTC has done a good job. I look forward to an update on the Commission’s continued rulemaking, I believe about 80 percent of the rules have been completed. I’ll also be interested in hearing from the Chairman on some of the market issues that have recently made headlines.

“As has been mentioned before, one of the Agriculture Committee’s top priorities for this year is to again pass legislation to reauthorize the CFTC. We passed a good, bipartisan bill last Congress that would protect farmers and ranchers who use the futures market to hedge against risk. I hope that we can build on that legislation and actually get something signed into law this year.

“With that, I thank the Chair and look forward to Chairman Massad’s testimony.”

Get your reservations ASAP!

They have just a few seats remaining! Call right away and get your tickets for Saturday's Foodie Fun event at the Red Hen House in Brooten:

They are sold out as of Thursday afternoon!!! Bravo!

Valentine's Day at the Padua Pub

Interesting: early childhood education story

From Minnesota Public Radio...it's apparent that throwing more money at a problem isn't always the best idea.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/02/06/dayton-pre-kindergarten-plan

Wanted: more input, more subscribers

Every week a puzzle is assembled in the office: that week's newspaper.

What do you want to read about in the Bonanza Valley Voice? Or what do you think people you know who don't read the newspaper would like to see in the Bonanza Valley Voice?

Our subscriber base has increased by leaps and bounds in the month of January, and we want to keep that momentum going. It can't happen without the input of the people from Brooten and the surrounding area. We now have 90 new subscribers since the first week of January. It's rather incredible in the newspaper world.

Whether you live in the nearby areas of Padua, Sedan, Elrosa, Grove Lake, Terrace or Sunburg or in the city of Brooten or in the rural areas between those towns, the Bonanza Valley Voice needs to hear from the people of the area about what should be in the newspaper. We desperately depend on getting local news into the paper each week.

What do you like? What don't you like? What's missing that you want to see? What do you want to read more about? What should receive less ink? They are the questions to answer.

We have received input by some paid subscribers that they want to read more news and see less sports. Other pieces of input suggests seeing less news about the city of Brooten and more about the surrounding area. Those are not changes we plan on doing unless it becomes a steady, loud chorus. From my perspective as a publisher, I believe many of our subscribers get the newspaper because of school news and school sports coverage. In fact, in the coming weeks we will make greater efforts to include more school-related news in the newspaper.

It is important that you share your opinion with us! Here's the e-mail: bonanzavalvoice@tds.net.
As always, your opinions will remain confidential unless you write a "Letter to the editor" and ask in writing for it to be published in the newspaper.

Sunburg's Kaffestua Valentine's Day specials!

Ole would approve! Call 320-366-3600 to make reservations.

Hitting my stride

So the past few days have been really interesting and at times challenging. And countless people have asked with curiosity about how the newspaper business is going, is it too much work, how am I handling it, etc...well January was very, very difficult. It was really a miracle each time the paper printed on time. But I can finally say I have hit my stride. It took until my sixth issue to say that. Thank you for the concern and the innocent questions wondering how it's been. Finally, as month number two is underway here at the Bonanza Valley Voice, I am having fun.

Redhead Creamery announcement

Hello everyone! This is really neat! I am happy to report that the Redhead Creamery of rural Brooten has partnered with Micki's and L & L Family Foods in Belgrade as well as the Local Pantry in Brooten to sell their "ridiculously good cheese curds"!

Read more details on this announcement as well as other information on the Redhead Creamery on their color advertisement on page eight of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

A phone-related scam in the area

This is from the West Central Tribune...had to share it...please be advised!

Fraud

WILLMAR — A woman reportedly almost lost $1,700 Monday after falling victim to a scam that has been sweeping the area.
The customer reportedly went to the customer service desk at Cub Foods around noon Monday in an attempt to transfer $1,700 to Haiti to bail their grandson out of jail.
The woman was victim of the “grandparent” scam, in which the caller claims to be a law enforcement officer. The caller tricks people into thinking they need to transfer money to bail out relatives.
An employee working at Cub Foods reported the incident to Willmar Police. A police officer advised the woman of the scam and told her not to accept any more calls from the number.

Food Awareness Month

Minnesota Farm Bureau Commemorates Food Awareness Month

Minnesota Farm Bureau is celebrating February as Food Awareness Month. Food Awareness Month was created to bring awareness to all things food – from the farmers who grow and raise our food, to food safety and availability.

“Farm Bureau’s Food Awareness Month aims to help American consumers learn about the food they eat every day,” said TaLana Mathiowetz, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Promotion & Education (P&E) Committee chair. “Minnesota farmers and ranchers take pride in ensuring safe food choices for Minnesota families.”

To mark the occasion, county Farm Bureaus throughout the state will be hosting events and working with food shelves to increase awareness of local food and hunger.

“Farmers are committed to providing safe and healthy food choices for all Americans. As Farm Bureau members, we want to talk with families about our shared goal of nutritious and affordable meals,” said Mathiowetz.

For more information on Food Awareness Month, visit fbmn.org/pages/food-awareness-month.

Minnesota Farm Bureau – Farmers ● Families ● Food is comprised of 78 local Farm Bureau associations across Minnesota. Members make their views known to political leaders, state government officials, special interest groups and the general public. Programs for young farmers and ranchers develop leadership skills and improve farm management. Promotion and Education Committee members work with programs such as Ag in the Classroom and safety education for children. Join Farm Bureau today and support efforts to serve as an advocate for rural Minnesota, www.fbmn.org.

Farmers