(upbeat rock music) - Coming up next on "NewsDepth," more high schools are teaching personal finances.

Abbey explains taxes in this week's Politics on Point.

A high school senior helps tackle food insecurity.

And we learn about the woman who started the Cleveland Orchestra.

"NewsDepth" is now.

(upbeat rock music) More public high schools across the country are requiring students to take a basic financial literacy course to graduate.

Hello everyone.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

Thank you for joining us.

Financial literacy is the ability to understand and manage your money.

Financial literacy includes budgeting, managing your debt and savings, investing and planning for the future.

In today's Consumer Watch, Jen Sullivan explains what students are learning in school about personal finances and how it can prepare them for the future.

- [Jen] From balancing a budget to learning how loans work, exposing your kids to financial life skills can help prepare them for the future.

- We wanna make sure that we have these basic skills to then adapt.

- [Jen] Billy Hensley is the president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education.

They work with local school districts across the country to incorporate financial literacy classes into their classrooms.

- When I was young, we didn't talk about money in the home.

We didn't talk about it in college, and when I got my first job, I had no idea how to navigate the benefits, the 401k, the match.

- [Jen] The NEFE conducted a survey last spring and found 82% of respondents who attended high school say they wish they were required to complete a personal finance class when they were in school.

Topping the list of skills they wish they had learned, spending and budgeting, followed by saving, earning an income, and managing credit.

At least 30 states seen in green on this map now have a financial education requirement.

The orange states have a partial requirement.

- In some states actually, the requirement actually requires FAFSA, which is the form you have to fill out to get financial aid and student loans, a certain level of literacy is part of the financial education course.

- [Jen] Many college graduates are already facing the financial burden of loans.

The Department of Education estimates current total student loan debt has topped $1.6 trillion.

Hensley says these classes will help students better understand how these loans work.

He hopes more states will adopt these courses.

- Thank you, Jen.

That brings us to our Write to Us for the week.

Why is financial literacy important?

We just learned that students feel that learning about personal finances is an important skill to have to be a responsible adult, and we'd like to know what you think.

Students can use our inbox form online, or send us an email to NewsDepth@ideastream.org to share their thoughts on financial planning.

Speaking of finances, high prices continue to weigh heavily on Americans' minds and wallets.

The good news is that inflation continues to cool, although slowly.

The latest Consumer Price Index Report released last week shows the pace of inflation only rose 0.3% last month.

The CPI measures how much prices change for items and services month to month.

Here's the bad news: food, housing and energy costs all went up, and those are categories that impact many people's budgets monthly.

NewsDepth intern Olivia Stein looks at ways families can lower your grocery costs.

- [Olivia] The cost of living continues to rise, and consumers are really feeling the crunch at the grocery store.

- A lot of people are feeling a lot more pressure shopping for their families.

- [Olivia] Kristen McGrath is a senior editor at The Krazy Coupon Lady, a company dedicated to finding ways to save.

- Couponing can absolutely make a difference, and how much exactly you're gonna save is gonna depend on what you need.

- [Olivia] The US Department of Agriculture recently broke down the average amount mainland Americans spent on groceries last year.

For a family of four with two kids between ages six to 11, on the low end, the cost was close to $1,000 in November, with liberal spending as much as $1,600 a month.

Compare that to five years ago, and it's about a few hundred dollars more a month.

And food prices continue to go up.

The latest Consumer Price Index Report shows food prices jumped 0.7% last month.

That's where couponing can help.

A wide variety of apps can help you find coupons for the items you need.

- If you're not paying full price, you're winning.

- [Olivia] Keep track of prices.

Use your phone to calculate the total cost of your groceries as you shop.

This helps you stay within your budget and avoid surprises at checkout.

Also, sign up for store rewards programs, and McGrath says Grocery stores will also discount items that are close to expiring.

She recommends asking the manager about markdowns.

Lastly, stick to a list, that can help deter impulse buying.

- Those are some very useful tips.

Thank you so much, Olivia.

Sticking with personal finances, this time of year, people are starting to think about doing their taxes.

Taxes are a fee or payment that people must give to the government.

Taxes fund things like public services, roads, schools, and safety.

Everyone, including individuals and companies, pay taxes.

