Amy Lindgren

Now and then I like to pull together ideas I’ve been musing about. Here are a couple of things currently on my desk.

Office! I meant office!

In last week’s column I repeatedly used the term RTW (return to work). At least I’m consistent, but I should have been using RTO (return to office). Longtime reader Barb C. brought this to my attention, noting “Return to work makes it sound like we were on a work hiatus this whole time. I assure you, we were not!”

Nope, you weren’t and neither was/is anyone else whose work happens to occur somewhere other than a communal workplace. After acknowledging my error, I popped onto the internet to see how RTW and RTO are being used by others.

What I saw erased any lingering doubt about which is the better phrase. Although I had imagined the W would be more inclusive (because not every remote worker is “office”-based), I soon understood just how frustrated home-based workers have been about this issue.

As noted on several discussion boards, the more we describe a change in the work setting as a return to work, the more we imply that work wasn’t being conducted before. While that’s merely annoying in some contexts, it’s demoralizing for public employees who already fight an uphill battle related to their image. As a Reddit poster succinctly wrote, “Language matters.” Consider me educated.

Remembering on-the-job training

There has been a lot of talk about the value of apprenticeships, trade schools, and non-college ways of learning work skills. I’m all for it, and try hard not to point out my decades of columns as proof. After all, no one likes a know-it-all. But it does seem important to tie the parts together, so “new” ideas are recognized for the foundation they stand on.

Ready? In decades past, fewer people went to college. Those that did tended to go into what became white-collar jobs. They weren’t necessarily trained in college for those jobs, but were chosen for the perception that college had made them into thinkers, analysts, writers, etc. They were trained on the job, famously starting out in the mail room or on the sales desk before gaining their striped ties (because they were more often men than women).

Meanwhile, their friends who didn’t go to college were enrolling in trade school or going directly to work in manufacturing, retail, hospitality, construction …basically everything else. They also didn’t show up with the needed skills, unless they had worked in a family business or had related classes in high school. They, too, were trained on the job.

In other words — not to be too blunt about it — employers took responsibility for training their workers to work for them. Sometimes they found people already trained (such as folks just out of the military), but they didn’t count on such fortune as their only pipeline. Nor did they demand previous training or experience or certificates as the entry point for their jobs.

So that’s the foundation, prior to the explosion of external training programs that provided employers the promise / expectation / assumption of already-trained workers.

I’m skipping quite a lot here, including that people used to hang onto jobs for life if they could. Partly because they feared not getting on the escalator at the same floor if they tried to go elsewhere. And partly because employers sweetened the pot by providing pensions and not cutting staff on a whim.

Too much has changed in all aspects of our lives to imagine going back. Not to mention, those glory days were only glorious for certain segments of our population, who still paid a price for all that glory. My point isn’t to wax nostalgic but to ask frankly: Whatever happened to on-the-job training?

I’m asking for your thoughts on this but I’ll cover some ground first by saying I know some companies have made headlines partnering with schools or developing pipelines for kids coming out of the justice system. And I know that apprenticeships are gaining traction again. Daily press releases also keep me abreast of individual initiatives tucked into different pockets of the country.

But I’m still asking. Given the constant drumbeat of articles and surveys where employers say their jobs demand skills their applicants don’t have: Why aren’t they training them?

It’s got to be more complicated than I think, but then I wonder if it is. Anyone?

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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.

By Alex Brown, Stateline.org

Hunters, hikers and outdoors lovers of all stripes mounted a campaign in June against a Republican proposal to sell off millions of acres of federal public land.

The public outcry was so forceful that the measure’s sponsor pledged to scale back the proposal. Then on Saturday, before an initial U.S. Senate vote on Republicans’ tax and spending cuts package, he withdrew it altogether.

