FM Area Named Bronze
Bicycle Friendly Community
The League of American Bicyclists recognized the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area with a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award on Tuesday, November 18, joining more than 325 visionary communities from across the country.
With the announcement of 55 new and renewing BFCs, the FM Area joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming our neighborhoods.
“Visionary community leaders are recognizing the real-time and long term impact that a culture of bicycling can create,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We applaud this new round of communities for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their residents and beyond.”
“With the recent additions to our bicycle network, organization of events such as Streets Alive!, a planned bike share program, and more, the FM Area is becoming more and more bicycle friendly,” notes Dan Farnsworth, Transportation Planner with the Fargo-Moorhead Metro Council of Governments (Metro COG). “As we look to the future we hope to continue to make the FM Area more bicycle friendly, with cyclist and driver education being one of the top priorities.” One of the tools used to educate and inform the public regarding cycling is a website created last year named BikeFM (www.bikefm.org).
The application was submitted for the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area which combined the cities of West Fargo, Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth as one metropolitan community. The application was completed by Metro COG with help from area cities, bicycle advocates, and bicycle organizations such as Bike MN.
Both the FM Area and Greater Grand Forks were named Bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities making them the first communities in North Dakota to receive the award. Currently 15 communities in Minnesota have received Bicycle Friendly status from the League of American Bicyclists. Minnesota has been named the second most bicycle friendly state by the League of American Bicyclists.
City office, library & garbage
schedules for Thanksgiving holiday
FARGO, N.D. – Fargo City offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014, for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Fargo Public Library and its branch locations will also be closed.
Garbage collection for the week of Nov. 24 will run as follows: All garbage and recycling routes will run on schedule except for the Thursday route. Thursday will be collected on Friday. The Sanitary Landfill will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27.
Call for entries
A Woman’s Perspective Multimedia Art Exhibitions and Events invites artists to enter visual, literary, and performing art on the theme of SQUARE.
Artists may enter works in more than one category. Open to everyone age 15 and older. No entry fees.
Entry forms are due Saturday, January 17, 2015.
Visual art intake is Tuesday, January 27.
Literary and performing art presentation is Sunday, February 8.
The Exhibition runs February 1-March 30, 2015 at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead MN.
Entry information is available at awp.handworks.org.
8 Ways to Find
Cash for Holiday Expenses
Many people are entering the largest shopping season of the year financially ill-prepared. For some, the ghosts of Christmases past are still haunting them in the form of unmanageable credit card debt. For others, finding $800, the amount the National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend during the holidays this year, is seemingly beyond their reach.
“For the many Americans who struggle to meet daily living expenses, the thought of the holidays approaching brings anxiety instead of joy,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling®. “The pressure to purchase can be overwhelming, causing even the most well-intentioned to take on additional debt.”
To help people find money for holiday expenses and avoid creating debt, NFCC certified financial professionals at The Village Financial Resource Center, offer the following tips:
1. Take advantage of seasonal hiring by finding a second job doing something enjoyable, and earmark each paycheck for holiday spending. Even a 20-hour-per-week job can net hundreds of dollars by year-end. It may not sound appealing to take on a second job, but remember that debt is its own burden.
2. This is the perfect time of the year to sell unwanted items. Scour the house for things that are no longer needed or used. Sell them locally or online and reap the benefits of having rid the house of clutter while generating extra money.
3. Look for free ways to buy. Now may be the time to use any gift cards that have been saved. Check out how many reward points have been earned through credit cards. To maximize the points, evaluate making purchases through the card’s online partners. If using a cash-back card, consider redeeming the money available.
4. Cut back on expenses. This may seem like an odd suggestion during the largest spending season of the year. However, the fact is that there’s a finite amount of money available, thus when spending in some categories increases, it means that spending in others will have to decrease. Make a conscious decision where to temporarily eliminate or reduce spending to make money available for holiday purchases.
5. Consider re-gifting. Re-gifting has an undeserved bad image, but when looking at the facts, it actually makes sense. A perfectly good item that isn’t liked or used benefits no one sitting in a closet gathering dust. It could be just the gift someone else has been hoping for.
6. Instead of purchasing gifts, give the gift of self. Donate your time in another person’s name to a charity and send cards to those on your gift list letting them know of this contribution. It will likely be appreciated and remembered much longer than any store-bought present. As an added bonus, it may inspire them to do the same.
7. To free up money for other expenses, when entertaining have a potluck dinner instead of assuming the cost of the entire meal; when traveling, stay with friends or family instead of a hotel; consider buying a gift for the entire family instead of individual presents.
8. If forced to charge expenses, put all holiday spending on one credit card, and commit to repaying that debt in the first quarter of 2015. Doing this will not only avoid paying excessive interest on the debt, but will prevent the holiday spending from being co-mingled with existing debt, and allow a more comprehensive picture of the spending.
“Looking forward, resolve now to have cash available for 2015 holiday spending,” continued Cunningham. “Total the 2014 expenses and divide by 10. Commit to saving that amount from January through October, making the first gift of the 2015 holidays one to yourself—a debt free holiday season.”
If you need help finding money to satisfy holiday expenses, contact The Village Financial Resource Center at 1-800-450-4019 or HelpWithMoney.org. NFCC certified financial professionals at The Village provide financial counseling services in person, over the phone, and online.
For more information contact Joshua Huffman, The Village Financial Resource Center, 701-451-5003