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Controlling Volunteer Trees

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Guest Columnist
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By now hopefully you’ve heard the phrase “Right Plant, Right Place” which emphasizes the importance of proper plant selection and placement in order to minimize problems in the landscape. Though trees are a vital part of our environment, proper placement in the
landscape is necessary for aesthetics, but more importantly for safety. There are situations where volunteer trees need to be controlled. Understanding the species can help you decide what control method is most appropriate.

Some species of trees can be controlled by cutting the trunk down to the ground. For example, eastern redcedar is a very common species that will not resprout after cutting. Most tree species do resprout after cutting making this method ineffective on its own.

Trees that resprout, such as: Siberian elm, hackberry, Osage orange (hedgeball), oak,
ash, aspen, cottonwood, maple, sycamore, willow and many others will either need to
be dug out or treated with herbicide after cutting. Using herbicides for tree control is
specific to trees that originated from seed rather than suckers which develop from the
roots of an existing tree. Avoid using herbicides on suckers unless your goal is to
remove the entire tree. Herbicides applied to suckers may likely damage and quite
possibly kill the original tree.

This is a good time of year to evaluate your trees and determine if any volunteers need
to be controlled.

Storing Potatoes in Cold Temperatures

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Guest Columnist
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Ideally, potatoes should be stored in a cool garage or basement where the relative humidity is 90% and the temperature is between 40- and 45-degrees F. Although they can be stored for long periods of time in temperatures below 40-degrees F, the starches begin converting to sugars which alters the flavor of the potatoes. If this happens in your storage area,
keep the potatoes at room temperature for two to three days prior to consuming and the desired flavor should return. If stored above 45-degrees F for prolonged periods of time, the potatoes will begin to sprout. Potatoes will become soft and shriveled if the relative humidity is too low. Storing potatoes in perforated plastic bags will help maintain higher humidity levels.

Using Old Garden Seed

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Guest Columnist
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Seeds typically remain viable for about 3 years if kept in cool, dark, dry conditions though there are exceptions. For example, members of the carrot family (carrots, parsnips and parsley) have short-lived seeds which are usually good for only 1 to 2 years. Colorado State University has a publication with more detailed information about the longevity of specific species. (Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds)

If you are unsure of your seed viability you can
test it by placing 10 seeds on a paper towel moistened with warm water. Cover the
seeds with a second moistened towel. Roll up the towels and place inside a plastic bag
with several holes. Keep the bag in a warm location such as the top of a refrigerator.
Remoisten the towels with warm water as needed. After the first week, check for
germination. Remove sprouted seeds and check again after another week. The percent
of seeds that sprout indicates the germination rate. You can decide if this rate is acceptable or if purchasing new seed is warranted.

Hidden Below A Kansas Town Is An Underrated, One-Of-A-Kind Museum

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Guest Columnist
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Over 60 stories beneath the ground in Hutchinson, Kansas is Strataca, a super unique museum within a working salt mine. Hutchinson is a little over three hours from Kansas City, once known as the “Paris of the Plains,” and Strataca is one of its top attractions. There are few other working salt mines in the world that allow people to visit, so it’s a pretty special experience.

The salt deposits here were discovered in the 1880s, and they’re used primarily for rock salt. They were formed around 275 million years ago, and to help give a sense of the grand scale of this massive geologic formation, it’s got 37,000 square miles of salt, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. And Strataca itself has 150 miles worth of tunnels.

Of course, you won’t be able to explore all of them during your visit to the mine, but there are different options to see some of the coolest parts of the mine. You’ll start by checking in at the above ground lobby, and you’ll get your hard hat, a rebreather (just in case), and watch the required safety video — one of the rules is to not lick the walls. From there, you’ll take a double-decker elevator down 650 feet into the darkness.

Strataca has exhibits on mining history and Hollywood film memorabilia

After a 90-second ride, the elevator opens up into Strataca’s mining gallery, a large, lighted cavern with exhibits on the history of the mine and the salt itself. When you visit, you’re not actually in the part of the mine where the salt is being actively mined, but there’s plenty of evidence that the glittering caverns were once active work sites. Once a piece of equipment was brought into the mine, it didn’t come out, so you can see some of the historic machinery throughout the museum. They also have some of the trash that was left behind by workers over the decades, like empty soda cans, and even half a sandwich, which look like they were just dropped there yesterday.

