Star Tribune
Don’t let “what was” keep you from “what is” when it comes to financial decisions
When I was 40 years old, I “ran” a marathon.
I should say I “finished” a marathon. My young children grabbed my hands at mile 17 and said, “Daddy, we’ll run with you,” which soon turned into, “Daddy, we don’t even need to run!” as their walk soon outpaced my stride.
Back then, I enjoyed going out and finding different places to run. I made sure I started each run with gratitude for being able to do so. But that was then: My arthritic knees now keep me from running. Running is what was, so I have to accept what is.
It’s important when clients face decisions that they don’t focus on what was and instead concentrate on what is. Recently, clients were talking about wanting to leave the family cabin to their adult children after they pass because they had so many great times together. The memories are something to cherish, but they represent what was. Those memories involved the family as it was. When the parents pass, that family no longer exists.
New memories will fill in, but they will look different from the old ones. “What is” will be trying to figure among the siblings who does what, who pays for what, and who uses it when. What I try to communicate to clients is: If the siblings would not be buying a cabin together, they should not be inheriting one, either.
When you think about where you want to live, concentrate on what is. Cities are constantly changing. School systems keep evolving. Quiet communities of the past can now seem overrun or teeming with modern-day conveniences. What one person terms progress another terms excess. When you are choosing where to plant yourself, take time to understand what currently is.
When you are ready to sell your home, remember, you bought what was but are selling what is. That means what was fresh at the time you bought it likely hasn’t stayed that way. No one cares what you paid for or put into the house. They are dealing with their own “what is,” so are thinking about what they are paying for it and putting into it. If you haven’t kept up with maintenance or style changes, then your pool of buyers shrinks to those with extra money and imagination.
Don’t run from loving what was because it helps you appreciate your past. Recognizing what is will help determine your future.
DULUTH — A Duluth man who said he doesn’t remember killing his girlfriend pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent Tuesday in St. Louis County court — a plea deal that could land him in prison longer than sentencing guidelines would dictate.
Dale John Howard, 25, told Judge Theresa Neo that he doesn’t remember it but believes he caused the death of his girlfriend, Allisa Marie Vollan, 27, on March 22. Vollan, described on a fundraising site as a “bright young lady” with “an abundance of friends,” had a no-contact order against Howard at the time of her death. Howard could be sentenced to 20 years in prison — more than seven years longer than Minnesota’s presumptive guideline for the murder. According to the county attorney’s office, the longer sentence is legal because of the active domestic abuse no-contact order against him.
Howard’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 14.
According to court documents, officers responded to a morning call at Howard’s Central Hillside apartment and found him beneath a blanket with Vollan, who was dead. He told officers that he had hung out with Vollan late the previous night, then left to meet friends at a bar, and Vollan went to sleep in a guest room. When he tried to move her into his bedroom the next morning, she wasn’t breathing. He called his father, who was at the apartment when Duluth police arrived.
Neighbors in the upper level of the duplex told officers that, in the time before Howard would have left for the bar, they heard a woman crying and an angry male voice. They heard muffled moaning, thuds and the sound of something being dragged. They recorded it.
A preliminary autopsy by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office found that Vollan had likely been smothered.
Earlier the same month, Howard had been arrested after neighbors saw him repeatedly slam Vollan’s head into a door. The no-contact was issued by a St. Louis County judge.
Minneapolis School Board Member Fathia Feerayarre, who represented District 3 in the city’s center since January 2023, has resigned effective immediately, the district announced Tuesday.
Her departure comes too late to add the seat to the November ballot, however, meaning her colleagues will have to appoint her successor in a process and under a timeline to be outlined next week.
Feerayarre ran unopposed in 2022 as part of a four-candidate slate endorsed by the Minneapolis DFL and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and was set to serve until Jan. 4, 2027.
Board Chair Collin Beachy, who also was part of that four-person slate, said in a news release: “I thank Ms. Feerayarre for her service to the Minneapolis Public Schools community as a member of the school board. We all wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Minneapolis School Board Member Fathia Feerayarre, who represented District 3 in the city’s center since January 2023, has resigned effective immediately, the district announced Tuesday.
Her departure comes too late to add the seat to the November ballot, however, meaning her colleagues will have to appoint her successor in a process and under a timeline to be outlined next week.
Feerayarre ran unopposed in 2022 as part of a four-candidate slate endorsed by the Minneapolis DFL and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and was set to serve until Jan. 4, 2027.
Board Chair Collin Beachy, who also was part of that four-person slate, said in a news release: “I thank Ms. Feerayarre for her service to the Minneapolis Public Schools community as a member of the school board. We all wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
