FARGO — Qualifying for the North Dakota Class B volleyball state tournament for the very first time was a dream for Medina-Pingree/Buchanan. But to come out and dominate three sets was beyond anything it imagined. ADVERTISEMENT That's exactly what the Thunder did, upending Central McLean 3-0 in the state quarterfinals Thursday at the Fargodome. Set scores were 25-15, 25-9 and 25-17. The match was highlighted by M-P/B roaring out to a 17-1 lead in the middle frame, including what was an 11-0 start to the set. "It was so much fun to be at the state tournament and be able to have a score like that," said Thunder head coach Jacie Connell. "We just never let down. I just said we need to eliminate our errors in the second set, and they did a great job of that." With the win, No. 3 seed M-P/B (31-6) advanced to Friday's state semis where they'll take on No. 2 South Prairie-Max (33-6) with first serve set for 5 p.m. Connell said as state tourney newcomers, nerves came naturally. At least whatever nerves were left after downing Class B No. 1-ranked Linton/HMB in the Region 3 championship last week. "Lots of emotions," Connell said. "But beating the No. 1 team in the state in the (region) championship, I think a lot of our nerves were out right there. They were just excited to be here and play." ADVERTISEMENT Maddie Gefroh finished with a match-leading 14 kills for M-P/B, including the final one to secure match point in Set 3. "It felt great knowing we're closer to the finals now," said Gefroh, senior captain and middle hitter for the Thunder. "You could tell there were some nerves, but as soon as we got onto the court, we were ready to go right away." Gefroh said the dominant second set gave M-P/B all the momentum it needed to finish things off in Set 3. "That was crazy," Gefroh said. "That gave us so much energy to go into the third set. We knew we could do it right away." Central McLean (31-4-1) drops into the consolation semifinals, where it'll face Kenmare/Bowbells (35-7) at 1 p.m. Friday. Reagan Kjelstrup paced the Cougars offensively with eight kills while Morgan Snyder had six. Daphne Lauer finished with 25 assists. Behind Gefroh in the Thunder kills department was Brynn Sorenson with nine and Jorgen Tripp with eight, including set point in the opening frame. ADVERTISEMENT Gefroh added three aces and three blocks while Violet Bohl recorded 34 assists. Cierra Mack finished with a match-leading 15 digs. "If we play our game, that's been huge for us just eliminating our errors," Connell said. "We're going to talk about what we need to adjust a little bit on defense and we'll be ready to go. "It's been a great journey so far and we're happy to be here."
AP Business SummaryBrief at 1:32 p.m. ESTMinnesota will try to bounce back from two straight losses when it hosts Bethune-Cookman on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers (5-3) are coming off a 57-51 loss against Wake Forest on Friday, which followed a 68-66 overtime loss against Wichita State on Thursday. Both games took place at the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Minnesota coach Ben Johnson cited inconsistency on offense as the main reason for his team's recent skid. "We're painfully figuring that out," Johnson said. "I thought our defense, though, (Thursday and Friday) has proven this is a top-40 or top-30 defense. We've got to be able to show up with offense and free throws." Golden Gophers starter Lu'Cye Patterson said he and his teammates remain confident in their potential as the Big Ten conference season approaches. "We just have to keep doing what we're supposed to do and keep our level of defensive play up," Patterson said. "It's going to win us a lot of games. The offense is going to come." Bethune-Cookman (2-5) will try to play spoiler on the road. The Wildcats have split their past two games as they beat North Dakota 79-67 on Tuesday and lost to Gardner-Webb 79-64 on Wednesday, both games played in the Cancun Challenge in Cancun, Mexico. Four players for Bethune-Cookman scored in double digits in their most recent game. Reggie Ward Jr. and Daniel Rouzan led the way with 14 points apiece, Trey Thomas scored 13 and Brayon Freeman chipped in 10. Bethune-Cookman is coached by Reggie Theus, who enjoyed a long NBA career and coached the Sacramento Kings for parts of two seasons. Theus said the Wildcats were in better position to compete this season compared with a season ago. "We've got a lot of depth, and we have age and experience," Theus said. "One of the biggest differences in our team is that we have great size now, where last year we were pretty small." Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota with 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Patterson is next with 10.1 points per contest. Bethune-Cookman is led by Freeman, who is averaging 15.9 points per game. Thomas (11.7 points per game) and Ward Jr. (11.0) also are scoring in double digits. --Field Level MediaWalker's 20 help IU Indianapolis knock off Trinity Christian 106-49
