Hastings man turns to chainsaw art after being laid off
Recent statistics show nearly one in ten people over the age of 50 lost their job last year and had to figure out the next step. A new survey by resume advice provider "My Perfect Resume" shows a majority of workers are worried about losing their jobs this year.
A Hastings Minnesota man who found a way to make the most of his recent lay off.
Dean Williams is now a chainsaw artist, but that wasn't his first career. He worked as a carpenter until he became the victim of downsizing. That's when Williams decided to follow his passion. The chainsaw was his creative outlet.
"Every job that everybody has is art," said Williams.
He eventually opened a log furniture and chainsaw business, taking orders and selling sculptures out of his home.
Williams's wife Teresa joined him after she too was laid off from her job as an accountant. She runs this CNC machine making custom signs.
"My favorite step is doing the painting. The only regret is I wish it had come together years ago," said Teresa.
Williams message to others facing a similar fate, find your passion and turn it into opportunity.
"Everything I do , I want to last as long as possible," said Williams.
It is a nice way to make a living, it's a lot of work. Seeing his customers reactions make it well worth all the effort.
"You just keep on striving for what you do and in time, you'll fall in place to be where you want to be in life," said Williams.
William's company, DSW Log Designs, does custom work. You can find him on Facebook by searching his company's name.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Senate Republicans ram Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' through key test vote
Senate Republicans rammed President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" through a procedural hurdle after hours of tense negotiations that put the megabill's fate into question. Speculation swirled whether Republicans would be satisfied by the latest edition of the mammoth bill, which was released just before the stroke of midnight Saturday morning. Nearly every Republican, except Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., all voted to unlock a marathon 20-hour debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could only afford to lose three votes. Though successful, the 51-49 party line vote was not without drama. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., flipped his vote from a 'no' to 'yes' in dramatic fashion, as he and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, made their way to the Senate floor accompanied by Vice President JD Vance. Vance was called in case he was needed for a tie-breaking vote, but only his negotiating services ended up being used. No lawmaker wanted to be the fourth and final decisive vote to kill the bill. Republican leadership kept the floor open for nearly four hours while negotiations, first on the Senate floor and then eventually in Thune's office, continued. The bill won't immediately be debated thanks to Senate Democrats' plan to force the reading of the entire, 940-page legislative behemoth on the Senate floor – a move that could drain several hours and go deep into the night. The megabill's fate, and whether it could pass its first test, was murky at best after senators met behind closed doors Friday, and even during another luncheon on Saturday. Lingering concerns in both chambers about Medicaid — specifically the Medicaid provider tax rate and the effect of direct payments to states — energy tax credits, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and others proved to be pain points that threatened the bill's survival. However, changes were made at the last-minute to either sate holdouts or comply with the Senate rules. Indeed, the Senate parliamentarian stripped numerous items from the bill that had to be reworked. The Medicaid provider tax rate was kept largely the same, except its implementation date was moved back a year. Also included as a sweetener for lawmakers like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and others was a $25 billion rural hospital stabilization fund over the next five years. Collins said that she would support the bill through the procedural hurdle, and noted that the rural hospital stabilization fund was a start, but whether she supports the bill on final passage remains to be seen. "If the bill is not further changed, I will be leaning against the bill, but I do believe this procedural vote to get on the bill so that people can offer amendments and debate it is appropriate," Collins said. Tillis, who is also concerned about the changes to Medicaid and would like to see a return to the House GOP's version, said that he would not vote in favor of the bill during final passage. The SALT deduction included in the House GOP's version of the bill also survived, albeit the $40,000 cap will remain intact for five years. After that, the cap will revert to its current $10,000. Other sweeteners, like expanding nutrition benefit waivers to Alaska and a tax cut for whaling boat captains, were thrown in, too, to get moderates like Murkowski onboard with the bill. Lee announced that he withdrew his open lands sale provision, which proved a sticking point for lawmakers in Montana and Idaho. Still, Republicans who are not satisfied with the current state of the bill will use the forthcoming "vote-a-rama," when lawmakers can offer an unlimited number of amendments, to try and change as much as they can before final passage. Democrats, however, will use the process to inflict as much pain as possible on Republicans. Once the amendment marathon concludes, which could be in the wee hours of Sunday morning, lawmakers will move to a final vote to send the bill, which is an amendment to the House GOP's version of the "big, beautiful bill," back to the lower chamber. From there, it's a dead sprint to get the package on the president's desk by July 4. In a statement of administration policy obtained by Fox News Digital, Trump signaled that he would sign the bill. "President Trump is committed to keeping his promises," the memo read. "And failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal."
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Senate advances Trump's "big, beautiful bill" in narrow vote
Washington — The Senate voted to advance President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" Saturday, in a key test for the tax and spending measure ahead of a final vote expected in the coming days. In a 51 to 49 vote, all but two Republicans voted to advance the centerpiece legislation of Mr. Trump's second-term agenda Saturday, following hours of delay as the GOP appeared to iron out last-minute details and support. The vote stayed open for more than three hours as holdouts sought assurances from GOP leaders before supporting moving forward on the measure. Vice President JD Vance came to Capitol Hill Saturday night in case he would need to cast a tie-breaking vote, which he ultimately did not. Sens. Thom Tillis and Rand Paul were the only two Republicans to vote against the measure. In a Truth Social post Saturday night as the roll call vote dragged on, Mr. Trump indicated he would work to support primary challenges to Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026. "Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against "Senator Thom" Tillis," Mr. Trump wrote. "I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America." Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota walks to the Senate floor following a meeting with Senate Republicans in the U.S. Capitol on June 28, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Senate Republicans overnight released a new version of the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill," as they approach President Trump's July 4 deadline. Al Drago / Getty Images The vote came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Friday he wasn't certain he had the votes to advance the bill, as the upper chamber awaited decisions on whether a number of provisions complied with the Senate's reconciliation rules, which allow Republicans to pass the bill with a simple majority. Major policy disputes also remained. Senate Republicans did not release an updated version of their bill until late Friday night, giving senators little time to digest it before taking an initial procedural vote that's necessary to move toward final passage. Mr. Trump has pressured Congress to send him the sprawling package — which includes tax cuts and funding for his immigration and defense priorities — by the Fourth of July holiday. In a statement, obtained by CBS News on Saturday, the White House said that a failure to pass the bill would be the "ultimate betrayal." "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reflects the shared priorities of both the Congress and the Administration. Therefore, the Congress should immediately pass this bill and send it to the President's desk by July 4, 2025, to show the American people that they are serious about 'promises made, promises kept,'" the statement said. "President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal." In the bill, Republicans proposed slashing funding for Medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income individuals and people with disabilities, and food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or food stamps — to help pay for those priorities. Over the last week, the Senate parliamentarian determined that some of the most controversial provisions in the package violated a rule that governs the reconciliation process, which requires that the legislation only include provisions that have a direct impact on federal spending. The rulings directed Republicans to either drop those sections from the package or rewrite them. Meanwhile, in the leadup to the vote, disputes over Medicaid spending cuts, the state and local tax deduction and a planned debt ceiling increase still lingered among Republicans. In a promising sign for Senate leadership hours ahead of the vote, two Republican senators who expressed opposition to provisions in the bill said they would vote to advance it. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she would not vote against the measure advancing, but noted that did not indicate her vote on final passage. "If the bill is not further changed, I would be leaning against the bill," Collins said Saturday afternoon. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who has criticized the bill's Medicaid cuts, said he will be a "yes" vote on final passage because his state will be receiving more funding for the program. "With the delay in the provider tax framework that we were able to get and with the changes to the rural hospital fund, Missouri's Medicaid dollars will actually increase over the next four years. So we will get more money — Medicaid funding — over baseline until 2030. Any changes to our provider framework in Missouri will not take place until the next decade," Hawley said Saturday. "I want to be clear, I'm going to spend the next however long trying to make sure that the cuts that we have successfully delayed never take place," Hawley said. "I think that this effort to cut Medicaid funding is a mistake. We've been able for Missouri to delay it. As I said, we're actually going to get more money in the next four years. But that's not true of all the states." However, as a possible vote drew closer Saturday, a handful of Senate Republicans remained publicly opposed. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he would vote against advancing the bill and would be a "no" on final passage. And Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin had been vocal about their opposition in recent weeks, citing concern about its impact on the national deficit. Paul was among a handful of Republican senators who golfed with the president Saturday, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. Asked whether Paul could be convinced to support the bill, Graham said, "There's some things we might be able to do if we need to, but I don't think he'll vote for final passage." With a 53-seat majority, Senate Republicans could only afford to lose three votes with all Democrats voting against the legislation. House Republicans narrowly passed a version of the bill in May. and the lower chamber is expected to be called back to Washington to vote on the Senate version if it survives the upper chamber in the coming days. But House Republicans have warned that any major changes made by the Senate put its ability to make it through the House again at risk. Thune said on the Senate floor Saturday afternoon that "53 members will never agree on every detail of legislation." But he urged that Republicans are "united in our commitment to what we're doing in this bill." "It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," Thune added. But Democrats, without the ability to block the bill from passing, pledged to drag out the process. According to a source, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told Senate Democrats to prepare for a full reading of the legislation on the floor, which would delay a vote on final passage by hours. The minority leader announced the move immediately following Saturday's vote. "Senate Republicans are scrambling to pass a radical bill released to the public in the dead of night, praying the American people don't realize what's in it," Schumer said. "If Senate Republicans won't tell the American people what's in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish." and contributed to this report.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2,000-GPU data center launches powered exclusively by reusable batteries — 12-megawatt storage system built on hundreds of repurposed EV batteries
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A data center housing 2,000 GPUs is now successfully run with off-the-grid power using solar panels and repurposed batteries. According to Bloomberg, the site is powered by solar panels that generate at least 12 megawatts of power and backed up by reused EV batteries with up to 63 megawatt-hours of capacity. This should be sufficient power for approximately 10,000 average U.S. homes, with the batteries providing power for over five hours. 2,000 GPUs have an estimated power draw of about four megawatts, so the on-site battery capacity should be enough for around 15 hours. The company behind this project is Redwood Materials, which was founded by JB Straubel, one of the people behind Tesla. Redwood's main business is battery recycling, and it has been focusing on getting battery materials from old EV modules that are no longer useful for transportation and have since been disposed of. But even though these batteries have already reached their end-of-life, Redwood discovered that they still retain about 50% of their capacity. This meant that they can be reused for other purposes that do not require high performance, such as driving an electric car. 'Think of this almost like a retirement home for these batteries,' said Redwood Materials Chief Commercial Officer Cal Lankton. These reused batteries are much cheaper than buying new ones while simultaneously delivering the same performance. So, aside from reducing the burden of disposing of old batteries, it also allows businesses to save on capital expenditure when setting up a backup power supply. Crusoe Energy operates the data center that Redwood is powering with its reused EV batteries. The former is part of the $500-billion OpenAI Stargate project, although it's unclear if the Nevada site is part of that initiative. Lankton says that they expect to deploy more similar systems for the remainder of 2025, with 5 GWh capacity slated to go live next year. Redwood also claims that it's working on 100 MW projects — a crucial development for power-hungry data centers that require stable and consistent power. The exponential growth of data centers is putting a strain on our current electricity supply. Many tech companies are investing in small modular reactors to control their own power, but it will still take years before this technology starts to go online. While already available renewable energy like wind and solar is ideal, they're oftentimes unreliable due to changing conditions, forcing data centers to rely on fossil fuel sources. So, solutions like this help ensure that these tech companies will get the kind of clean power they need without putting a strain on the local electric grid. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
