Robin peered through the water cascading down her windows. Tree branches, roofing materials, and garbage streamed past her house in a swarm of debris, dirt, and rain. With a loud crack, she watched her 60-foot Sugar Maple tree split and crash to the ground, blocking the driveway. Then the lights went out.

While Robin watched the storm, her insurance agent, Terry Cullen, was monitoring the events online. The thunderstorm began around 7:15 p.m., just as he and his wife finished dinner.…

Good optometry management affects the quality of life for many people, particularly the elderly. This is an even bigger concern in rural areas where residents have to travel many miles to visit their eye care professional. Usually this means the loss of a day’s work for the patient’s driver, which has to be coordinated with the doctor’s schedule. As a result, patients often put off making appointments for routine care and checkups.

However, Dr. Alison Chaussee of the Prairie Hills Vi…