But even though the land sales proposal was defeated, experts say federal lands face a slew of other threats from President Donald Trump’s administration. Agency leaders have proposed rolling back the “Roadless Rule” that protects 58 million acres from logging and other uses. Trump’s Justice Department has issued a legal opinion that the president is allowed to abolish national monuments. Regulators have moved to slash environmental rules to ramp up logging and oil and gas production. And Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of the agencies that manage federal lands.

“This is not over even if the sell-off proposal doesn’t make it,” said John Leshy, who served as solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Clinton administration. “The whole thing about leasing or selling timber or throwing them open to mining claims, that’s a form of partial privatization. It’s pretty much a giveaway.”

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has repeatedly described public lands as America’s “balance sheet.” He has argued that some lands could be used to provide housing, while calling for an expansion of mining and oil and gas drilling to increase their economic output.

“President Trump’s energy dominance vision will end those wars abroad, will make life more affordable for every family in America by driving down inflation,” Burgum said before his confirmation hearing.

Public lands advocates are bracing for ongoing battles for the rest of Trump’s term in office. They expect Republicans to add last-minute public lands amendments to other bills moving through Congress, and for land management agencies to attempt to strip protections from other federal lands. Given the vocal backlash to the initial sell-off plan, advocates expect future attempts to be shaped behind closed doors and advanced with little time for opponents to mount a defense.

Meanwhile, they expect states to play a key role in shaping those battles. In Western states, where most federally owned lands are located, many leaders from both parties view public lands as special places open to all Americans and critical for clean water, wildlife and tourism. But some conservatives resent the fact that large portions of their states are managed by officials in Washington, D.C., limiting development and private enterprise.

Officials in some states, including Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, have pushed lawsuits or resolutions seeking to force the feds to hand over huge amounts of land. Public land experts say the lawmakers behind those efforts will likely press harder now that Trump is in the White House. Such state-level takeover attempts could shape the proposals that emerge from Trump’s allies in Washington.

Sell-off proposal

The firestorm over federal lands exploded when U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, introduced legislation that would force the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to sell up to 3.3 million acres of land. The measure also would direct the agencies to make more than 250 million additional acres eligible for sale.

“We’ve never seen a threat on this magnitude ever,” said Devin O’Dea, Western policy and conservation manager with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “There’s been an overwhelming amount of opposition. We’ve seen record-breaking engagement on this issue.”

Lee, a longtime federal lands opponent, claimed the lands were needed for housing and argued the government has been a poor manager of its land.

“Washington has proven time and again it can’t manage this land,” Lee said in June when announcing the proposal. “This bill puts it in better hands.”

But a wide-ranging coalition of opponents argued that the proposal had no protections to ensure the lands would be used for affordable housing, and that many of the parcels eligible for sale had little housing potential. A furious social media campaign highlighted cherished hiking trails, fishing lakes and ski slopes that were in danger of being sold, urging people to call their lawmakers to oppose the measure.

In recent days, Montana Republican U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, as well as Idaho Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, came out in opposition to the land sale proposal. That put into question whether Lee’s legislation could earn even a simple majority.

Then the Senate parliamentarian ruled the sell-off could not be included in the reconciliation bill without a 60-vote majority. That ruling came a day after Lee posted on social media that he would be making changes to the bill in response to concerns from Hunter Nation, a nonprofit whose board includes Donald Trump Jr.

Lee released a scaled-back measure last week that would exempt national forest lands but would direct the Bureau of Land Management to sell up to 1.2 million acres. It would require land for sale to be within five miles of a population center and developed to provide housing.

Public land advocates say Lee’s changes did little to assuage their concerns. They argue that federal land sales or transfers should happen through the current, long-standing process, which requires local stakeholder input and directs the proceeds from land sales to be reinvested into conservation and public access on other parcels.

“It’s the overwhelming belief of hunters and anglers that the budget reconciliation process is not the appropriate vehicle for public land sales,” said O’Dea, with the hunting and fishing group.

In late June, Lee announced that he was withdrawing the proposal, saying that Senate rules did not allow him to include protections that land would not be sold to foreign interests. But he pledged to continue the battle over federal land ownership, working with Trump to “put underutilized federal land to work for American families.”

