The National Transportation Safety Board has recently called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.

The NTSB has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices for the last 10 years and it appears that this time, they may get what they are asking for.

If adopted by states, the recommendation would outlaw nonemergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road.

It would not apply to hands-free devices, or to passengers.

TRYING IT AGAIN

The good news in Moorhead is that –YES! 28th Avenue leading off 20th Street east to Menards will be paved this next year, in 2012, according to Moorhead’s City Engineering Department.

And a huge thanks to the MBA for your continual push to get the ramps reinstated. Expected reconstruction will begin next year.

Another person who should be acknowledged for his participation in keeping the fire under the Moorhead City Engineering Department on this issue is Councilman Mark Hintermeyer, who announced the good news less than a week ago on WDAY’s JAY THOMAS show. The staff at METROCOG should also be acknowledged for their work and input into making sure the Feds understood how important this particular exit is to Moorhead and those traveling on Old Highway 52 daily going south.

Allowing Moorhead to rebuild the ramps is crucial to Menards, The Antique Mall and all other businesses located north and south on Old 52, or for any potential business wanting to build near this area.

PAY ATTENTION!! NEW LAWS PASSED

Effective January 1, 2012 in Minnesota:

Because some of the products invented in recent years are not presently covered by Consumer Insurance policies, the Minnesota Legislature has included portable electronics claims. This effects insurance claims adjusters, data collection calculations and final resolutions of portable electronic insurance claims.

New state statutes meeting federal requirements related to “case mix classifications and reimbursement rates for nursing homes” will be based on updated minimum dataset or new versions mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that require nursing facilities to complete for all residents. The new law will also require the health commissioner to establish resident classes according to updated resource and utilization groups.

This law is expanded to make technical and “clarifying” changes to body art technician licensing and inspection statutes. It also allows for counties and the state to contract with facilities in border cities to use facilities in bordering states for detoxification services for Minnesota residents; meaning Minnesota detoxification facilities can contract with bordering states to provide services to residents in North Dakota, for example.

Apparently it is not enough to simply donate your body any more; the state of Minnesota wants you to pay for doing so. When asked if you want to be an organ donor for your drivers’ license or a state I.D. card, you will also be asked to pay $2.00 to a “donor awareness campaign.” And when transferring a title on your vehicle, expect to be asked again for a $2 donation. The money is supposedly being used to fund grants to federally-certified organ procurement and non-profit programs advocating for organ and tissue donations. And if you are taking your driving test after January 1 in the state of Minnesota, be aware of a new question related to carbon monoxide poisoning that will be on the test. The question is called “Tyler’s Law,” and is a result of a 2010 tragedy when Tyler Lavers, a University of Minnesota sophomore, was killed accidently while installing stereo speakers in his car. Even though the door of the garage he was working in was open and he apparently believed there was enough ventilation, due to the cold air mixing with the carbon monoxide his car was putting out in such a small space, Tyler died.

For more information on what the State of Minnesota has passed in the Legislature go to: www.house.mn/hinfo/Newlaws2011-0.asp.

DID YOU KNOW?

*** These are the Farmers’ Almanac’s long range weather predictions for the remainder of December, 2011.

12th-15th. Cold temperatures. Fair, then turning unsettled.

16th-19th. Clouds gradually give way to clearing.

20th-23rd. Stormy, with heavy snow.

24th-27th. Fair and colder.

28th-31st. Scattered snow showers.

HERE’S HOPING YOU ALL HAVE HAPPY HOLIDAY HUNTING!

For questions and comments or to send in a Letter to The Editor, email: sooasheim@aol.com