July 3, 2018 • Page 2 Dave Says shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Artistic Endeavors Dear Dave, I’m retired, and in the past few years I’ve taken up painting. This hobby has begun bringing in more money than I expected. I was wondering at what point I should start thinking about separating my art money from my personal finances, and look at officially starting a little business. Pat Dear Pat, I’d do it now. A hobby that makes money is called a business. Dave Hearing this is scary to some people, but starting a small business doesn’t have to be complicated. You can go to your bank, and using your Social Security number, open a sole proprietor checking account. Title the account with your full name, then DBA — doing business as — and the name of your business. All your art income goes into that account, and any expenses paid where your painting is concerned comes out of that account. After the income goes in, and the expenses come out, what’s left is profit. That’s what you’ll end up paying taxes on. Also, you’ll be required to do quarterly estimates and send them to the IRS if you make more than $640 in a quarter. Always remember to always hold back 25 percent for taxes, too, in a separate savings account just for this purpose. This is really cool, Pat. I think you’re on the verge of being very successful! — Dave RAMSEY By Daris Howard Follow Up For Peace Of Mind Dear Dave, I’ve been following your teachings for a while, and I’ve noticed you advise people to get things in writing when dealing with creditors. Usually, it seems like you’re talking about credit cards and things like that when this is mentioned. I finally made my last student loan payment the other day. Do you think it would be a good idea to request a formal statement saying my student loan debt has been completely paid off? Andrea Dear Andrea, Following up on paid-off debts is always a good idea. It wouldn’t hurt to write, and request formal, written confirmation that everything is paid in full. You can do this through email, so you’ll have a record of contact, or you can send a certified letter — return receipt requested — through the postal system. That way, you’ll have a record they received the letter and signed for it. It sounds like you spent a lot of time paying off your student loans. After an experience like that, you don’t want to have to deal with greedy or dishonest collectors hounding you years down the road, and no way to prove you’re free and clear. Congratulations on finally kicking your student loan debt to the curb, Andrea! It feels awesome, doesn’t it? — Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven bestselling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. Academic Offerings Respond To State Workforce Needs BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Regents this week approved new academic program requests from four public universities to meet emerging workforce trends across the state. The following actions, sorted by the university making the request, were approved: Dakota State University • Transition of existing doctor of science (D.Sc.) degrees in cyber operations and information systems at Dakota State to the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. No changes to curriculum or coursework are planned. However, DSU officials say the Ph.D. serves as the more commonly accepted terminal degree in these fields. Northern State University • A new minor in legal studies, which will provide Northern students with a stronger foundation for law school admissions. The minor also prepares graduates for careers as law enforcement officers, paralegals, and other positions within the criminal justice system. • Creation of a stand-alone major leading to the bachelor of fine arts degree in digital media. NSU will convert an existing specialization in graphic design within its art major to the stand-alone degree. The degree prepares graduates in highly technical areas such as commercial photography, video production and editing, web design and programming, 2-D animation, illustration, graphic design, and product/packaging design. South Dakota State University • New associate and bachelor degree offerings in data science. The programs will utilize data sciencecentered mathematics, statistics, and statistical computation courses created over the past several years by SDSU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Studies indicate high job-growth potential for data scientists trained at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Instruction for these degree programs also will be available online. • Two new minors in ranch management and sustainability. •The ranch management minor aligns with SDSU’s land-grant institutional mission, providing introductory management coursework focused on ranching, finances, grassland, and livestock. • The minor in sustainability will prepare graduates to help their employers conserve energy resources and improve efficiencies. It should be of broad appeal to students pursuing careers in business, government, and non-profit organizations. • A graduate certificate in community development, intended for students already working in the development field and providing them access to cutting-edge practice and research. The 12 credit-hour certificate is part of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance, a partnership of 19 public universities that collaboratively deliver online academic programs in the areas of agriculture and human sciences. • An undergraduate certificate in new product and venture development. The certificate, consisting of 9 credit hours of study and available online, provides students with introductory skills needed to identify business opportunities and take products and services to the marketplace. The certificate may serve as a stand-alone credential, as a complement to a student’s major or minor, or as a credential to pair to the entrepreneurial studies major and minor at SDSU. • Permission to make both the Spanish minor and the undergraduate workplace intercultural competence certificate available through online delivery. SDSU intends to reach more students, including nontraditional learners and place-bound professionals, across the state and region. University of South Dakota • Three new minors—in sport medicine, linguistics, and non-profit studies. • Students in the sport medicine minor will gain knowledge and experience treating and preventing injuries related to sport and exercise. The minor also helps prepare those interested in graduate studies in athletic training or physical therapy. • The linguistics minor covers the systematic study of language, including related aspects of human behaviors and knowledge. This minor will be