By Nathaniel Sillin

Does your college-bound freshman know how to handle money at school?

Campus life can test even the most disciplined young adults on money matters. In the final weeks before you help your student pack up for the dorm, it's a good time to pack in some money lessons as well.

Start with what college will cost. On average, the Class of 2015 graduated with a little over $35,000 in student loan debt, according to Edvisors (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/). Depending on your financial situation and how you've planned for your child's college education, start with an overview of how your student's college costs will impact your finances now and after graduation.

If your child will be paying off personal or student loans once they graduate, discuss how that reality should define financial choices throughout college. That doesn't mean saving every penny and having no fun at all, but such a talk should reinforce how handling money intelligently, setting priorities and getting a jump on savings can position your child for a much stronger financial start upon graduation.

Train them to budget. If your child hasn't learned budgeting skills (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/budgeting),it's time for a crash course. Budgeting is the first essential skill in personal finance. Teaching children to budget now gives them a head start on dealing with post-graduation debt or long-term goals like affording a home or car. Because teens often live their lives on smartphones, familiarize yourself with the growing range of budgeting apps (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/04/27/budgeting-apps-affect-spending-habits/26190991/) to keep their money management on course.

Talk through on-campus banking and credit needs. Many parents start their kids with custodial savings and checking accounts at their local bank when they are younger. If your bank has branches in the teen's college town, that relationship can easily continue. Responsible credit card use is also wise to start in college. Keep in mind that The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (or Credit CARD) Act of 2009 requires that anyone under 21 without independent income have a co-signer to qualify for a card. As such, you'll be able to keep track of your child's credit use. However, if they default, you'll be on the hook - so monitor your child's bank and credit relationships closely until you agree they're ready to manage them on their own.

Cover credit monitoring and identity theft. With smarter online thieves emerging every day, your child is at risk of identity theft from the minute he or she is assigned a Social Security number. While most teens generally don't have a credit report until they start earning a paycheck at age 16, be on the lookout for fraudulent activity earlier (http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0040-child-identity-theft) and make sure they get in the habit of ordering the three free credit reports (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action) they are entitled to each year. Throughout college, consider sitting down with children so you can review their annual credit reports together.

Bottom line: There's plenty to do in the final weeks before your kids leave for college. Don't forget to reinforce important money lessons before they go.

Des Moines, IA?Tony Roper was named Ruan's 2014 Driver of the Year Wednesday after being selected from a pool of more than 4,200 professional drivers.

Roper, who operates out of T561 in Muscatine, IA, has been with Ruan since 1991 and has logged more than 2 million miles during his 23 years as a professional truck driver.

Ruan began the search for its seventh Driver of the Year when 154 drivers from Ruan's 270 operations were named Region Finalists based on length of service, safety performance, driving records and exceptional customer service. Vice presidents of operations then narrowed the field further to 16 Region Winners, who traveled to Des Moines with a guest July 14-16 for an award ceremony and other festivities. Out of the 16 Region Winners, Ruan's senior leaders selected Roper as the 2014 Driver of the Year.

"Each of you is an outstanding performer," said Ruan President and CEO Ben McLean at the award ceremony at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. "You consistently exceed our safety and service standards to meet the needs of our customers. This recognition is our way of honoring your dedication, professionalism and ongoing commitment to Ruan."

Each Region Winner was awarded a trophy and cash prize at the Driver and Terminal of the Year award ceremony at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Roper, who hauls for Ruan customer HNI, was honored with a trophy, a cash prize and the 2014 Driver of the Year title.

Terminal of the Year

For the second year in a row, Ruan honored a Terminal of the Year. Our field team members?terminal managers, transportation supervisors, dispatchers, professional drivers, office assistants, technicians and other personnel?all work together to safely and efficiently deliver our customers' products each and every day. The Terminal of the Year program is intended to recognize the efforts of Ruan terminal teams as they demonstrate our Guiding Principles of Safety Focus, People First, Customer Satisfaction, Exceptional Performance and Continuous Improvement.

The Neosho, MO, operation, led by Terminal Manager Ruff Yokley, was named the 2014 Terminal of the Year at the award ceremony.

The Neosho terminals, which serve several customers including Jarden Consumer Solutions, Gavilon and Marmon/Keystone, were selected based on their safety records, exceptional customer service and overall performance.

To select the terminal of the year, each of our vice presidents of operations selected a terminal in their region that performs at the highest level. That performance was based on 12 criteria ranging from safety, employee retention, customer satisfaction and financial performance. Then each Region Finalist terminal completed a comprehensive workbook that combined data and answers to open-ended questions. Our senior team then narrowed the field to three Region Winners and selected the Terminal of the Year.

"All of the 10 terminals nominated demonstrate the quality and operational excellence we aspire to have across our company," McLean said at the award ceremony.

The 2014 Terminal of the Year received a trophy, awards for all winning terminal team members and a corporate-hosted celebration at the terminal, which will take place in August.

About Ruan

Founded in 1932, Ruan is a family owned transportation management company, providing Dedicated Contract Carriage and Supply Chain Solutions to customers across the country. With more than 83 years of transportation management experience, Ruan is one of the top 10 privately owned transportation service companies in the country. Ruan endows the World Food Prize, the foremost international award recognizing excellence and progress in overcoming global food production and distribution challenges. For more information about Ruan, visit www.ruan.com.

DES MOINES, IA (07/16/2015)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald announced that, as a result of Tuesday's online auction, $100 million will be deposited in thirty-four banks across the state. The state will receive an average rate of return of 0.23% on these six-month certificates of deposit. "This was our most successful auction to date," Fitzgerald said. "This is the largest amount we have distributed at one time through this program."

Fitzgerald created the Invest in Iowa program in 1983 as a way to deposit state funds in Iowa financial institutions. The treasurer's office uses an auction format offering state deposits to Iowa banks six times a year, which allows the state to earn a competitive return on the funds while ensuring local banks have the money they need to keep the economy moving. The financial institutions hold the funds as CDs and use the money to make loans. Currently the Invest in Iowa program has over $262 million invested in Iowa banks

"Demand for funds has been great this year," Fitzgerald stated. "This is a reflection of the current market. I am glad this program is available to help facilitate lending around the state."

Invest in Iowa quarterly auctions are held on the second Tuesday of January, April, July and October. In response to growing interest in this program, two auctions offering one-year term CDs are also held throughout the year. The next auction is scheduled for August 18, 2015 at 10 a.m and will offer one-year term CDs. Each auction has an established minimum interest rate and a minimum bid. To learn more about the Invest in Iowa program, visit IowaTreasurer.gov, select "Invest in Iowa" under the "For Businesses" tab or contact the treasurer's office at 515-281-5368.

###

SPRINGFIELD - Lance Trover, Director of Communications, issued the following statement:

"Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls will leave town without a responsible, balanced budget and without any reforms while taking a pay raise for themselves. That's unfair to taxpayers and the people they represent. It is time to stop protecting the political class at the expense of the middle class.

"Everyone knows the status quo is broken and Illinois needs to change. Governor Rauner is committed to enacting a true balanced budget and real reforms to grow the economy and free up resources to protect the most vulnerable. The legislature should join the governor in committing to move the state forward."