It’s 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the mine all the time, so it can be a particularly nice place to visit during summer, when temperatures outside can get well into the 90s. With its temperature combined with its steady humidity of around 48% and protected location deep underground, the salt mine makes for the perfect place to safely store and preserve all kinds of documents and artifacts. That includes film reels, costumes, and props from hit Hollywood movies, some of which are on display. You can see one of George Clooney’s “Batman & Robin” costumes, one of Matt Damon’s “Monument Men” costumes, props from “The Matrix,” “Men In Black,” “Twister,” and more.

What to know about visiting Strataca

Strataca is closed on Mondays and Thursdays, and the base package is their Salt Blast Pass ($25 for adults, $18 for kids). It’s a self-guided experience that takes about 2.5 hours and includes access to the Hollywood displays, mining gallery, and two different rides. One of those rides is the Salt Mine Express, a 15-minute narrated train ride into a part of the mine that was last used in the 1950s. The other is the Dark Ride, a guided 30-minute tram ride, which takes you deeper into the mine, and includes a moment of complete darkness. You’ve never known true darkness until you’re deep underground. You also get a chance to mine some salt for yourself.

They have a couple of add-on options for more time underground. The Salt Safari adds on an hour, and it takes you on a guided ride deeper into the mine. On weekends, you can go on the Lantern Tour, where you’ll get to explore a part of the raw mine on foot. They hold special events throughout the year. Ever wanted to run a 5k 650 feet under the ground? You can do that here. At the holidays, they put up miles of twinkling lights for their aptly named Season of Lights celebration. They’ve also got an event center underground where they host their popular “Murder in the Mine” dinner theater nights. These themed, interactive events are for adults only.

After you check out Strataca, if you’re looking for more unique Kansas destinations, visit Lindsborg, which is America’s Little Sweden. And there’s the fun folk art in the small town of Lucas.

Read More: https://www.islands.com/1720754/strataca-kansas-underground-salt-museum-situated-below-small-town-unique-underrated/

 

 

 

IRS, Security Summit partners urge people to watch out for bad tax advice on social media

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Guest Columnist
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The Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners issued a consumer alert today about the growing threat of bad tax advice on social media that continues to dupe people into filing inaccurate tax returns.

On day two of the ninth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week, the IRS and the Security Summit partners are spotlighting the wildly inaccurate tax claims that continuing building across social media. These scams take many different forms and make outlandish promises to inflate refunds.

“The growth of bad tax advice on social media continues to grow, luring unsuspecting taxpayers into filing bad tax returns,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “We urge people to do some research before falling for these scams. Finding a trusted tax professional or visiting IRS.gov is a better way to research a tax issue than relying on someone talking in their car or their kitchen about a non-existent tax hack.”

For years, members of the Security Summit – representing state tax agencies, tax professionals, tax software companies and the financial industry – have worked to raise awareness about tax-related identity theft and related tax scams. To counter this growing threat of tax scams, many of the Summit members have joined together to launch a related group, the Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats (CASST).

Throughout the past year, the IRS and the Summit partners saw an escalation of new scams and bad advice surface on social media that promise to magically enrich taxpayers. This year, the public has seen the emergence and rapid spread of financial scams ranging from the Fuel Tax Credit on federal tax returns to “pig-butchering” scams that involve investments in fake cryptocurrencies that ultimately leave the victims penniless.

The newly formed CASST alliance, comprising dozens of public and private sector organizations, is working cooperatively to combat these growing scams and protect taxpayers against filing of inaccurate tax returns fueled by social media advice. Increasing awareness of new and emerging tax schemes on social media is one part of a multi-pronged effort by the CASST coalition to combat tax scams and fraud.

Scams that promise easy money through claiming inaccurate credits or other schemes are seen in social media and in other places. Some producers of misleading content on social media are driven by a criminal profit motive, while others are simply trying to gain attention and clicks, with little regard for the risks it poses to their followers.

“Common wisdom dictates that if it sounds too good to be true, it often is, and that’s especially with some of the crazy ideas about taxes being spread on social media,” Werfel said. “Social media platforms are rife with influencers making claims about tax credits or deductions that stretch the truth or are outright lies, aimed at gaining themselves clout or pushing up their views. At the same time, this puts their audience’s tax returns and personal finances at risk. If people want good tax information on social media, they should follow options like a trusted tax professional or the IRS social media platforms.”

