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February 4, 2021
Golden Valley News
Page
OPINION NEWS
Totheeditor
There shouldn't be immunity for nursing homes
To the editor:
AARP North Dakota strongly op-
poses a bill in the N.D. Legislature
that grants nursing homes, assisted
living facilities, and other long—term
care (LTC) facilities immunity re-
lated to COVID—l9.
House Bill 1175 strips away the
rights of residents and their families
to seek legal redress and hold facili-
ties accountable when residents are
harmed, neglected or abused.
In North Dakota, about 10,000
people live in these facilities. More
than 840 COVID-related deaths (ap-
proximately 60 percent) have oc-
‘ curred in them. While there may be
How much do you have to mak
Dear Senior,
What are the income tax filing
requirements for retirees in 2020?
My income dropped way down when
was forced into retirement last
March due to COVID, so I’m won—
dering if need to file a tax return
this year.
Unexpected Retiree
Dear Unexpected,
Whether or not you are required
to file a federal income tax return this
year actually depends on several fac—
tors: How much you earned last year
(in 2020), the source of that income,
your age and your filing status.
Here’s a rundown of this tax sea-
son’s IRS tax filing requirement
thresholds. For most people, this is
pretty straightforward. If your 2020
gross income — which includes all
taxable income, not counting your
Social Security benefits, unless you
are married and filing separately —
was below the threshold for your fil-
ing status and age, you may not have
to file. But if it’s over, you will.
- Single: $12,400 ($14,050 if
you’re 65 or older by Jan. 1, 2021).
0 Married filing jointly: $24,800
($26,100 if you or your spouse is 65
or older; or $27,400 if you’re both
over 65).
0 Married filing separately: $5 at
any age.
uHead of household: $18,650
($20,300 if age 65 .or older).
- Qualifying widow(er) With de-
pendent child: $24,800 ($26,100 if
age 65 or older).
To get a detailed breakdown on
federal filing requirements, along
with information on taxable and
nontaxable income, call the IRS at
800—829-3676 and ask them to mail
some circumstances beyond a facil-
ity’s control, it is essential that these
facilities remain responsible for any
negligent actions.
Over the course of the pandemic,
most nursing home inspections have
been suspended, family in—person
visits were prohibited except in lim-
ited circumstances, and even om-
budsman visits were restricted. There
are fewer eyes observing what is ac-
tually happening in these facilities. .
Residents of nursing homes and
other LTC facilities may be unable to
advocate for themselves and now
have limited access to people who
can advocate on their behalf. This
By Jim Miller
you a free copy of the “1040 and
1040—SR Instructions for Tax Year
2020,” or you can get it online at
IRS .gov. ,
Check Here Too
There are, however, some other
financial situations that can require
you to file a tax return, even if your
gross income falls below the IRS fil-
ing requirements. For example, if
you earned more than $400 from
self-employment in 2020, owe any
special taxes like an alternative min-
imum tax, or get premium tax cred-
its because you, your spouse or a
dependent is enrolled in a Health In-
surance Marketplace (aka Oba-
macare) plan, you’ll need to file.
You’ll also need to file if you’re
receiving Social Security benefits,
and one-half of your benefits plus
your other gross income and any tax-
exempt interest exceeds $25,000, or
$32,000 if you’re married and filing
jointly.
To figure all this out, the IRS of-
fers an interactive tax assistant tool
on their website that asks a series of
questions that will help you deter-
mine if you’re required to file, or if
you should file because you’re due a
refund. It takes less than 15 minutes
to complete.
‘You can access this tool at
IRS.gov/Help/ITA — click on “Do I
Need to File a Tax Return?” Or, you
can get assistance over the phone by
Sinusitis a common problem with
The feeling of pressure and pain
in the front of the face around the
eyes is all too familiar for millions
of Americans. Our sinuses include
four pairs of air-filled cavities above
and below the eyes and behind the
nose. They are helpful for humidify-
ing the air we breathe, resonating our
voices, and lightening the weight of
our heads.