With the new year coming in, there is also something else inching closer, and that is the shortfall of Social Security. As a fear that has been building up for decades, the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees confirmed it this year when they released a report detailing the current and projected financial status of the two programs each year, and the outlook is not great. Considering this, it is not surprising that according to a Nationwide survey 84% of Americans aged 60 to 65 fear that their benefits will be cut. Another paralyzing fear this group of surveyed individuals have is inflation, which is a natural response to the impact it has had on their finances in the last few years. This is compounded by the fact that many seniors are dependent at least in some way on Social Security benefits, as for most it is a large part of their income, and for many the sole income they have. This dependence on assistance makes reports like the one that came out this year even scarier, as they do not paint a pretty picture. The shortfall of Social Security, a sure thing? Nothing is a sure thing in life, but the current state of the system is not promising. Social Security’s primary source of revenue is the money it collects in payroll taxes, which are supplemented by the money stored in the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund to pay out the full extent of the benefits that the program sustains today. Since payroll taxes will keep coming in for the foreseeable future, a part of the program will be active for as long as this happens. The problem is that there are a lot more beneficiaries coming into the program than workers replacing them, especially at the contribution level of those leaving the workforce. This is where the Trust Funds come into play. For years now the Trust Funds have been making up the difference between the payroll taxes and the benefits paid out, but these are also running out of money and there is no plan in place to replenish them, with the consequence that program may have to cut benefits if no solutions are put in place. According to the report “The OASI Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits. The DI Trust Fund is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits through at least 2098, the last year of this report’s projection period. Last year’s report projected that the DI Trust Fund would be able to pay scheduled benefits through at least 2097, the last year of that report’s projection period. If the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund projections are combined, the resulting projected fund (designated OASDI) would be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2035, one year later than reported last year. At that time, the projected fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing total fund income will be sufficient to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits .” These numbers explain the panic that many Americans are going through, but this is not the first time the program has been under peril. Lawmakers have the power to change some of the funding strategies and policies that would shore up the program for generations to come, but no agreement has been reached yet, as both sides of the political aisle seem to be in conflict about how to save the program. While waiting for a solution may be tempting, the best course of action for future retirees is to make their retirement savings a priority by maxing out retirement plans, including catch-up contributions and squirreling away as much as possible in savings.I was shocked, but sadly not surprised, to read recently that one in five small businesses have zero cash reserves. or signup to continue reading About 18 per cent have less than a month's worth of cash to fulfil their obligations and 21 per cent have reserves to cover only one to two months. This research commissioned by Prospa, showing the modest to zero reserves held by 60 per cent of small businesses, is frightening and a message we can't ignore. And about one in three have dipped into personal funds to and the business cupboard is bare. Cash flow is the oxygen of enterprise. Requests for help to my agency from distressed small and family business owners seeking assistance with insolvency or the risk that a business they are dealing with is in trouble, have increased by over 50 per cent this year. Business creation and new entrepreneurship are essential to driving economic growth, generating jobs, and boosting innovation. We particularly need more younger people to take up the opportunity of owning and running a small business; yet the risk reward balance is off-putting. The drain on resources during the establishment phase can be too much. The early years for a new business can be the valley of death for cash flow. Having every available dollar to re-invest in the business will help more to survive and build the foundations for success. In Singapore, a tax discount scheme is available in the early years of a new enterprise in recognition of the need to counter this cash flow valley of death. There is merit in Australia exploring the feasibility of introducing a similar early-stage incentive in the form of a tax discount or offset scheme to support businesses retaining more of the early-stage earnings for reinvestment in the business when it is needed most. This incentive would encourage business formation and reward risk-taking to energise enterprise. Singapore's start-up tax exemption scheme is specifically designed to recognise that new "home-grown" enterprises are an important component of a vibrant economy. It provides eligible new companies the exemption for the first three years, reducing their taxable income by 75 per cent for the first $100,000 of income and by 50 per cent for the next $100,000 of income. Under that model a business with a taxable income of $200,000 would pay no tax on $125,000 for each year of assessment (with the remaining $75,000 taxed at the prevailing company tax rate). Any Australian scheme should have the characteristics and settings that would be most appropriate for our business environment and complement existing incentives. For example, alternative models could see the rate of the tax discount or offset taper over the first three years and be adapted for equivalent benefit for differing entity structures. It should also have safeguards drawing on existing initiatives to tackle illegal business "phoenixing", including DirectorID, to prevent businesses from rebirthing or restructuring in order to misuse the incentive. What is important is to send a clear message supported by practical help, that small business is crucial for our economy and our communities. Small business is rightly celebrated for generating 33 per cent of our nation's gross domestic product and providing jobs for 5.36 million people - 42 per cent of the private workforce. But in 2006, small business contributed 40 per cent of GDP and employed 53 per cent of those with a private sector job. I fear we are sleepwalking into a "big corporate economy with this worrying trajectory. We need to energise enterprise and providing a boost to inspire new small businesses will help lift our country's rate of economic growth. In the US and UK election campaigns, candidates offered support for new small businesses to get started and recognition for the self-employed. Getting the incentives right is important because we need to find the next generation of small business owners. The average age of a small business owner right now is 50 and climbing. In the 1970s, 17 per cent of business owners were under the age of 30, but that's down to 8 per cent. CPA Australia's Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey found of the 11 regions and thousands of businesses surveyed, Australia had the highest percentage of small business owners aged 50 and over. And Australia ranked third lowest for business owners under 40. The survey also found business owners aged 30 to 50 were the most likely to innovate, to use technology, to grow new value, to drive economic opportunity, which further reinforces the need to provide incentives. The ASBFEO Pulse, a world-leading health check of objective vital signs for small business, showed a sustained decline in small business conditions over the last 2 years that is now levelling out, and fewer people considering starting a business over the same period. Is the next generation increasingly not seeing self-employment or their own enterprise as a pathway for the future? At a time when young people, particularly, look for purpose as well as profit in their lives, to choose their own path and shape their own story, isn't self-employment or running your own businesses a seemingly natural fit? No one starts a small business because they are excited about the paperwork involved; yet the cumulative compliance burden and fear and consequences of doing something wrong is having a chilling effect on entrepreneurship. We need to create a more supportive ecosystem to , build a business, adopt the risk and responsibility of creating a new enterprise and employ that extra person. We need to give enterprising people the best chance to be successful and a cash flow boost in the early years can help them to thrive and benefit our community and our economy. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. 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The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) has the potential to boost 99.6 per cent of Indian exports with market access to European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and drive $100 billion investment, the government said on Saturday. This was conveyed during the visit of a delegation led by Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce to Norway on Friday, aimed at furthering the objectives of TEPA which was signed in March this year. The Commerce Secretary highlighted unprecedented opportunities for Norwegian industry as the Indian economy rises from being the fifth largest economy to becoming the third largest economy in the world over the next three-four years, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Barthwal met Tomas Norvoll, State Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway to discuss promoting trade and investments, mobility for Indian professionals, re-energising existing institutional mechanisms and next steps for the TEPA ratification. The Commerce Secretary also called on HE Cecilie Myrseth, Minister of Trade and Industry and HE Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Health and Care Services. The visit also included discussions with business stakeholders including Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NHO), Innovation Norway, Shipbuilders Association, Raeder Bing Law Firm and leaders and CEOs of several large Norwegian companies. These firms represented diverse sectors, in particular, renewable energy, shipping industry, consumer goods, green hydrogen, textiles, seafood, mining, Information technology and other sectors of mutual interest. India signed TEPA with four developed nations - Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein — which is an important economic bloc in Europe. The agreement will give a boost to 'Make in India' and provide opportunities to the young and talented workforce, according to the government. EFTA is offering 92.2 per cent of its tariff lines which covers 99.6 per cent of India's exports. The EFTA's market access offer covers 100 per cent of non-agri products and tariff concession on processed agricultural products (PAP). India is offering 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines which covers 95.3 per cent of EFTA exports. India has offered 105 sub-sectors to the EFTA and secured commitments in 114 from Norway. TEPA is expected to accelerate the creation of a large number of direct jobs for India's young aspirational workforce in the next 15 years in India, including better facilities for vocational and technical training. (With inputs from IANS) Beware of SBI's fake reward point claims; fraudulent messages can compromise your data LG Corp to cancel own shares worth $356.8 bn by 2026 to boost corporate value Adani Group stocks rebound as Sensex and Nifty surge