News

COOKING DEMO

Jan 27 2023

COOKING DEMO


		4 Slow Cooker Recipes January is Slow Cooking Month! Try Chicken and Dumplings, Lasagna Soup, Beef Ragu Pappardelle, or Pot Roast.		Pick a Quick Bread Flavor Get the recipe for a delicious quick bread base, then easily modify it to make your choice of banana, pumpkin, or apple.		>

January Tech Tip: How to Protect Your Digital Privacy

Jan 26 2023

January Tech Tip: How to Protect Your Digital Privacy

January 28 is Data Privacy Day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of digital privacy and educate on how to properly protect your data and privacy online. Here are five helpful tips to keep your online data and privacy protected from the bad guys who try to steal your information:

1. Don’t Use Repeat Passwords

Avoid using the same password for every site in which you have an account. This way, if one password is comprised, the bad actors won’t be able to access your information on other sites.

2. Manage Your Passwords

Using a secure Password Manager app can help protect your data and provide added convenience. You only need to remember one main password or pin to access your other ultra-secure passwords within the Password Manager.

3. Secure Accounts with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

This simple additional step can make a huge difference when protecting yourself online. Multi-factor authentication can require a text or email to be sent to registered contact information that acts as a second layer of defense.

4. Avoid Social Media Quizzes

While these personality quizzes can be fun and the results can be easily shared with your social media friends, some of these quizzes lead you to another website by hackers as a way to steal your personal information. Not all online quizzes do this, but sometimes it can be hard to tell which quizzes are safe. When in doubt, avoid social media quizzes altogether.

5. Clear Your Cookies

These are different than the delicious kind you eat. While cookies are not always bad, it’s a good idea to regularly clear them in your browser. This is especially the case for unencrypted web sites or sites with suspicious cookies you may not know are there. Cookies also take up space, albeit a small amount, but this can add up over time and slow down your computer. Each browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, has a slightly different settings layout so make sure to look up how to clear cookies for your specific browser.

Winter’s Not-So-Gentle Reminder: Don’t Forget Video Surveillance and Security for Your Farm or Ranch

Jan 24 2023

Winter’s Not-So-Gentle Reminder: Don’t Forget Video Surveillance and Security for Your Farm or Ranch

Well before winter officially started on December 21, North Dakota was already dishing out all the extreme weather conditions farmers and ranchers face: snow, wind, ice, and frigid temperatures. These conditions can put structures, animals, and systems at risk if not monitored carefully, but it’s tough to see everything all day and all night.

From large-scale operations to smaller properties, it is critical for North Dakota farmers and ranchers to ensure that livestock and crops are safe during a storm. That structures are secure in blizzard conditions. And that heat is still running and water isn’t frozen when wind chills plummet.

Fortunately, video security and surveillance systems let farmers and ranchers keep a close eye on all that they built, invest in, and work so hard to run.

Monitor, adjust, and respond from anywhere. Many farmers head to warmer states in the winter, which might make things more comfortable but doesn’t change reality back home. This is when a security system can stand in as a 24/7 friend to check in and make sure all is well on the farm.

Temperature and water sensors let farmers monitor things remotely and detect a problem early, so they can fix issues before it’s too late. For example, a temperature sensor can send an alert via phone or other smart device if the furnace quits working. The farmer can act fast and arrange for repairs, even from many states away.

Prevent and deter theft or trespass. Video security and surveillance systems can help protect agricultural assets such as fuel tanks, machinery, outbuildings, holding pens, grain bins, water supplies – anything that needs oversight to ensure safety and profitability. They can also monitor driveways and structures to detect people entering the property.

Remotely accessible tools such as door and window sensors, glass break detectors, smart light controls, and door auto-locks provide many family farmers the peace of mind and confidence that their home and business will be waiting safely for them when they return. With 24/7 support, any disturbance triggers a live security response.

Specialists can scale video systems to meet the needs of your own farm or ranch. Wintertime and all year long, it’s never been easier to protect your livelihood and all that you hold dear.

STAY ALERT

Jan 23 2023

STAY ALERT

Stay Alert – Beware of Medical Equipment Scam

Medicare spends billions of dollars a year on durable medical equipment (DME) — wheelchairs, walkers, braces, and other devices prescribed by doctors to help patients deal with an injury or chronic illness at home. That’s a boon to beneficiaries but also a big draw for fraudsters, who exploit older Americans’ health care concerns to enrich themselves.

In a medical equipment scam, scammers reach out with an offer of a “free” (as in, “Medicare will pay for it”) wheelchair or other DME. You might get an unsolicited phone call, see an advertisement, or be approached at a health fair. You’re told that all you must do to get the “free” item is provide your Medicare or Social Security number. If you do, your number will be used to fraudulently bill Medicare.

Why should you be concerned? Because Medicare fraud results in higher deductibles and copays for Medicare beneficiaries and can even put affected patients at risk. Always be suspicious of unsolicited “free” offers and never give out your Medicare number to anyone who isn’t a trusted health care provider.

Here are the warning signs of a medical equipment scam:

You receive an unsolicited call or other communication offering a free or low-cost medical device as a Medicare “benefit.”
Someone claiming to be from Medicare asks for your Medicare or Social Security number. Medicare representatives almost never make unsolicited calls to consumers and do not ask for personal information by phone.
Your quarterly Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or an explanation of benefits (EOB) from your health plan lists medical equipment you did not order or receive.

To protect yourself, do the following:

Hang up on unsolicited calls offering you a medical device that will be billed to Medicare.
Carefully review MSNs and EOBs. Call Medicare (800-633-4227) or your insurance company if you see claims for supplies or services you don’t recognize.
Be aware that if you accept an offer of medical equipment, you could be responsible for up to 20 percent of the Medicare-approved cost of the item.

In addition, don’t order durable medical equipment over the phone unless advised to do so by your physician, and don’t be swayed by scare tactics, such as claims by an equipment provider that you should get a device now because Medicare is running out of money.

SITES OF THE MONTH

Jan 20 2023