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Considering all the past concern about possible health risks from drinking coffee, newer reports of coffee’s possible protective effects may leave many people confused.
Overall, recent studies suggest that coffee (regular and decaffeinated) may offer a variety of health benefits against diseases such as cancer and diabetes. However, coffee may not deserve a place in the same category with other healthful foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Laboratory studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant compounds in coffee could help reduce risk of cancer. Coffee also has a tendency to speed the passage of waste through the digestive tract. Potentially, this may lessen the time that cancer-causing compounds spend in contact with the intestinal tract, which could reduce the risk of colon cancer. Population studies, however, tend to split between coffee intake having no effect on or reducing risk of breast and colon cancer.
Continue reading ‘Is Coffee Healthy?’
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he Iowa State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is:
Department of Revenue Income Tax Division Hoover State Office Bldg. P.O. Box 10457 Des Moines, IA 50306-0457 (515) 281-3114 (800) 367-3388 (in state) www.state.ia.us/tax
Iowa requires that you use Iowa form “IA W-4, Centralized Employee Registry Reporting Form/Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate” instead of a Federal W-4 Form for Iowa State Income Tax Withholding.
Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows. In Iowa cafeteria plans are not taxable for income tax calculation; taxable for unemployment insurance purposes. 401(k) plan deferrals are not taxable for income taxes; taxable for unemployment purposes.
In Iowa supplemental wages are taxed at a 6% flat rate.
State W-2s are not applicable in the state of Iowa.
Continue reading ‘Iowa Payroll Law and Practice’
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Young retirees looking out for the best cities in the U.S. to retire young but still be engaged in an active lifestyle may take a look at the top ten cities that have been chosen by the Money Magazine with Bert Sperling of Bestplace.net this year. The best cities have been selected based on important factors for an active lifestyle such as population growth, cost of living, economic health, recreation opportunities and leisure activities. The city’s proximity to a large metro area, college presence in the vicinity and housing costs that are below $350,000 have been taken into account. However, the study also made a few exceptions for cities that offered unique benefits and did not strictly fit the criteria.
1. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Pronounced as ‘Core da lane’, this city offers a wonderful ski environment, stunning scenery and a flourishing golf culture. The city is picking up in the tourism sector. The median home price is $311,700 and the population is 38,246.
2. Charlottesville, Virginia: The Blue Ridge Mountains, University of Virginia, and variety of entertainment and recreation, makes Charlottesville an attractive option to retire in. This is also a city with a strong historical background. All these positive features offset the slightly high median home price of $398,400. The population of Charlottesville is 41,425.
3. Logan, Utah: Home to the Utah State University, Logan is a popular city that offers various recreational activities including plenty of water sports at Bear Lake. Logan has a historic downtown and the scenic Logan Canyon Scenic Byway is a great attraction. The city has a median home price of $205,400 and population of 44,599.
Continue reading ‘Top 10 Cities For Younger Retirees’
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April 11, 1965 is still remembered by many: that day a brutal string of tornados hit the states of Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan with wind gusts as high as 318 miles per hour, killing 250 people and injuring some 1500 others. The first funnel cloud hit the ground at 1 p.m. with others following at varying intervals, up to 5:30 pm. The storms intensified as they day progressed. An F4 storm hit Koontz Lake, Indiana and 2 other twisters hit Wakarusa, and Goshen, doing massive damage to homes, and local infrastructure.
More storms continued to develop over the course of that same day. The worst of the tornados, an F5 storm with winds reaching speeds of up to 318 miles per hour landed at Elkhart Indiana and destroyed the Sunnyside subdivision killing over 30 people. One of the funnel clouds was a colossal eight hundred yards wide, leaving a trail of devastation in its path. Telephone and electrical lines where knocked out by the high winds. The phone system was down and, as a result, local city officials where unable to warn others in the path of the storm of the severe danger. The day progressed and tornados hit many other counties. The damage from all these rapidly occurring storms was devastating.
The impact that these storms had on the area was huge. The U.S. weather bureau conducted a full investigation after the storm and established the need for better methods to communicate warnings to residents and officials in other areas of approaching storms. It was just a little while after this that the Weather Service started to put out announcements indicating that tornados where likely to form and where they were traveling once they had hit the ground.
Continue reading ‘Worst Tornados Resulting in Massive Damage’
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I wonder if Mr. President would be like that guy at your party that doesn’t leave, just hanging out on the couch, eating cheetos:
Bush Spends Day Feverishly Booby-Trapping Desk (from the Onion)
My favorite part is the last paragraph…
In what may turn out to be his greatest presidential prank, Bush also has spent the previous eight years damaging the American economy beyond repair and bogging the country down in an unwinnable war with a sovereign Middle Eastern nation.
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Check this out:
What does the web think - it will tell you what the web thinks. I asked it one very import question:
Am I Stuck in Iowa?
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Though not an extremely large state, at 56,000 square miles, Iowa is first in corn and soybean production and also is first in hog production. It is a flat state located between the great North American rivers, the Mississippi on the east, and the Missouri River on the west. The Iowa caucuses are an early political event in the quest for the presidency. That alone may give you an idea for your Iowa Incorporation. After all, billions of dollars go to political consultants each election year and the huge media impact of this event is well known.
Iowa is a strongly agricultural state, and also has historically and still to some extent presently, the production of farm implements, washing machines, refrigerators and processed foods. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, nd primary metals. Iowa produces the nation’s largest amount of ethanol for gasoline. Des Moines also serves as a center for the insurance industry.
Continue reading ‘Iowa is the Central Cornbelt State’