of particular interest to students majoring in world languages, education, sociology, anthropology, and related fields. • The non-profit studies minor prepares students to contribute to the non-profit sector as employees, volunteers, board members, and external stakeholders. Non-profit organizations now constitute 13 percent of the private-sector employment in South Dakota. One of our cats had kittens this week. They are, I suppose, quite cute. Cats have never been my favorite animal, though there was one that I ended up liking. Its mother was killed by coyotes, so I raised it on a bottle. But usually, I view cats as the annoying creatures that tend to trip me when I have an armful of something, and they somehow decide I want them to wrap themselves around my ankles. Because of my lack of attachment to cats, I can never seem to remember what the other family members choose to name them. They use fancy names like Shimmer, Duchess, or Princess. I usually call them by how they look or act. For example, we have a cat that was born perfectly white. I started out calling him Snowball. But then his coat changed, and he had an orange tinge within the white. It changed in the summer when we would eat popsicles. I started calling that cat Creamsicle. Another cat was mostly black with a white belly. I called him penguin. Another one that looked like him I called Tux. One cat especially kept wrapping himself around my feet when I tried to walk. Once in a while, I would end up stepping on him, and he would let out a screech and run to hide. He would sulk for a few days, then be right back to his idiotic pestering. I less-than-affectionately named him Dumb Dumb. Another cat had a tail that had a strange twitch to it. No matter what he was doing, his tail would flicker, even if he slept. That one got the name of Twitch. Other cats received the names Grey Kitty, Orange Kitty, and Black Kitty. The thing about it, I could use the names I called them, and everyone knew exactly which cat I was talking about. But when the others in the family used the names they designated, such as Cuddles, Precious, Charlotte, or Zinnia, who was supposed to know which one that went with. Even the one I called Sylvester was obvious to anyone who had watched Saturday morning cartoons. However, a problem with this naming convention of mine arose when it was me who started taking them to the vet. I remember the first one. The receptionist brought up our family account on the computer. “What’s the cat’s name?” she asked. I stood there trying to remember the name the kids had given it, but my mind was blank. The receptionist looked up, somewhat impatiently. “This is your cat, right?” “Yes,” I replied. “But I can’t think of the name my kids use.” “What do you call it?” she replied. “Doormat,” I replied. “Doormat?” she said. “Yes,” I replied. “It always lies right in front of the door, so I step on it if I’m not looking.” “I suppose it doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you know which cat it is,” she said. I was relieved. I thought she was going to give me a lecture about how cats are people, too, and should have proper names. I received that lecture from my mother-in-law. I continued taking the cats to the vet as needed, just registering them with the names I called them. But one day I came home, and my wife was holding a postcard. “Perhaps I should be the one to take the cats to the vet from now on,” she said. “Why?” I asked. “Because the mailman got a real good laugh out of this postcard.” I took the card and read it. “Just a reminder that it’s time for Hitler Cat’s and Clown Kitty’s shots.” Perhaps it would be better if someone else took the cats to the vet. “Ahhh! Coffee!” said our resident cowboy, Steve, raising his cup at the philosophy counter. “Let’s raise our cups to whichever Brazilian came up with this stuff.” Very slowly, Herb Collins stood with his cup of coffee there in the midst of culture and education at the Mule Barn truck stop. “Actually, Steve,” Herb said, in his most professorial tone, “his name was Kaldi. He lived in Ethiopia.” And here Herb grinned fiendlishly at Steve. “And he was a sheepherder!” “No way, Herb!” “The truth, cowboy, nothing but the truth. In fact, it wasn’t so much as Kaldi doing anything, it was his sheep. You see…” (and he turned to face the tables and booths to find he held a rapt audience) “… ol’ Kaldi had noticed his sheep munching these red berries and going kinda hyper all over the place, looking for a lion to whip or something. Well, Kaldi knew that hyper sheep were too busy running around eating the plants flat to the ground to be putting on any mutton, so he decided to investigate. He chewed some of these M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y berries himself and beat the sheep back to the ol’ Mutton In Print and Online! Mansion. He made a couple of laps around the house and Visit www.missourivalleyshopper.com said ‘Man, I just can’t live without my coffee!’ “Now that was about 1000 A.D., you know. The word or call 665-5884 got out, and people started up their drip machines, and morning stopped being such a dirty word. Of course, as M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y MIDWEST TOY FARMERS with anything good, there are always party poopers 31st ANNUAL MOTOR who want it stopped. And so it came to pass with NIOBRARA, NE coffee. Six hundred years after Kaldi’s sheep, a bunch atrick awk SUNDAY, JULY 8th, 9am-3:30pm of Christians (obviously 251 Spruce Ave • Box 260 on decaf) petitioned Pope At the Lifelong Learning Center at Niobrara, NE 68760 OR S Northeast Community College Clement VIII to ban coffee, www.moodymotor.com DO ZE believing anything that made pjhawk@hotmail.com 801 East Benjamin Avenue Norfolk, NE (402) 857-3711 RI mornings pleasant must be P (800) 745-5650 EW! the devil’s drink. Being a ADMISSION $3 KIDS UNDER 12NFREE Fax (402) 857-3713 fair-minded guy, the Pope didn’t want to do that without giving it a try first, so 10¢ Off A Gallon Of Gas When You Use Your Sinclair Card he had some cardinal whip up a batch and he sucked it down. Well, he gave the Black Velvet Toa drink his blessing, said it sted Caramel $ was an official Christian 1.75 ML beverage, had a mug made Canadian Club W with ‘Clem’ on it, and hung it hiskey $ over the sink. 1.75 ML “Here’s to coffee!” Herb Jim Beam Bourb $ said to the audience, “The choice of sheepherders 1.75 ML Absolute Vodka $on everywhere!” 750 ML, Includes All Fla Where does he get these vors things? Still searching for that dream job? Find it in the classifieds! MV Shopper MV Shopper TOY SHOW Save Cat Names st Prices Be n Town! I 19.99 19.99 Cork N Bottle 25.99 16.99 1500 Broadway, 665-3881 We’ll Match All Local Advertising Prices! MOODY P H