It's no secret our neighbors to the north are an important part of the Flathead Valley economy. In sizable numbers they stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants and shop in our stores.

Now a new program called Canada Certified will make it much easier for Canadians to use their debit cards here.

Launched by local economic development and tourism leaders and NXGEN Payment Services, the program will enable local businesses to accept Canadian Interac PIN debit cards and print out credit card transactions in Canadian dollars. This effort is among the first successes for the Building Bridges to Canada effort that began last spring, identifying the challenges Flathead retailers face in serving Canadian customers.

The Daily Inter Lake also has a hand in Canada Certified, and will distribute advertising supplements across the border to Lethbridge and Cranbrook, informing Canadians which Flathead businesses are part of the debit-card-friendly program.

IF YOU haven't finalized your plans for New Year's Eve, don't forget about the fabulous lineup for this year's First Night Flathead in downtown Kalispell. This will be the 13th annual family-friendly alcohol-free event, with a variety of art, music and other entertainment planned to ring in 2012.

The organizers of First Night Flathead deserve a round of applause for putting together this annual gala. Whether it's hula-hooping, belly dancing, singing cowboys or fiddlers, you'll see and hear it firsthand at First Night. Come enjoy the fun.

FORGET THE polls, the long string of debates, the interviews and all, it is finally time for voters to have their say in the Republican presidential primaries, starting with Iowa caucus voting on Jan. 3.

It will be the first indication of how the race may shape up, but it's far from conclusive, especially with such a large field of candidates who have swapped leads again and again. Remarkably, just a couple of weeks ago, Newt Gingrich looked like the challenger to front runner Mitt Romney. But lately it looks as if Ron Paul is in that position followed by Rick Santorum, who appeared to be at the bottom of the list only a couple weeks ago.

But who knows how it will shake out in the Hawkeye state's unconventional caucus ballot process? While it's just a start for a long nominating process that could hold many surprises, Iowa's caucus voting at the very least could simplify the race by prompting one or more candidates to drop out. The country will be watching closely.