Newsletter--Information for You

What Interest Rate are You Earning on Your Savings? This is a tough time to be a saver. Take a look at some of these rates, which were gathered from various websites in May 2010: 0.40% 1-year Treasury bill 0.25% Chase Bank 1-year CD 0.10% Bank of America savings account 0.05% Wells Fargo Bank money market savings 0.01% Vanguard money market fund If you have money in these or similar accounts, you may be thinking, "Well, at least my money is safe." But actually, it isn't. Consider this. Every day, the prices of things you purchase inch up a little bit. You know what I'm talking about. You feel it at the gas pump. Or, one day you walk into your favorite restaurant, and all the entrees cost a dollar more. Or, you wonder how your groceries suddenly became so expensive. After all, you just bought a few things. The problem is that at these low interest rates, your money is losing purchasing power. It just adds insult to injury when you need to report this interest income on your tax return. If you really want to keep your money safe, please let me know. I can offer you retirement annuities that provide you a written guarantee of safety, backed by all the assets of a strong insurance company, together with an attractive interest rate. Annuities offer a balanced approach to maintaining and growing the purchasing power of your money. If your money is earning a rate like those you see above, it is time to look at another option. An annuity just may help you prosper.

I'm pleased to share this newsletter with you to keep in touch and pass along a few helpful tips. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss any of your insurance needs. Also, if you have questions regarding ways you can build your retirement assets or set up an effective retirement income flow, I can assist you. If you haven't scheduled an annual review yet, I encourage you to give me a call to get that set up so we can make sure all your goals are on track. Tony Koehler Koehler Froman Insurance Services, Inc. 403 Main Street Warsaw, IL  62379 awkoehler@gmail.com www.TonyKoehler4Life.com 217-919-0457 The information provided here has been taken from third party sources and is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. It is provided for informational purposes only.

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Flood Risk this Spring? Don't forget you have to wait 30 days for a flood policy.

Weather experts predict major flooding in Midwest

By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

Updated 4h 44m ago |

 14 |  1

Reprints & Permissions

Millions of people in the Midwest are at risk from major flooding this spring, according to a forecast being released Friday by the National Weather Service.

A huge part of the north-central USA, including the cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., could see "significant" flooding.

"Excessive precipitation, mainly in the form of snow, coupled with continuously frigid temperatures, has yielded a thick snowpack in much of the upper Midwest," says Lynn Maximuk, central region director of the National Weather Service in Kansas City, Mo. "We expect significant flooding when this snow begins to melt."

Forecasters say the flooding could start as early as mid-March and last well into April.

For the third straight year, experts are warning of "moderate" to "major" flooding along the Red River of the North, which would again swamp the flood-plagued city of Fargo, N.D., and its neighbor across the river, Moorhead, Minn.

In Cass County, N.D., which includes Fargo, Sheriff Paul Laney described the latest flooding predictions as "concerning" and "spooky."

"We've always been able to win, we've always been able to fight it," Laney said. "We'll continue to fight it, but every spring brings out its own new set of rules to the game."

Spring flooding risk

Fargo has received almost 5 feet of snow this winter — nearly 2 feet above its average for an entire winter season, the weather service reported. That comes on top of summer and fall rain that was 50% above average.

Forecasts for much of the region continue to call for a cold and snowy remainder of February, which will cause the snowpack to grow. In March and April, as temperatures rise and the snow melts, frozen ground and saturated soil will enhance runoff, causing streams and rivers to swell.

So, with floods in three straight years and four of the last six across the region, what's going on?

"Part of the problem is that it's been so wet for several years," says weather service hydrologist Noreen Schwein. "The moisture in the soil going into the fall has been wetter every year. There hasn't been a good chance to dry out."

In northeastern North Dakota, near Devils Lake, Schwein said there has been a decades-long trend of unusually wet weather that has lasted since 1990.

Some of the spring forecast lowlights include:

•Fargo has about a 95% chance of exceeding major flood stage of 30 feet — and a 15-20% chance of reaching or exceeding the 40.84 -foot record set in 2009.

•St. Paul has about a 95% chance of exceeding major flood stage of 17 feet.

•Grand Forks, N.D., has a greater than 95% chance of exceeding major flood stage of 46 feet.

•Devils Lake at Minnewaukan, N.D., has about a 40% chance of exceeding 1,455 feet, which could partially inundate portions of the town.

The weather service will release an updated national spring flood outlook on March 17.