Categories: Taxes

January 27, 2014 by Yvonne Levardi

Start your engines, folks: The 2014 tax filing season’s green flag waves for taxpayers on Jan. 31. Gather your W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, 1098s and any cancelled checks or receipts you might need, take a deep breath, and dive into tax filing fun!

OK, maybe it’s not always fun, but it can be made easier if you’re able to get assistance when you need it. Being a Veteran or an active-duty Servicemember means you have options for assistance, too.

Adds Five Illnesses Related to Service-Connected TBI

WASHINGTON – Some Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are diagnosed with any of five other ailments will have an easier path to receive additional disability pay under new regulations developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new regulation, which takes effect 30 days from today, impacts some Veterans living with TBI who also have Parkinson’s disease, certain types of dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures or certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. 

Categories: Appreciation

Senator Delivered Speech on Senate Floor Last Week Kicking-Off Series to Recognize & Honor the Lives of 198 KIA/MIA Vietnam Servicemembers from ND

BISMARCK, N.D. – As part of her push to recognize North Dakota servicemembers who gave their lives in the Vietnam War, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today met with Bismarck High School students to discuss their new collaborative effort to gather information and stories of these fallen men in efforts to honor their sacrifice and service to our nation.

Posted 5:11 pm, January 20, 2015, by , Updated at 10:31am, January 21, 2015

DENVER — Veterans Affairs executives in charge of four hospital projects currently over budget and years behind schedule were given bonuses, despite the administration admitting failures in their jobs.

By Grace Lyden on Nov 19, 2014 at 11:25 p.m.
Forum Reporter

MOORHEAD - After more than a year of living in motels, Melissa Rood has a home again.

It took that long because every time Rood, 53, applied for an apartment, landlords rejected her based on bad credit and a poor reference. A previous property owner claimed she owed rent and other fees, which she plans to dispute in court.

Those who served in Iraq, Afghanistan gravitate toward modern organizations

By Jacqueline Klimas - The Washington Times - Sunday, October 19, 2014

Kate Hoit served eight years in the Army Reserves, including a tour in Iraq, but when she tried to join her local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, someone asked whether she needed an application for military spouses instead.

By Leo Shane III and Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writers
Sep. 10, 2014 - 10:25AM

As a peer mentor for Wounded Warrior Project, Josh Renschler regularly helps severely injured veterans navigate the Veterans Affairs Department health care system.

So he’s no longer surprised by stories about delays and headaches in accessing medical care.

“We just keep seeing the same problems over and over again,” Renschler said. “It’s always a battle to get seen.”

By Leo Shane III
Military Times Staff writer
Jul. 29, 2014 - 05:08 PM

It’s been a quick courtship for Bob McDonald — and there will be no honeymoon.

In less than a month, the 61-year-old McDonald has gone from relative obscurity within the veterans community to the man charged with saving the Veterans Affairs Department. The Senate voted 97-0 on Tuesday to confirm him as the new VA secretary, with marching orders to start that work right away.

By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
Jun. 26, 2014 - 05:55PM

For dog lovers, it’s an absolute: The unconditional love of a canine companion heals the soul, reaching into the heart to cross canyons of loneliness and despair.

Military researchers now are trying to learn if there’s real science behind that semimystical link — and if so, whether it can help treat the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

May 30, 2014 | by Bryant Jordan, Military.com

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Friday said he is firing the top administrators of the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona -- ground zero for what Shinseki called a systemwide problem of officials manipulating patient appointment schedules.

Shinseki also said he will ask the Senate to vote on legislation granting him greater authority to fire managers across the VA responsible for what he called a breakdown in trust and integrity.