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Trees event will help teach math

Santa will be at Kump Education Center for a Centennial Celebration with a curious collection of 100 Christmas trees on Sunday, Dec. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at the 100-year-old brick house across from Kroger in Elkins. The next Sunday on Dec. 28 everyone is welcome to visit without Mr. Claus, to again enjoy tea with holiday treats, watch a magical toy train, and make a silent auction bid on one of ten Christmas trees. This event was inspired by two needs in our community. One is the need for a better landscape plan to help manage water at Kump Education Center owned by the City of ...

Low turnover, high engagement not the same

Top leaders often say their company is about people. They may believe their focus on people is felt throughout the company. But do the frontline people feel the same way the top leader feels? And how does one measure this? Is it enough to say, We have a good culture because our employee turnover is low? Maybe yes and maybe no. In healthcare, certain areas have higher employee turnover than others. Some of these areas employ certified nursing assistants and food and environmental services workers. In these situations, lower turnover speaks highly about the effectiveness of the ...

Highly biased information

Wikipedia is “Wokepedia,” complains Elon Musk. That’s because it’s become so left-wing. “It’s designed to push an ideological agenda that you can’t see,” says journalist Ashley Rindsberg in my new video. He runs “Neutral Point of View,” a Substack publication that exposes Wikipedia bias. “So what if it’s biased?” I ask. “It’s just one website.” “Wikipedia’s information spreads into everything online,” he replies, “ChatGPT, ... Siri, Alexa. Ask a question, it is all Wikipedia.” As a result, “a few thousand powerful editors determine ...

Walz, Omar and the billion-dollar scandal

Minnesota is now facing one of the largest documented government service fraud scandals in United States history. Under Gov. Tim Walz’s evidently unwatchful eye, federal prosecutors have estimated that approximately $1 billion in taxpayer funds have been siphoned from multiple state- and federally funded social service programs over the last five years. As of this writing, 87 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, with 61 convictions already secured and more charges continuing to be filed against these fraudsters. The bulk of the fraud scheme centers around two ...

What do we do about China?

The United States is confronting an existential threat — but not the kind defined by ships on the horizon or missiles in the air. The danger instead stems from a waning sense of national purpose and a growing doubt about America’s global role. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the emerging geopolitical alignment linking China, Russia and Iran. This threat does not imply that China is preparing a direct attack on the United States. Rather, it reflects what will happen as America retreats from the world stage. Russia will expand its influence throughout Eastern Europe. China will ...

Melting pot boiling over?

In one sense, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the foundation of the country’s government. The Declaration laid out the principles we aspire toward. The Constitution established the three branches of government. It contains many brilliant mechanisms to check the government’s power. The Bill of Rights offers another layer of protection. But mere words -- even some of the most brilliant and influential words ever written -- didn’t create America’s greatness. Americans did. Imagine you could magically impose America’s system of government in Somalia, ...