For individuals, taxes fall into three categories.

Sales taxes, those are ones paid when buying goods or services.

Property taxes are paid by homeowners and car owners.

And income taxes are paid in the money you get when you have a job.

Taxes could be complicated, but lucky for us, Abbey has a new Politics on Point that helps break it all down.

- It's tax season again.

Most of you don't have to pay taxes yet, right?

Taxes can be pretty confusing, even for someone like me who has been paying taxes for years.

So let's try to figure it out together.

(dramatic music) First, what are taxes?

Think of it as a subscription to your country, your state and your city.

Taxes are how the US government gets their funding.

They use taxes to pay for public services, like roads, schools, welfare and safety services, like the police and military.

Who can pay taxes?

The short answer is everyone.

Everyone who works pays taxes.

Everyone who owns a house or a car.

Even you have paid taxes if you've ever bought anything at a store.

And companies have to pay taxes too, when they hire someone, when they sell goods, when they buy materials.

But before we make this more complicated than it has to be, today, let's only focus on the taxes an individual has to pay.

Let's first separate them into three categories depending on when we pay them.

Taxes that are paid when we buy something are sales taxes.

Taxes that are paid when we already own something are called property taxes.

And taxes that are paid when you get money are income taxes.

When you buy something at a store or pay for a service, you always have to keep in mind that you also have to pay for the sales tax.

The sales tax is usually not attached to the price tag because it's actually different in every state.

45 states in the District of Columbia collect sales tax.

The five states that do not have a sales tax are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

In Ohio, we pay 5.75% in sales tax.

So if News Hound goes to the store and buys himself a bag of treats for $5, at the checkout lane, he'll have to pay $5 and 28 cents after tax.

(screen whooshing) (gentle upbeat music) Property tax is collected from everyone who owns a house or land, or everyone who owns a car.

Think of it as permission to keep using the land a house is on, and the roads a car drives on.

So it makes sense that the majority of a state's funds comes from property taxes.

The property tax rate varies between states and cities.

Someone who lives in the city of Cleveland pays a different rate than someone who lives in Cleveland Heights, even if the houses are on the same street.

Our final category is income taxes.

These taxes come from a person who has a job, everyone with an income.

Every time an employee gets paid, their employer keeps a percentage of how much they make to give to the government.

But how much do we pay from our paychecks?

Well, it depends on where you live, where you work, and how much you make.

For federal taxes, it could be between 10% to 37%.

For state tax in Ohio, it could be between 2.8% to 4%.

And if you live in the city of Cleveland, you pay 2.5%.

Okay, let's try it ourselves with another example.

Let's say News Cat lives and works in Cleveland at our local public media station, and she gets paid $1000 a year.

She would pay 10% of her income to the federal government, 2.8% to Ohio, and 2.5% to Cleveland.

So at the end, News Cat brings home $852 and 93 cents.

Okay, so that wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be.

We all pay our share of taxes to make sure that the country we live in is being taken care of.

(logo whooshes and springs) - Thank you, Abbey.

You're right, it's actually not that scary.

Let's talk food.

A grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is fighting to stay open as customer traffic drops.

The store is the only place in the neighborhood offering fresh produce located in what's known as a food desert.

A food desert is an area where many people with low incomes have little or no easy access to fresh, healthy groceries.

Despite the challenges, the owner remains committed to serving the community.

Emily Pofahl reports.

- [Emily] It's getting harder to stock the shelves at Sherman Park Grocery.

- The math doesn't math.

- Owner Maurice Wince says he isn't seeing enough customers come through the door.

On top of that, a slump during November's government shutdown and pause on federal food assistance.

So you said about 80% of your customer's use SNAP.

What was it like in here when the government shut down and people didn't have those benefits?

- It was just as you see it, empty.

- And he took a $90,000 hit due to damage from August's historic floods.

How long do you guys have if you don't get any help?

- We're there.

If you're here, we're there.

- Closure wouldn't just disappoint Wince, it would disrupt an ecosystem.

In part of the city where there's multiple different gas stations and corner stores, Sherman Park Grocery is the only spot for people nearby to get fresh produce.

Sherman Park is considered one of Milwaukee's food deserts, defined by the US Department of Ag as an area with significant number of low income households, with little or no access to fresh groceries.