What to watch out for on social media

The IRS is aware of various filing season hashtags and social media topics leading to inaccurate and potentially fraudulent information. A common theme among many of these examples involves people trying to use legitimate tax forms for the wrong reason.

The IRS has seen a spike this year in the following types of scams on social media:

“Self Employment Tax Credit”: Promoters on social media have made misleading claims that taxpayers – particularly self-employed individuals and gig economy workers — can get up to $32,000 through the so-called “Self Employment Tax Credit.”

In reality, there is no “Self Employment Tax Credit”; rather, scammers are advising taxpayers to incorrectly use Form 7202, Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals, to improperly claim the specialized and very limited Sick Leave and Family Leave Credit on their income.

People who were self-employed could claim credits for Sick and Family Leave only for limited COVID-19 related circumstances in 2020 and 2021; the credit is not available for 2023 or 2024 tax returns. The IRS has a detailed set of FAQs describing the very technical requirements for meeting this provision of the law.

Household employment taxes: In a variation on the “Self Employment Tax Credit” scheme, taxpayers are being advised to “invent” fictional household employees and then file Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, to claim a refund based on false sick and family medical leave wages they never paid.

Fuel Tax Credit: This specialized credit is designed for off-highway business and farming use. Taxpayers need a business purpose and a qualifying business activity such as running a farm or purchasing aviation gasoline to be eligible for the credit.

The vast majority of individual taxpayers do not qualify for the Fuel Tax Credit. It is only for businesses that use certain types of fuel (not for the gas people put in their car). Yet promoters increasingly advise ineligible taxpayers to claim it, and then the promoters line their own pockets by charging the individual a hefty fee.

Inflated income and withholding: This scheme encourages people to use tax software to manually fill out Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and include false income information. Scam artists suggest people make up large income and withholding figures, as well as the employer from which it’s coming. They then instruct people to file the bogus tax return electronically in hopes of getting a substantial refund – sometimes as much as five figures – due to the large amount of withholding.

Claim of Right: In this long-seen scheme, taxpayers are advised to file tax returns and attempt to take a deduction equal to the entire amount of their wages. Promoters advise them to label the deduction as “a necessary expense for the production of income” or “compensation for personal services actually rendered.” The deduction is based on a complete misinterpretation of the Internal Revenue Code and has no basis in law.

The IRS has seen hundreds of thousands of dubious claims like these, leading to refunds being delayed and the need for taxpayers to show legitimate documentation to support their claims – which they often don’t have. Many of these scams were highlighted during this spring’s annual Dirty Dozen series. The IRS is on the lookout for each of these types of false tax claims as well as others.

The IRS and Summit partners urge taxpayers to exercise caution when filing their tax returns and ensure they only claim credits to which they’re entitled. Taxpayers who did fall victim need to follow steps to verify their eligibility for the claim. Otherwise, they could face audits and expensive fines; in some cases, they could be subject to federal criminal prosecution and imprisonment.

If individuals have doubts about the legitimacy of a particular tax credit, they should review the many resources available on IRS.gov or seek advice from a qualified tax professional and, in some cases, file an amended return to remove claims for which they’re ineligible to avoid potential penalties.

‘Tis the season

These threats are present year-round, but the approach of the 2025 tax filing season means that misinformed influencers and outright scammers will intensify efforts to persuade the public to take their bad advice.

Instead of looking to shady or ill-informed influencers on social media, a better option for taxpayers to learn how to properly use tax forms and claim credits is to go to IRS.gov and follow IRS social media channels.

  • IRS.gov has a forms repository with legitimate and detailed instructions for taxpayers on how to fill out the forms properly.
  • Use IRS.gov to find the official IRS social media accounts, or other government sites, to fact check information.

Taxpayers should also consider consulting a tax pro if they’re thinking of applying tax advice seen on social media to their own tax situations.

Pass it on

The IRS encourages the public to report improper and abusive tax schemes, as well as tax return preparers who knowingly prepare improper returns, including “ghost preparers.”

To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers, and any supporting material to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.

Mail:

Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center MS7900
1973 N. Rulon White Blvd
Ogden, UT 84404
Fax: 877-477-9135

Alternatively, taxpayers and tax professionals may report the information to the IRS Whistleblower Office for possible monetary award.

Taxpayers can also report scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration or the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The Report Phishing and Online Scams page at IRS.gov provides complete details.

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