Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.12.2019, Blaðsíða 12

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12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • December 1 2019
FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT
OBITUARY
NEWS BRIEFS
Janis Kyle Kristjanson
Janis “Jan” Kyle Kristjanson, age
63, passed away on Monday, October
21, 2019 due to complications with
ALS. Jan was born on September
18, 1956 in Grafton, ND to Hannes
Kristjanson and Elizabeth (Elsie)
Bjornson. When Jan was 9 months
old, the family moved to Grand
Forks, ND where Jan attended Viking
Elementary and graduated from Red
River High School in 1975. She would
eventually graduate from Minot State
University with a Bachelor of Science
in Accounting.
From her first marriage, Jan
welcomed two boys into the world,
Jeremy and Kristjan. And, in 1987,
Jan met her husband and fellow
lake-lover, Tom Karch. They married
at Metigoshe Ministries in Bottineau,
North Dakota on July 11, 1992. Their
marriage brought a busy and loving
home full of boys with the addition
of Tom’s sons, Justin and Aaron, and
their son, Paul, just a year later. In
2004, Jan was hired as Controller
at Northeast Nebraska Public Power
District and she, Tom and Paul made
their home in Wayne, Nebraska. Not
only was this Jan’s proudest career
accomplishment, but Jan found
great friendships through church and
scrapbooking in Wayne.
Jan’s last years were spent in
Fargo, ND close to her children and
grandchildren. However, Jan’s most
beloved place was their cabin on
Lake Ada in Backus, MN. Jan loved
the lake (with sweet tea and Oreos),
quilting, scrapbooking, her dog Sadie
and back-seat driving. Both of Jan’s
parents were of Icelandic descent
and Jan considered herself a proud
Icelander. However, the highlight
of her life were her grandchildren.
Jan’s sons describe her as “sassy”,
“protective” and “determined”,
qualities they all admire and agree
made for some memorable moments.
Jan is survived by her husband,
Tom Karch; her sister, Doreen
(Bruce) Marston; her brothers, Keith
(Arlinda) Kristjanson, and Kenny
(Peggy) Kristjanson; her sons, Jeremy
(Amanda) Helgoe, Kristjan (Amy)
Helgoe, Paul Karch; her step-sons,
Justin (JoAnn) Karch, Aaron (Sara)
Karch and seven grandchildren:
Ellie, Raea, Parker, Ava, Will, Bjorn
and Gretta. She is preceded in death
by her parents, Hannes and Elsie,
and her brother, Brian Kristjanson. A
celebration of life was held on Friday,
October 25th at Hanson-Runsvold
Funeral Home.
Góða nótt elskan.
We all know this expression – that Iceland is the land of
fire and ice – but the days are becoming numbered for
the “ice” designation
An article entitled “Iceland prepares for a time after ice”
appeared in The New York Times international weekly earlier
this year and it discussed the challenges meeting Iceland due to
climate change:
n The Vatnajökull and Eyjafjallajökull glaciers are retreating,
which is disturbing because glaciers keep volcanoes cool.
n Due to glacial melting, land is rising from the sea,
preventing large trailers from accessing the harbour in Höfn.
n “Energy producers are upgrading hydroelectric power plants.”
n Finnafjörður looks to open new routes through the melting ice.
n On August 18, the Okjökull has lost its ice, an indication
of a National emergency.
n Capelin fish have disappeared searching for colder waters.
n Meeting the challenge of climate change, the government
has budgeted 55 million dollars over five years for land
conservation, reforestation, and reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions. Due to the growth of tourism with millions
of visitors coming by plane, Iceland’s per capita carbon
dioxide emissions is higher that every other country in
Europe.
n In planning ahead for a time with no glaciers, wind turbines
will be a source of energy.
Presently, glaciers occupy about one-tenth of Iceland, but
their future is at risk and this already affects many aspects of life
in Iceland.
Iceland, land of fire and ice?
David Franklin
Montreal, QC
Foreign Ministry to get new name
RÚV – Plans call for renaming the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs around the end of the year.
The purpose is for the name to reflect the
ministry’s increased emphasis on international
development, so the ministry’s new name
will be the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and
Development Cooperation. The anticipated
change has already gone before the government.
However, its finalization awaits a ruling from the
president. There will be organizational changes
in parallel with the ministry’s change of name.