However, the sinuses can be
prone to inflammation and infec-
tion.
‘The mucous lining of the sinuses
serves as an antimicrobial barrier to
infection, and little hairs called cilia
help to sweep out unwanted bacteria
and viruses. Disruptions to this sys-
tem commonly come from allergies
and viruses. If the passageways get
blocked, then bacteria can grow and
flourish in the moist, warm, mu—
cous.
Sinusitis is inflammation of the
sinuses which can cause the full feel-
ing behind the eyes, pressure, and
pain. If left untreated, it can cause .
fevers and a systemic response from
the body. Chronic sinusitis, lasting
more than three months, can be
caused by allergies, nasal polyps, on-
going infection, a deviated nasal sep-
tum, pollutants, or other conditions.
One of the keys to treatment and
prevention of sinusitis is keeping the
ll} i)r,.\ntlrc\\ [:iimorlh
sinuses open and draining. Nasal
saline, a saltwater mixture, can be
used to help rinse out and open the
sinuses and can be just as effective
as antibiotics. If allergies are at fault,
a steroid nasal spray or steroid pills
can be used to decrease inflamma-
tion and swelling. A nasal steroid
spray can also help treat a nasal
polyp, helping to shrink the polyp to
aid in the circulation of air and mu—
cous. For some people with chronic
and recurring sinusitis, surgery is
their best option and can provide
Pleas-e
suppofl
your local
merchants
i
T’-
pPra‘rI for by Fr
.-,.,r
Golden Valley Manor
Assisted Living Facility
“A Great Place to Call Home”
Call 1Vicki Braden for details
701-872-4282
aide West Development
etofi
lack of oversight is alarming and re-
quires us to ensure that residents and
their families still have the option to
seek redress.
North Dakota should not strip
away the rights and protections of
nursing home residents; Nursing
homes and other facilities . should
know they will be held responsible
for providing the level of care that is
required of them, and for which they
are being compensated.
Call your legislators today and tell
them to reject HB 1175.
Josh Askvig, Bismarck
AARP North Dakota State Direc-
tor '
le income taxes?
calling the IRS helpline at 800-829-
1040.
Check Your State
Even if you’re not required to file
a federal tax return this year, don’t
assume that you’re also excused
from filing state income taxes. The
rules for your state might be very
different. Check with your state tax
agency before concluding that
you’re entirely in the clear. For links
to state tax agencies see Taxad-
min.org/state-tax-agencies.
Tax Prep Assistance
If you find that you do need to file
a tax return this year, you can free
file through the IRS at
IRS.gov/FreeFile if your 2020 ad-
justed gross income was below
$72,000.
Or, if you need some help, con—
tact the Tax Counseling for the Eld-
erly (or TCE) program. Sponsored
by the IRS, TCE provides free tax
preparation and counseling to mid-
dle and low-income taxpayers, age
60 and older. Call 800-906-9887 or
visit IRS .treasury.gov/freetaxprep to
find out about services near you.
You can also get help through the
AARP Foundation Tax—Aide service,
a participant in the TCE program
that provides free tax preparation in-
person, online and by phone. To find
out about service options in your
area, call‘ 888—227—7669 or visit
AARP.org/findtaxhelp. You don’t
have to be an AARP member to use
this service.
Send your senior questions to:
Savvy Senior, PO. Box 5443, Nor-
man, OK 73070, or visit SavvySe-
nior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor
to the NBC Today show and author
of “The Savvy Senior” book.
several causes,
welcome relief.
Try this..Hold one nostril shut as
you breathe in and out of the
other. Now switch to the other nostril
and breathe in and out. Chances are
you can breathe more freely on one
side compared to the other. Wait a
few hours, try it again and chances
are the opposite side is more open.
Congestion in our nose naturally
changes sides every four to six
hours. If you find that one side is al—
ways blocked, then you may want to
see your primary doctor or an ear,
nose, and throat specialist.
Our bodies are designed for flow.
