By Bob Simmons, CEO, Simmons Multimedia I thoroughly enjoyed Sara Goodman’s column last week about her skiing prowess or lack thereof. As I read it, I debated telling you about one of my skiing adventures. As you can imagine, as with all of my endeavors, this one in particular was not without incident. Okay, Sara, hold my beer!

I just got back from a walk with a friend, and even though it was only 18 degrees outside, I got hot and sweaty and took off my face and neck mask. It was just what I needed to make myself feel a little better. After a night of crappy sleep, I was having a hard time motivating myself to get anything done.

We’re a little more than a week into the new year, and the pace seems to have slowed up a bit, at least it has for me. Last weekend I made it to the Dakota Spirit Arena for a girls 19U game.

I’m taking my time enjoying my coffee and writing to you, and here’s why. I undecorated the house, at least all except the Christmas tree.

I’m writing my weekly article from an undisclosed location in the mountains. My family is skiing, and I, unfortunately, am not. I can ski; I’m just not a good skier. My first foray into the world of skiing was around my freshman or sophomore year of high school when my mom, for reasons still unknown, packed us up to head to Huff Hills by Bismarck. It was a new ski resort in 1993, so maybe my mom felt it was time to see if we were a skiing family. Turns out we were not a skiing family, and that was our one and only time skiing.

By Bob Simmons, CEO, Simmons Multimedia So, welcome to 2026. I’m reading where the Feds will soon be coming after borrowers who have been delinquent in repaying their student loans. Right or wrong, you’ll remember the last administration was all for forgiving a lot of that debt. According to the US Department of Education, the first batch of about one thousand notices will hit the mail this week. How does it work? The Federal government can seize up to 15% of a borrower’s disposable income if he/she has defaulted on a student loan. The way the rules are written, the first 30 times of the Federal minimum wage is protected. So if the Federal minimum is $7.50 per hour (much less than most state’s minimum wage), that calculates to $217.50 a week that a student loan borrower in default gets to keep before garnishment. Fun fact – no court order is required for the Feds to garnish a borrower’s wages.

This week surrounded by family has been nice, and soon we will be ringing in a new year. Christmas has passed, and we are in the weird vortex time between Christmas and New Years where you rarely come out of your PJ’s and you eat leftovers nonstop.

BISMARCK, ND – The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold three public hearings in January regarding a proposal to construct a transmission line in Dickey, LaMoure and Stutsman Counties. The project is known as the JETx Transmission Line. Otter Tail Power Company (OTP) and Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) are requesting a siting permit for approximately 92 miles of double circuit capable 345-kV transmission line. Initial construction would include one line with the ability to add a second line when needed. The companies are proposing the project to enhance reliability in local areas, including the city of Jamestown. The estimated cost of the project is $406 million.

So all that bragging about no snow going into December came back to bite us in the keester as North Dakota succumbed to some very nasty weather, including ice which shut down portions of I29 and I94. Schools were delayed, dismissed early, even cancelled, along with after school activities.

Phillip’s parents were hoping and praying that we would be able to make it in for the holidays, and after 24 hours of straight driving, they got their wish! We decided we would make the drive worth it, so we are staying down south for about two weeks. This means we had to bring our furry old ladies with us.