The closest Pick N Save is about a 30 minute walk.

- It's tough for people, one, that don't have cars and they rely on other transportation to get there.

- [Emily] Nesha Beamon lives down the street.

On top of being a regular customer, she runs her baked goods business out of the store.

- Coming here, it's walking distance.

- [Emily] The news of the potential closure.

- Really sad because that would shut the doors on ours too.

(crowd chatting indistinctly) - [Emily] Sherman Park Grocery is also well known for its massive grocery giveaways.

- Food is justice.

Even if our store, God forbid, closes, the need goes nowhere.

There's still a need of access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

- [Emily] Wince says it's his mission to keep giving back, even if now he needs help to do it.

- Thank you, Emily.

High School Senior Katelyn from Iowa is using what she learned about sustainable food systems to create meal kits for families in need.

She focused on simple shelf high protein meals, like taco bowls, chili and chicken noodle soup, even adding birthday cake kits so families could still celebrate special moments.

The Hope Pantry at the Ames Center in Iowa has become a district wide hub for these kits, serving students and families across multiple schools in partnership with the Food Bank of Iowa.

Reporter Olivia Tyler spoke to Katelyn about the program and her plans after graduation.

- How many bags have you made since you started?

- We've made 50 taco bags since October.

- [Olivia] During the first semester of her senior year, in the fall of 2025, Katelyn Okerlund took a class where she learned about sustainable growing practices and the science of food systems.

At the same time, our federal government shut down, forcing millions of people across our country to rely on food banks.

So from there, she came up with the idea to make meal kits for families in need within the Ames Community School District out of the school's pantry.

- The pantry got a big increase in people who kind of needed it, so just making it as simple as possible, like grab and go.

We look for things that are completely shelf stable, high in protein that'll be filling, and then that everyone, I mean, should like, like chicken noodle soup's really basic, chili.

- Taco bowls and even birthday cake kits.

Because even if you're struggling, like you deserve to celebrate your birthday.

- Oh, 100%, yeah.

- [Olivia] And everything comes with instructions.

- Instructions.

Lots of families found it a lot easier to spend time with their families in the evenings.

- [Olivia] The Hope Pantry is inside the Ames Center, which serves Ames High School, Northwood Preschool, and Fellows, Meeker, and Sawyer Elementary Schools.

The pantry has only been in operation inside this building for a year, and it's already the meal kit hub for the other two pantries that serve other parts of the district.

It's in partnership with the Food Bank of Iowa, and anyone with kids in the district is welcome.

You don't want it to end when you leave Ames High School?

- Not at all, no.

If there is a junior who's interested, please come talk to me.

I mean, this is super fun.

It's super rewarding.

- [Olivia] Katelyn's time as a high schooler is fleeting, but she still spends four hours every week at the pantry doing all she can to make a difference before she graduates.

- [Katelyn] We're looking for more recipes and to expand and like hear what people like, what they want more of.

- Great job, Katelyn.

While Katelyn's mission is fueled by compassion, our next story is powered by creativity, musical creativity to be exact.

Two musicians in North Dakota are on a mission.

They want to inspire others to create music.

And it's the way they go about playing their songs that makes them stand out.

Jody Kerzman spoke with the musicians about their unique style.

(upbeat music) - [Jody] Ben Suchy has always been a musician.

- [Ben] I grew up playing with the family.

- [Jody] But this is a whole new way of making music.

♪ Gonna pour my emotion ♪ - [Jody] He's built this one of a kind instrument.

- I've always been a bit of an inventor.

♪ Your arm's a wing ♪ - [Jody] On this date- ♪ The crazy dance ♪ - [Jody] He and fellow musician, Danny Savage, are trying out their one man band instruments together.

- [Danny] We're having so much fun.

- [Jody] Making music as a one man band isn't easy.

- [Danny] It takes some coordination.

(laughs) - [Jody] Thanks to a grant from the North Dakota Council of the Arts, they've got some time to perfect their music.

- It's been really cool sitting down, kind of learning some of his tips and tricks of the trade, and just getting lost in conversations about songwriting.

(upbeat harmonica music) - [Jody] Ben is the mentor, but says he's also become a student.