The flow of air, food, blood, waste,
and even mucous keeps us healthy.
Next time you blow your nose, re-
member you are helping the natural
movement of mucous, so just “blow
with the flow.”
Does the US. Senate have the au-
thority to hold an impeachment trial
for former President Donald Trump?
Good—faith arguments have been ad-
vanced by both sides inthis growing
debate, which invites close scrutiny
of the scope of the Senate’s power
under the Impeachment Clause. As
with many constitutional controver-
sies, resolution is aided by logic,
common sense and history.
Roughly 45 Republican Senators
and various legal scholars maintain
that the Senate’s authority under Ar-
ticle 1, Section 3, of the Constitution
to “try all Impeachments,” does not
apply to Trump, now that he is a for-
mer president. The argument is that
the principal question in an im-
peachment trial is whether to convict
and remove a sitting president. That
question has been rendered moot by
the expiration of Trump’s term of of—
fice. In any case, the Senate may not
try a private citizen.
The more compelling constitu-
tional argument, however, is that ad-
vanced by Senate Democrats and a
large body of bi-partisan legal schol—
ars, which asserts that the Senate’s
trial authority extends to former of-
ficials.
The authority of the Senate to try
cases of impeachment represents a
“continuation” of the process initi-
ated by the House of Representa—
tives’ conclusion that Trump had
committed an impeachable offense
when he incited a mob of insurrec-
tionists to attack the US. Capitol.
Trump’s incitement fell into the cat-
egory of “high crimes and misde-
meanors.”
Once the Senate has received ar-
ticles of impeachment from the
House, its broad discretionary power
encompasses a range of options. It
may decide to convict or acquit the
defendant, and in the event of a con-
viction, conduct an additional vote
on the question of whether the de-
fendant should be forever barred or
the
People
David Adler, The Aituras institute
David Adler answers your (on still/tion questions.
Send them to this newspaper.
“disqualified” from holding office or
trust under the [authority of the
United States.
The Senate’s constitutional au—
thority may not be thwarted by a
presidential resignation from office
before the trial begins. If that were
the case, a president might resign
mere hours before the trial com—
menced for the purpose of escaping
judgment and accountability. The
strategy of obstruction through res—
ignation would enable the president
to escape the full implications of the
impeachment power, which the
framers of the Constitution charac—
terized as “the grand inquest of the
nation,” a solemn and- perhaps indis-
pensable means of uncovering great
offenses against the country.
By the same reasoning, would we
dare say that a former official, im-
peached by the House and on trial in
the Senate, could escape judgment
and accountability if the intrusion of
a natural disaster —~ a pandemic, for
example — prevented the Senate
from convening and thus completing
' the trial before the official’s term ex-
pired? Who could say, with a straight
face, that the Senate would be pre-
cluded from finishing its business
when circumstances permitted the
safe return of Senators?
The derailment of a constitutional
process conceived by the framers of
the Constitution as fundamentally
important to the rule of law and the
a Can Senate legally have a trial fora former president?
safety of the nation by either a cyni-
cal tactic of resign-to—escape, or the
’ temporary delay of trial caused by a
public health crisis, would reduce
the trumpet sound of the rule of law
to that of tinkling crystal.
The end of Donald Trump’s term
of office does not mark the end of
the Senate’s power to try him on
charges of impeachment. The in-
tegrity of the impeachment process
enjoys the same protection as that
constitutionally afforded a court of
law to fully exercise its judicial
power and dispose of the cases and
controversies brought before it.
The forthcoming impeachment
trial of former President Trump is
not the first time that the Senate has
held an impeachment trial of a for-
mer official. In 1876, Secretary of
War William Belknap resigned
shortly before the House voted to
impeach him. The Senate concluded
that it did, in fact, possess the au—
thority to try Belknap, despite the
fact that he was, by that point, a for-
mer executive branch official. Al-
though Belknap was acquitted of the
charges against him, the fact that the
trial was conducted constitutes an
important constitutional understand—
ing of the law of impeachment by
the first branch of government.
