Recent Articles

  • Bonding off liens: Projects keep moving and claimants get paid

    Nate Budde Construction & Building Materials

    Mechanics liens are powerful tools. Through the consistent use of these security instruments, construction industry participants can nearly assure payment on every project. However, because liens are such powerful tools, they can have consequences that reach beyond getting the claimant paid.

  • The need for unified emergency communication in schools

    Bambi Majumdar Education

    School administrators, teachers and parents are increasingly concerned about the safety of their students and want to explore all opportunities to improve the existing security and communication systems in place. There have been too many campus incidents recently to remain complacent anymore, especially when it comes to emergency preparedness.

  • Metals Thoughts: Short shorts

    Brad Yates Natural Resources

    ​Friday's nonfarm payrolls report was a seemingly bearish first blush, with the headline number coming in at the high end of the consensus range (211K), a positive revision to October's big number, and growth in the participation rate. The noise of a monthly number notwithstanding, you would have expected gold and silver to sell off, but that was not to be.

  • 8 tips to better staff retention at your spa

    Mary Nielsen Recreation & Leisure

    ​Aside from a state inspector in your lobby, nothing can strike dread in the heart of a spa owner or manager than a resignation from a key member of your staff. You seem to have a full crew, everyone seems to be getting along, revenues are climbing and bam, someone resigns.

  • 6 sensational sports vacations

    Dave G. Houser Recreation & Leisure

    If you happen to be a sports fan, you've got plenty of company. According to the latest ESPN Sports Poll, 219 million Americans profess to be a fan of at least one sport. But here's an even more amazing statistic: Of that number, 31 percent (or nearly 68 million) are classified as avid fans, actively following five to eight sports.

  • New hive design revolutionizes honey harvesting

    Heather Linderfelt Food & Beverage

    Honey harvesting is a messy and sometimes painful job. Traditional Langstroth hives consist of a wooden floor, stacked boxes or supers of varying depths, an inner cover and a roof. Bees build their comb on wooden frames within each box.

  • 9 prep tips to ace your job interview

    Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    Congratulations! You just got a call from the employer whose job posting seemed like a perfect fit, and they want you to interview next Wednesday. You've got a little less than a week to prepare to ace your interview. What can you do to ensure you're ready? Take a close look at these nine areas of preparation:

  • 2 nights of caution provide a lesson

    Steve and Diane Owens Recreation & Leisure

    In Clarion, Pennsylvania, we found a Comfort Inn. This was "Bathtub Night." The next morning after breakfast, we proceeded north on Pa. 66 into some beautiful mountain country leading through the Allegheny National Forest. At Kane, a small country town, we connected with Pa. 321 on our way to Willow Bay Campgrounds. As we soon discovered through two examples, living the RV life can present a certain amount of danger.

  • Senate bill would expand Medicare coverage for telehealth

    Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

    Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) have introduced a new bill to expand access to healthcare — especially in rural and underserved areas that would allow Medicare to cover additional telehealth services. The bill, known as the Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act, would allow Medicare to expand its coverage of telehealth services, changing what the Senators call a "poor industry standard" that discourages innovation and restricts access to specialized services.

  • Innovative packaging driving growth in food and beverage industries

    Bambi Majumdar Food & Beverage

    The increasing consumer trend toward natural, sustained and minimally processed foods has necessitated a change in packaging that will support these natural and organic products. At the same time, consumers are still looking for easy food solutions with processed food and drinks, which need to be healthier at the same time.