States’ role

While the sell-off proposal aligned with some state officials’ goal of taking over federal lands, some lands experts say private developers would have been the real winner.

“If the lands are transferred to the states without money, the states lose,” said Leshy, the former Interior Department official. “It’s a hit on their budget, which means they’re gonna have to sell them off. If states got a significant amount of public lands, a lot of that would end up in private hands.”

In Utah, where leaders have made the most aggressive push to take over federal lands, lawmakers argue that they could raise lease prices for oil and gas operations, bringing in enough revenue to cover the state’s management costs.

“The policy of the state is to keep these lands open and available to the public,” Speaker Mike Schultz, a Republican, told Stateline.

O’Dea pointed to an economic analysis of what it would cost Montana to take over federal lands. The report found it would cost the state $8 billion over 20 years to take on wildfire management, deferred maintenance and mine reclamation. He noted that many Western states have sold off a majority of the “trust lands” they were granted at statehood, undermining claims that a state takeover would leave lands in the public domain.

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Other proposals

While Lee’s land sales proposal has gotten the biggest headlines, public land advocates are fighting a multifront battle against the Trump administration’s moves to roll back the protected status of certain lands, slash environmental rules, and expand logging, mining and drilling operations.

“The approach is to throw as much as you can at the wall and see what sticks,” O’Dea said. “There’s only so much you can mobilize opposition to. There’s a huge risk that some of these things could fly under the radar.”

Some conservative states and industry groups say Trump is allowing federal lands to be used to their full economic potential. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said his constituents are “keenly aware of how the federal government’s ownership of 60 percent of Alaska’s lands can inhibit economic development and cause challenges for our communities.”

Leshy noted that public lands have proven to be a popular cause, but Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce could undermine public confidence that the federal government is capable of managing the land.

“if you make it terrible for long enough, maybe people say, ‘The feds shouldn’t be managing this, they do such a bad job,’” he said.

Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By CHRISTINA LARSON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ticks can be active in any season and it’s important to check for and remove the bloodsuckers as quickly as possible — especially after you’ve been outside hiking, gardening or enjoying nature.

“Humans are outside more in summer so we hear about more tick infections,” said Sam Telford, an infectious diseases expert at Tufts University. But he urges caution year-round because “every season is tick season.”

While tick populations vary a lot regionally, some Northeastern states including Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are seeing “above average” numbers of American dog ticks this year, said Telford.

And New York state is seeing a higher number of reported deer tick bites this year than last year, said Saravanan Thangamani, who studies tick-borne diseases at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

How ticks can spread disease

Ticks, like mosquitos, need to feed on blood. But instead of a quick prick, they are slow feeders – with hooked mouth parts that attach into the skin of deer, rabbits, dogs and people.

There are many different species of ticks found globally and only some spread germs that can make people sick. A main worry is blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, which can spread Lyme disease. Once found mainly in New England and pockets of the Midwest, the ticks are now present over a wider range.

A tick bite doesn’t always lead to illness. “If you remove a tick within 24 hours of attachment, it’s fairly unlikely that you will get infected,” said Telford.

How to check for ticks

Ticks are usually found low to the ground, in leaf litter or grassy areas.

Check your clothing for ticks and do a full-body check including under the arms and behind ears, knees and hair.

“If you’re out all day long, try to do a quick check for ticks every few hours,” said Bobbi Pritt at the Mayo Clinic. “When you go back inside, take a shower. That will wash off any unattached ticks, and you’re also more likely to spot any other ticks.”

Use tweezers to remove the tick and grasp it as close to the skin as possible to pull from the head. If you don’t have them handy, you can also use your fingernails, the edge of a credit card or any semi-sharp object.

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How to keep ticks away

The best approach is to minimize tick exposure altogether.

Bug sprays containing ingredients such as DEET can be sprayed on exposed skin to ward off ticks and mosquitos, said Telford.