- [Ben] He's taught me things too.

- [Jody] And soon they hope to teach others too.

♪ This city ♪ - [Jody] They'll offer two workshops at Bismarck State College, one on the art of one man banding, and another on songwriting.

- [Danny] Just excited to kind of share that with the greater public too.

- [Jody] Ben says this mentorship may even be the inspiration he needs to finish writing a book on songwriting.

- I've had a songwriting book in the works for, gosh, a handful of years, and I might have Dan jump on board on that as a co-editor or something to help me button it up.

- [Jody] Until then, they'll keep making music, one beat, one strum, (upbeat music) and one note at a time.

- The Cleveland Orchestra is renowned worldwide as one of the very best, and we owe a lot to one woman who fought to bring classical music to everyone in the city.

In the 1890s, Adella Prentiss Hughes organized concerts and pushed for a permanent orchestra, ultimately helping establish the Cleveland Orchestra in 1918.

Although the orchestra originally included only men, it later became one of the first to hire female musicians, and eventually in 1935, the Cleveland Women's Orchestra was formed to give talented women a place to perform, all thanks to male violinist, Hyman Schandler.

Let's take a look back at the women and men who shaped the Cleveland Orchestra.

(upbeat music) - So we all know that Cleveland rocks, but the Forest City is also known for a more classic sound.

(dramatic orchestral music) That is the sound of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra.

They're considered one of the best orchestras in the world, and their powerful sound is the pride of Cleveland.

But this brilliant music would not have been possible without the efforts of one very determined woman.

Adella Prentiss Hughes was a skilled musician, but her passion was promoting music, and she wanted more than anything to bring the classic sounds she heard in Europe to her hometown of Cleveland.

Beginning in the 1890s, she organized concerts for other music buffs, but Adella felt strongly that Cleveland should have its own permanent orchestra.

So at a time when women were expected to devote their lives to their husbands and families, Adella worked in a male dominated world and devoted herself to a fledgling orchestra of local musicians.

By 1918, her work paid off.

The Cleveland Orchestra was official.

Although it was founded by a woman, the Cleveland Orchestra at first included only male musicians, and this was common among orchestras all around the world.

But within a few years, the Cleveland Orchestra made history by becoming one of the first to hire female musicians.

But in general, women musicians did not have the opportunity to practice their craft after they finished school, especially if they happened to play an instrument that was considered more masculine.

That's right, traditionally, instruments were perceived as masculine or feminine, and most female musicians only found work if they happened to play a stringed instrument, for instance.

But this changed in 1935 when Cleveland Orchestra violinist Hyman Schandler saw the wasted potential of so many talented female musicians, and began the Cleveland Women's Orchestra.

For the first time in Cleveland, this orchestra brought together local women of all ages and walks of life who had one thing in common, playing great music.

(upbeat orchestral music) (logo whooshes and springs) - Thank you, Mary.

That brings us to our poll for this week.

We like to know, what's your favorite genre of music?

Slide over to our poll page to sound off.

You can choose between classical, rock, country, jazz, pop, hip hop, or something else.

Last week, we stopped by the Consumer Electronics Show and heard about the latest tech and innovations, and we wanted to know, what new gadget are you most excited about?

78% of you said you'd use AI glasses, and another 22% of you are looking forward to owning your own personal plane one day.

Thank you all for voting.

Last episode was all about inventions, and we learned about Cleveland's own Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the traffic light and the gas mask.

And for our Write to Us, we wanted you to put on your thinking caps and invent a new gadget.

Let's check out your prototypes by opening our inbox.

Students from St.

Catherine of Siena in Cincinnati had some great responses this week.

A fifth grader said, "A gadget that I think will help people is an anti-danger body suit with glasses.

There will be different parts for each body part.

You can attach them to whatever body part you want to keep safe, and the glasses will show what can possibly hurt the body part of your choice."

I think that would help a lot of people.

Great idea.

Another student said, "I think that if I had the chance to make a gadget, it would be a pencil that would move on its own, telling you all the answers to your test or homework, so you don't have to do anything and get good grades for free.

You don't even have to study."

Ooh, that would be helpful, but you might want to ask your teacher about that one.

Good job.