Minister prepares for church-state
separation
ruv.is – Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna
Sigurbjörnsdóttir plans to begin preparations
next year for separating church and state. A
majority of the government parties favours
separation. The justice minister said demand was
steadily growing in Iceland for the independence
of religious and life-view associations. “We have
of course moved in this direction, and I think it is
inevitable to continue doing so,” she said.
Hundreds debate revising Constitution
Frettablaðið – A public meeting to debate
revising the Constitution of Iceland was held
in Reykjavík during the second weekend of
November. About 300 people from all parts of
the country took part in the meeting. It was a
step in public consultations on revision of the
constitution. The participants were selected from
a group of those replying to a survey of attitudes
distributed last summer. That survey built on a
random sample.
Global women’s conference in Iceland
mbl.is – Iceland hosted the Women Political
Leaders (WPL) Global Forum during the third
week of November. This is the second time
that Iceland has hosted the conference. About
450 women from 100 countries participated
in the conference. The WPL, the Government
of Iceland, and Alþingi all collaborated on the
event. The global forum began with addresses
by Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, WPL
president Silvana Koch-Mehrin, and Speaker
of Alþingi Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. Other
noteworthy participants included Anne-Birgitte
Albrectsen, president of Plan International;
Ann Cairns, vice president of MasterCard; Oby
Ezekwesili, a presidential candidate in Nigeria;
Anita Bahita, deputy managing director of UN
Women; Jackie Hunt, chair of the board of
Allianz SE; Julia Gillard, former prime minister
of Australia; and Gita Gopinath, chief economist
at the International Monetary Fund. Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland, is
patron of the Global Forum and former cabinet
minister Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir is the
current chair of the WPL board of directors.

Iceland would have lost Icesave case
mbl.is – Iceland will not adopt the European
Union’s directive on a deposit guarantee system
for banks without assurance that the proposed
system will not become a state guarantee on
deposits. Minister for Foreign Affairs Guðlaugur
Þór Þórðarson made this declaration in Brussels
at a meeting of the European Economic Area
(EEA) Council. The council’s discussions
included the future of the inner market. The
foreign minister said Icelanders were ready to
contribute to a framework of rules to mobilize
the inner market since it is of major importance
to the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) states
in the EEA. “As Iceland’s foreign minister, I will
never support Iceland’s approval, within EEA
collaboration, of the adoption and legalization
of this legislation, such that it involves a state
guarantee for bank deposits. Had such legislation
been in effect at the time, the Icesave case would
have lost before the courts. History’s lesson is
thus clear,” he said. The foreign minister noted
it was outstanding how well the EEA Agreement
had worked out for both parties, and that it was
necessary to continuously draw attention to this.
He also said it was important to keep in mind the
advantage of the two-pillar system of the EEA
Agreement.
Purchase of internet crime insurance
“explodes”
RÚV – Icelandic companies are increasingly
buying insurance against damage caused by
computer crimes. When it occurs, this damage
can run into hundreds of millions of Icelandic
krónur. Recently, internet attacks on Icelandic
companies have rapidly increased. Many
companies have therefore spent considerable
sums to protect against such attacks. In addition,
they are increasingly considering insuring
themselves against such damage. The Icelandic
insurance companies do not offer insurance
against damage due to internet crimes, but many
foreign companies do. So, to insure themselves,
Icelandic companies have turned to foreign
companies. Anthony Herring, a British insurance
consultant, recently gave a talk at a conference
on these matters in Reykjavík. He said that when
computer thieves attack companies, the losses
can be considerable.
Sale of Ægir and Týr authorized
Frettablaðið – Revisions to the Budget Act
agreed to during the second discussion of the act
include authority for the minister of finance and
economic affairs to sell the Coast Guard vessels
Ægir and Týr and buy or lease more cost-efficient
vessels instead. The Coast Guard said that these
ships have served very well through the years
but were showing their age. The engineering and
consultancy firm NAVIS will perform a needs
analysis of the Coast Guard fleet as the first
step in renewing it. “In recent years, ship traffic
and development of the ocean around Iceland
have changed. More luxury liners and transport
vessels now come to Iceland, and we now need
to face the build-up of the fleet. Over the next
several years, we expect decisions regarding
renewal of the vessels,” said the Coast Guard in
a written statement.
Reprinted with permission from Icelandic
News Briefs, published by KOM PR.
PHOTO: KJALLAKR / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS CC BY-SA 3.0
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