From left: Leon Negen, president and CEO of Hope Ministries, and Nix and Virginia Lauridsen at the groundbreaking of Hope’s new $14.3 million campus. The Lauridsens donated $2.5 million to the project.
Lauridsens are Lead Donors for New Hope Campus
BY STEVE DINNEN The Des Moines area is fast becoming an entertainment and cultural bright spot thanks to the generosity of Nix and Virginia Lauridsen. We have the Lauridsen Skatepark downtown. We have the Lauridsen Ampitheater at Water Works Park. There's the Lauridsen Savanna at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Center and the Lauridsen Fountain at Cowles Commons. And there's the Lauridsen Opera Center at the Indianola headquarters for Des Moines Metro Opera (Virginia is no slouch in opera circles; she was the third winner of the Luciano Pavarotti international voice competition.)
Now, they've turned their attention to homelessness. Hope Ministries is building a $14.3 million campus near East Douglas and Hubbell avenues that will include a 100-bed center providing a refuge for single women and mothers with children facing homelessness, hunger, abuse or addiction. Though the Lauridsens donated $2.5 million as lead donors on this project and certainly would have naming rights, it's named in honor of Steven R. Lankford, former president and CEO of Boyer Valley Co. The business is part of the successful animal sciences firm Lauridsen Group Inc. in Ankeny. Lankford, who died in 2016, was a longtime friend of the couple.
"Steve was kind, loyal and a shining example of overcoming obstacles to succeed in life," Nix said during groundbreaking on the facility. "It's fitting to name this campus in memory of Steve in the hope that all who benefit from the work that's done here will overcome their obstacles and realize their gifts."
Acknowledging the obvious—“we’ve given a lot of money to a lot of causes”—Virginia said she and Nix try to size up a giving opportunity by determining whether a project benefits the community as a whole. A charity has to be well run, she said, and when capital campaigns are involved, it “must have a reasonable goal that will come to fruition.”
The Lauridsens favor cultural and educational endeavors. But Virginia said mental health care is a high priority, too. It's “another huge need in our community.”
Virginia’s father was a minister, who passed along the notion that “if you have the ability to help someone, you are obligated to do so.”
“Philanthropy is really good for the soul,” she said. Turns out it’s pretty good for Des Moines, too.
Consider Options When Enrolling for Medicare BY STEVE DINNEN If you haven’t guessed by now from the never-ending late-night television ads, it’s Medicare enrollment time. We’re more than half-way through the period, which ends Dec. 7, the folks at Gilbert & Cook remind us (as if football hero turned TV pitchman Joe Namath hasn’t done enough on his own). During this open enrollment period you can tweak your policy if you wish, by going to a different insurer. The government farms out Medicare coverage administration to private companies, and they offer differing incentives, such as health club memberships or dental coverage, to entice you to do business with them. You can change your Part D plan, which covers prescription drugs and may change as you age into new medicine needs (drug coverage changes from year to year, too). You can switch between Medicare Advantage and original Medicare, or vice versa. A second re-enrollment period starts Jan. 1 and runs through March 31. It is just for Medicare Advantage enrollees and allows them to change to a different Advantage plan or to original Medicare. Shhh. This second period is so quiet that the government doesn’t allow it to be publicized. But don’t count on Joe Namath disappearing from the airwaves anytime soon.
IRS Raises Retirement Cap for 2023
BY MEDORA LEE FOR USA TODAY
Most of the news on inflation has been bad, but retirement savers may have been given a silver lining— if they’re savers and if they can afford to take advantage of it.
The IRS lifted last month by a record amount the cap on how much people can sock away in retirement accounts on a tax-deferred basis, mostly because of soaring inflation. But here's the rub: Only 14% of employees who participate in company retirement plans contributed last year to IRS limits, according to Vanguard.
Add four-decade-high inflation, and 54% of the 1,000 Americans Allianz Life surveyed said they've have stopped or reduced retirement savings. READ MORE
Gen X Average Net Worth and the Obstacles They Face
BY IVANA PINO FOR FORTUNE
Each generation faces its own unique set of obstacles when it comes to building wealth and growing their net worth—Generation X is no different. Dubbed the "lost generation,” this group of the population is sandwiched between two of the largest and most notable generations—millennials and baby boomers.
Generation X, or Gen X, is made up of individuals born between 1965 and 1980. The older members of this generation are in their late 50s and at the tail end of their careers, while the youngest are in their early 40s and entering their peak earning years.
According to the Federal Reserve's 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, Americans between the ages of 42 and 57 have an average mean net worth that ranges between $436,200 and $1.1 million.
What makes this generation unique is that their average age makes them both old enough to be financially responsible for elderly parents and young enough to still be supporting young children. For many Gen Xers, this has posed a unique set of challenges as it relates to building and maintaining their net worth. READ MORE.