A fifth grader said, "I would invent an app on your phone where you press a button, then a house pops up, so homeless people would have a house, and a school for kids."

That is an incredible idea, and would be very good to keep people warm and outta the cold this winter.

Great idea.

A sixth grader said, "I think there should be a wheelchair to help handicap people get around from a tablet or a phone.

They could go forward, backwards, left and right.

It could help people because they could easily get around by themselves."

That would be very useful for a ton of people.

Amazing job.

Another student said, "My new gadget is a new walking stick that can help you see when you're walking, so you don't crash into people, and so people don't get mad for bumping into them."

Another great idea.

Great job everyone.

I think that due to the snowstorm last week, a lot of schools canceled classes, and we got fewer inbox responses than normal.

But I'm glad so many of you still got to watch the last episode.

Way to stay informed.

Now, if I were to invent a new gadget, it would be a high five machine, so I could send out high fives to all the A+ Award winners.

Then again, knowing me, the machine would malfunction and I'll just get slapped all over the place.

So maybe I'll just give a big shout out to all the winners, you know, until I can work out the kinks.

Here it goes.

This week's A+ Award goes to a Girl Scout troop who got the amazing opportunity to give back to their community in a way that they were very passionate about.

Last fall, Girl Scout Troop 91150 took their love of animals and applied it to their Girl Scout Silver Award.

The Silver Award is one of the highest awards in Girl Scouting, where girls work to improve their community.

Troop 91150 is very passionate about giving back to their community.

They visit nursing homes routinely, and visit the residents and host events like sock decorating.

They also enjoy camping and crafting, which made this project perfect for the girls.

The girls love animals and wanted to find a way to help animals in their community.

They found the Humane Society of Summit County.

The shelter is the only local nonprofit animal welfare organization that is dedicated to serving animals that are victims of abuse, neglect, and abandonment, as well as sick and injured stray animals.

When touring the shelter, they noticed how the dogs could use something to do while they wait for adoption.

With some research, they decided on creating agility items for the dogs.

Agility is the ability to move quickly and easily, which is important for dogs to practice, especially while in shelters, where their access to agility practice could be limited in outdoor spaces.

The girls got to work creating a tunnel, a ramp, pipe jumping obstacles, and large tires for the dogs.

They paid for the wood, hardware and paint with their troop funds.

With help of their parents, they were able to learn about safety using tools when building.

They installed the equipment and met with the dogs.

The team at the Humane Society uses a ramp for exercise and behavior training.

The tires are being used as sniff spots, where the team hides treats for dogs to find or dig around during walks, allowing for a fun and interactive activity.

The team and the dogs are very thankful for the kindness of the Scout troop.

The group got to learn amazing skills during the process, like organizing, planning large projects, and learning how to build and create using tools.

They also gained an appreciation for craftsmanship.

Autumn said, "I love Girl Scouts, and I hope I made a difference."

Anna said, "Although I was happy to help the community as a Girl Scout, I was even more happy to know something I did impacted people in such a positive way."

For their kindness, dedication, passion, and craftsmanship, Girl Scout Troop 91150 has received the A+ Award as well as NewsHound's special paw of approval for helping countless pets practice their agility, and for providing support for finding their forever homes.

Congratulations, Girl Scout Troop 91150.

And special thanks to our intern, Olivia Stein, for producing that A+ segment.

And you know it's not just humans who can give back to their community.

Dogs can volunteer too.

Let's toss it to News Hound for this week's Petting Zoo.

(gentle upbeat music) (dog barks) Hey, News Hound.

Um, are you taking a nap?

I know it's cold out there, but we got a lot of work to do.

All right, what do you have for us today?

Awesome, a story about a veteran and his dog who visit hospitalized veterans to award their hard work and to raise their spirits.

To learn more about Ralph Webb and his dog Walker, check out the full video on our website and YouTube channel.

(logo whooshes and springs) Great story.

Thanks as always, News Hound.

And that's all the time we have for today's show, but we will be back next week with more news and more stories.

Until then, you can keep the conversation going because we always like to hear from you, and there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit Subscribe if you're old enough, so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week.

(upbeat rock music) (logo whooshes and springs) - [Child] "NewsDepth" is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(upbeat rock music) (gentle upbeat music)