The Belknap precedent, the logic
of the impeachment power and its
critical role in maintaining executive
accountability and republican gover-
nance, lead us to the conclusion that
a former president may be tried by
the Senate.
Adler is president of The Alturas
Institute, created to advance Ameri-
can Democracy through promotion
of the Constitution, civic education,
equal protection and gender equal—
lty.
Send questions about the Consti-
tution to Dr. Adler at NDWTPCol-
umn@gmail.com and he will attempt
to answer them in subsequent 1
columns.
North Dakota Legacy Fund too big tospend
N.D.
. Just as the United States has
banks and auto companies too big to
fail, North Dakota has a Legacy
Fund that is too big to spend, now
ranging- . somewhere around
$7 ,000 ,000 ,000. We are awed by
such a fund after spending 130 years
fighting off wolves.
It is a paralyzing amount and if
we bust it open we are afraid of
something like the Boston Molasses
Flood that poured two million gal-
lons of gunk into the streets on Jan-
uary 15, 1919 and killed 21 people.
If we opened the Legacy Fund,
the fear of the Legislature is' that
money would pour out like Boston
molasses, uncontrolled in response
to the unmet needs of the state. A fig-
ure with that many zeros is bound to
attract a lot of flies. So we just ad—
mire it as it grows.
Up to this date, the only coura-
geous thing we have done is rob the
Fund’s interest to balance the state
budget. Interest is supposed to ac—
crue to the principal but accounting
rules have never been much of a con-
cern in Bismarck. We operate more
on the principle of Band—Aids.
, While every session of the Legis-
lature has seen a variety of bold sug—
gestions for the Fund, few have
come up with enough concrete facts
to manufacture a feasibility study.
Now comes Rep. Mike Nathe of
Bismarck with House Bill 1425 that
proposes to divert 10% of future oil ‘
tax collections for creating a loan
program for cities, counties and
r————————————'——I—I———1
following summary of r
ATTENTION
HUNTERS
2021 SPRING WILD TURKEY
The North Dakota Game 8. Fish Department onnouneoo tho
, ulations and changes 10er
2021 s ring Wild urkoy hunting m. ' ‘
- Licenses will be issued by a weighted lottery procedure. Applications may
be submitted
online or by phone. Only residents may apply. The deadline for submitting
online
I or phone applications is February 10, 2021.
I The season will run from April 10 through May 16. 2021.
The season bag limit will be one bearded or male wild turkey.
I ' Turkeys may be legally taken with shotguns (including muzzloloading
shotguns).
certain handguns. and bow and arrow.
Via the Internet
Visit our
website at
gf.nd.gov W
Regular license loos
apply with no
service charge added
APPLYING BY COMPUTER OR BY PHONE
QUICK - CONVENIENT EASY
You can apply for your spring
By Phone
i I call
turkey license — 24 hours 8 main".
Boo-4066409
m a day - days a week
Visa, Discover, MasterCard and
American Express occophd.
ll
: SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM LAST YEAR
Besides license loo. 8 54.00
service the e let each
applicant M be added.
- Total licenses available increased to 7,005 (up 775). t
- After the initial lottery, remaining licenses will be issued as
prescribed by the Director
which may allow individuals to obtain one additional license in select
units.
’ I Muzzloloading rifles are no longer a legal firearm for taking wild
turkeys.
I Unit 21 will remain closed to spring turkey hunting in 2021.
Lottery results may be obtained by visiting our website at gf.n(l.gov
I Acornplele 2021 spring turkey hunting proclamation is available from the
North Dakota Game and
Fish Department, 100 North Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501 45095.
(701 )328-6300.
L__—‘———-—-__--55‘CUPANDSAVE
Matters
By Lloyd Omdahl
business and to divert another 10%
for stocks and equity in North
Dakota companies.
Representative Nathe argues that
his bill would make it possible to
focus capital on qualified projects in
North Dakota. In turn, this capital
would have an economic impact that
would create more jobs, higher
wages, new profits and more tax rev-
enue.
While Nathe’s legislation would
require fine-tuning, it looks like a
partial answer to the undercapital—
ization that has restricted economic
development in the state. We are
reaping the sin of undercapitalization
in the COVID-l9 disaster that is
weeding out all sorts of small busi-
nesses too undercapitalized to sur-
vive‘ months of revenue losses.
'Undercapit‘ali'za‘tionh‘ in North
Dakota is so seriOus that the avail—
ability of new money will produce,
in addition to solid proposals, a num-
ber of risky ventures that will test the
discipline of the deciders.
The inventors of bigger and bet-
ter widgets will appear, very likely
with a local legislator and a mayor,
to support new technology for
widget-making even though widgets
have been replaced by duct tape.
North Dakota is a small state of
personal relationships, making the
maintenance of harmony an impor-
tant function in society. Harmony is
Spend
(Continued on Page 4)
DON’T LOSE TOUCH WITH
THOSE YOU LOVE.
The State of North Dakota can provide
FREE specialized phone equipment
for those who have limited hearing,
' speech, vision, memory or mobility.
Applications available at
www.ndassistive.org
Call ND Assistive at 800-895-4728
today to find the right device for you or
your loved one.
'M mm 5 identified it 'lllldllifl gmmm ith‘fl" 1w.
‘lrvyi Baku“
Dcparrrx-r: oi mam sources Aqiwi smmm Dwmm
2021 season.
o
o
Regular license toes apply
with no service charge added.
I A complete proclam
ATTENTION GOOSE HUNTERS
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department
announces the lollowlng summary of regulations
from amendment number one of the 2020-2021
SmallGame. WaterfoMandFumeamercJamafion.
2021 SPRING LIGHT GOOSE CONSERVATION ORDER
February 20 May 9, 2021 — Statewide
Resident hunters must have a current hunting certificate, a small game
license if
ages 16 and older. and a general game and habitat license (or combination
license).
Note: 20202021 licenses expire on March 31, 2021. |
Nonresident hunters must have a 2021 nonresident spring light goose license
(550.00). I
This license enables nonresidents to hunt statewide for the entire duration
and does not
affect their eligibility to purchase a regular nonresident waterfowl
hunting license for the fall I
Via the Internet u By Phone
v35" our , You can instantly purchase , Simpjy ca"
website a your licenses -— 24 hours m“ flee
gr.nd.gov ” day — 7 days a Week- — 800-406—6409
w
Visa, Discover, Mas‘lerCard and
American Express accepted.
(2*
/'/ I \\_.
\XKX‘J
All 2021 Spring Light Goose Conservation Order hunters must register I
with the Harvest lnfonnaiion Program (HIP). HlP registration for ND can be
I
obtained with license purchases through the Department's website or by
calling
1-888-634—4798. HIP registration for this conservation order is also
valid for fall hunting. I
The Federal Waterfowl Stamp is not required for the conservation order. I
Only light geese may be taken. Light geese include snow geese. blue geese.
and
Ross‘s goose. They may be taken statewide from February 20 thru May 9.
2021.
There wil be no daily limit or possession limit on light geese during the
conservation order I
and shooting hours will be from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after
sunset.
Eledronic and recorded calls, as welias shotguns capable of holding more
than shells. I
may be used to take light geese during the conservation order. I
All Waterfowl Rest Areas designated for 2020 are open during the
conservation order.
Non-toxic shot is required for hunting light geese.
LICENSING BY COMPUTER OR BY PHONE
QUICK CONVENIENT - EASY
Besides license fee. a service charge
Will be added. Service charge will row I
depending on amour)! of harrsucticn
alien along with amendment one that contains regulations lor the 2021 I
I Spring Light Goose Conservation Order is available from the North Dakota
Game and Fish
Department, 100 North Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck. ND 58501-5095. (701)
328-6300.
L-———_--——-———-§<CUPANDSAVEI