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By Craig Gocken In central Illinois, agriculture is a major industry. Farmers combine their own hard work with the rich soil of the area to build successful farming operations. In addition to many large and small farms, our community is also home to many growing businesses that provide the services and products that farmers need

By Dan Brough If you follow the news at all, you probably know that a new bill cutting taxes was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President at the end of 2017.  Talk about what might be in the bill had been swirling in the media for weeks.  But now that the finalized

By Matt Clark, President & CEO of Federated Bank When you reach a milestone in your life, it’s always good to look back and take stock of where you have been.  Since Federated Bank will be celebrating 100 years of service this year, we are taking this opportunity to look back at our history.  Keep

By Joan Honeycutt As we put away the Christmas decorations and settle in for the winter, we can’t help but take inventory of our finances and plan for the coming year. Whether you call them New Year’s Resolutions or not, you will probably make some plans to achieve goals.  Many of us want to become

By Steve Wedig Most of us are creatures of habit.  We get used to doing things a certain way, and we just continue on doing them that way.  Sometimes even when we know that there is a better option, we are hesitant to make a change.  While this is a common approach, it is not

The holidays are right around the corner, which means the country is gearing up for shopping sprees and a surge of online purchases. Shopping online definitely has its benefits. You don’t have to deal with the crowds, and with a lot of companies, the shipping is free! But with a high alert for internet security,

By Craig Gocken This is the season for thankfulness.  It is the time of year that we consider all that we have to be thankful for.  For many of us, the list is long.  In the cold weather, we are thankful that we have homes to keep us warm.  As we attend Thanksgiving feasts, we

By Tom Cleary You may have heard financial experts talk about emergency savings funds.  Perhaps you have money saved for an emergency.  Or maybe you hear this term and just simply stop listening.  If you have neglected putting money away in anticipation of the unexpected, you are not alone.  As this article notes, a recent

By Domi Garcia It was recently reported that Equifax experienced a significant data breach.  You may have heard this news and wondered if it is important to you or whether it will affect you personally.  If you are concerned about this data breach, you are not alone.  We all understand how important it is to

By Cindy Cabbage There are many reasons that homeowners choose to embark on home renovation projects.  Sometimes a home must be modified to meet the needs of a growing family or a changing situation.  Other times damage from a storm or fire make home improvements necessary.  In other situations, the renovation is meant to simply