Wear long sleeves and pants, and you can also spray clothing with repellents containing permethrin, a chemical similar to a natural ingredient in chrysanthemums that makes ticks avoid the flowers.

Protect your pets from ticks

Don’t forget to pay attention to outdoor pets. Medications can prevent fleas and ticks from attaching to a dog’s skin. But it’s still a good idea to check the fur after being outside.

“Wherever pets can’t easily groom themselves, that’s where the ticks will be – on the ears, around the muzzle area, under the collar, between the toes,” said Thangamani.

Dogs and cats roaming outdoors can also bring ticks into the house.

“If pets bring ticks in, a tick can live in the house for months until it finds its next blood meal,” which could be another household member, he said.

What to do after a tick bite

After removing the tick, keep an eye on the skin around the bite. If a rash or flu-like symptoms appear within several days or weeks, see a doctor.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend tick testing because results may not be reliable.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By Christine Benz of Morningstar for Associated Press

If you’re a do-it-yourself investor aiming to build a “no babysitter required” portfolio, here are the key steps to take.

Step 1: Find your portfolio’s true north

Give due consideration to your asset allocation. That decision will have the biggest impact on how your portfolio behaves in the future.

The tricky part about asset allocation, even a hands-off approach, is that the “right” asset allocation is often a moving target as retirement approaches.

Target-date funds elegantly address this issue by transitioning to a more conservative stance as the years go by. If you’re OK with an asset allocation that’s not necessarily customized to your particular situation, your quest for a low- or no-maintenance portfolio could begin and end with a good-quality target-date fund.

If you’d like to have more control over your asset allocation, think through your risk capacity and risk tolerance.

Target-date funds’ asset allocations can be a decent starting point when deciding how to allocate assets depending on life stage. You can also tailor your mix of aggressive and conservative investments, which is particularly valuable if you’re retired and actively spending from your portfolio.

Also give some thought to how your asset allocation will change over time. A good-quality target-date fund can help you visualize your portfolio’s glide path.

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Step 2: Eliminate redundant accounts

If your aim is to reduce complexity and oversight in your portfolio, you can slim down your number of accounts. Multiple rollover IRAs from previous employers, as well as straggler 401(k) assets, can create unnecessary complexity.

Just remember that the consolidation process can only go so far because some of your accounts will need to remain distinct for tax purposes.

You can combine multiple IRAs in your name, for example, but you won’t typically be able to combine your 401(k) with those IRAs unless you’ve retired or left your employer. Taxable nonretirement assets will need to remain distinct from IRAs and company retirement plans.

If you and your spouse each have assets in your own names, those accounts will need to remain distinct, too.

Step 3: Identify low-cost, well-diversified building blocks

Now, you can turn your attention to identifying the building blocks to populate the portfolio(s).

For your long-term investments, broad “total market” index funds and exchange-traded funds are the lowest-maintenance choices. The best aspect of these products is that a single fund will provide all (or almost all) of the exposure you need to a given asset class.

One fork in the road is whether to obtain your total market exposure via a traditional index fund or exchange-traded fund.

For your cash holdings, focus on products that are low-cost, well-diversified, and low-maintenance, like online savings accounts and money market mutual funds.

Step 4: Document your maintenance regimen

If you’ve followed the steps above, a thorough annual review should be enough.

This will be essential if you’re already retired because you’ll need to figure out how to extract cash for living expenses from your portfolio, and to take required minimum distributions from your tax-deferred accounts once you hit age 73.

I like the idea of using an investment policy statement that documents the basic outlines of your portfolio, how often you’ll check on your portfolio, and how you’ll do it.

If you’re retired, maintaining your portfolio will be a bit more complicated: Not only will you need to determine where you’ll go for cash to meet your living expenses, but you’ll also have to ensure that your portfolio withdrawals aren’t so rich that you risk early depletion of your portfolio. A retirement policy statement can help ensure that you’re thinking through and documenting all of these issues.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance

Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar.