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All About North Dakota Real Estate

By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
Yesterday it was announced the the largest scandinavian festival in America has come to an end.This is very sad news for many. The Norsk Hostfest is a 3 day event that draws thousands of people to Minot ND. The North Dakota State Fair is the largest event in North Dakota and I believe the Hostfest is the second or the third largest event in the State of North Dakota. Visitors and entertainers come from all over the world, including the Queen of Norway. Vendors come from all over the USA as does a RV club.This will be a huge blow to Minot's economy as there is never a hotel room available and the restaurants and bars are always full during the event. Many of the vendors make the bulk of their living during the Hostfest.So what's the problem?It is my not so humble opinion that 100% of the...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
While Joe may be melting/melted inside his house no one is melting outside in North Dakota today.If you missed Timmothy's cartoon strip this week a snowman snuck into his house, melted, and then his snowmom came in to rescue her snowman boy and messed with Joe's thermostat so Joe could experience melting.Okay, that's all very far fetched but it is a comic strip.What is real in North Dakota is the importance of a well maintained heating system.The super cold snap we just entered will have daytime high temps of 10 below and lower. That is actual air temp. Add in the wind and we are looking ar lows as low as 60 degrees below zero.If your heating system fails in this cold snap you need to get on the phone immediately with a heating specialist. Even the most well built home will lose its hea...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
... go outside and play. That being said, even the temps outside lately will melt a snowman in the Minot ND area. A melting snowman obviously inspiried this painting by Norman Rockwell, it's the January 2026 picture on my calendar.Some women make so much noise shoveling the snow, their husbands can not even nap in peace" author unknown.
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
... you should stop by their new location at 209 Main Street South right under the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office. Timmothy wrote this comic with an article from The Northern Sentry in mind.I have enjoyed shopping there many times. I wouldn't say this is purely a relic store as each time I have been to 3D more and more new items are taking over the store. That being said the big draw for me is the records that they have on hand. I don't know where they find them but they are usually in good playable condition.The new location is larger than the old and I think better organized however just like their old location several steps are involved and unlike the old location these steps are outside. 
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By Debe Maxwell, CRS, The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!
(Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310)
Enchanted Highway, Take II - Thanks to North Dakota TourismHere’s another reason to love our Zoom calls…Bob "RealMan" Timm recently presented some fascinating information to our Zoom group about his beautiful home state, North Dakota. He instructed us to do more research on The Enchanted Highway so, I did. I posted a summary of several articles that I found interesting about this 32-mile stretch of enchantment! Reading what I researched truly made me want to add this to my travel bucket list.So, today I received a nice email from Kim at the ND Tourism Department, thanking me for my article on the Enchanted Highway. I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Kim at the North Dakota Tourism Department for taking the time to reach out to me personally. They so very graciously granted me per...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
I'm eager to tell you the most unusual gift I received this year. The gift was given by Tina, my daughter, and Jonathan my son in law. Last year they gave us a class on how to paint your pet and I blogged about that. This year they offered to take me to the indoor shooting range.Tina, Jon, and I were looking forward to bringing our handguns to the range and blasting away. Timmothy had never shot a gun before but I invited him to come along and much to my surprise he said yes.Unfortunately when we arrived they told us it was rifes only day. Fortunately for us the four or five people there were a close knit group that were extremely friendly and wanting us to enjoy ourselves. They not only supplied us with their prized target shooting rifles (valued at about $2,000.00 each) they also supp...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
For the last couple of months or more I have been working on a T-shirt for the charity I created to feed indigent prisoners in the Ward County jail. I think those efforts led Timmothy to create the cartoon above.This time, as in the past, I hired a local print shop to do the job. A friend of mine, Leonard Niess, who owns Niess Impressions came through for me in a big way. On that note, if you are a Realtor you should buy local when possible. You are literally selling your community so you better believe in it! When I presented the T-shirts to the church I attend they gave me a round of applause BUT several people talked to me later that I could purchase the shirts for much less so they would be more affordable. Only one person mentioned a local printer who could produce the T's for less...
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By Rochelle Roesler Fargo Realtor, Top Realtor Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo
(Century 21)
Buying a home in the Fargo-Moorhead area can feel overwhelming—especially if it’s your first purchase or it’s been years since you last bought. Our FREE Homebuyer Playbook class is designed to give you a clear, step-by-step plan so you can make confident decisions from financing to closing. Get Full Details & Reserve Your Seat Who This Class Is For: First-time buyers who want a step-by-step roadmap Repeat buyers who want a refresh on today's process & expectations Anyone who wants to buy with confidence & avoid costly surprises Buyers considering new construction vs. existing homes What You'll Learn: How buyer representation protects your interests: & why it matters The importance of mortgage pre-approval: what you need & why it's step one What to expect from a home inspection: what the...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
This is more of a PSA then a blog post because it is SUPER DANGEROUS to be out on the street in Minot ND today.Last night and this morning the surface temperature as about 20 degrees. However up in the sky it was much warmer. It rained all night. When rain hits a frozen surface it's very dangerous. No matter what you drive, unless it has chains around the tires, you are NOT going to stop. It's also not safe to walk thus school has been called off today for all Minot Public Schools.This scenario reminds me of Jethro Tull's "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day".The rain is supposed to be on and off all day with an accumulation of 1/2" of ice on the ground. This is also a recipe for trees and powerlines to come down. Be safe, don't get near a downed powerline.
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
One positive thing about North Dakota winters is that it usually ends road construction. It probably doesn't count as a little thing but now that the 2025 road construction season is over I'll call it a little thing. When you live in a climate like ours the street department must get a whole years worth of road repair done in six months. There are usually so many projects going on at once it's hard to find an unaffected route to your destination.This past year we had several large projects on key streets in town. The biggest one made it a challenge to get in and out of Menards. There should be a law against that! They have announced a couple of projects for 2026 and as far as I know only one will inconvenience me personally. My tune may change once I receive the bike I ordered for Chris...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
They have been predicting this snowfall for 3 days... which is why I figured it would not happen. Chalk one up for the local weather guessers, they got one right. I love the way the falling snowflakes light up with the flash. Here are a few more.It currently is about 27 degrees out so this snow may stay or it may melt away. If it stays it will be compacted by many more snows on top of it and it will sit there on the bottom until April.This is an extra post for me today so if you are looking for Timmothy Timm's comic strip, Titus & Philemon it's coming. I was set back an hour due to the need to shovel at home earlier this morning.
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
Philemon asks some good questions. My answer to him would be because it tastes good. Here is some info on Breadsmith Sourdough Bread available at Sam's Club for $6.79So AI what is the history of Sourdough Bread?Hmm, so this bread is 4,025 years old? I'd think you could chip a tooth on it. 🤪
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
This message is short and NOT sweet.I used this same cartoon just two weeks ago for a message to have your pets "chipped" but today's message is Think Before You Give An Animal As A Gift!NEVER Surprise someone with a pet as a gift!The animal shelter is FULL (in fact overflowing) with such unwanted gifts. You are damning a living being to a horrible existence if the recipient of your "gift" doesn't want that animal, or is even allergic to it.Many shelters KILL the animals stored there if not claimed in a relatively short period of time. The Souris River Animal Shelter in Minot ND is such a shelter. Again, if your gift of a living being is unwanted you have just condemned a being, created by God, to death.Ending on a pleasant thought: If you know someone whats a pet let them pick one out ...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
I don't care where you live in the United States of America everyone gets cold from time to time. I remember a holiday vacation in Florida one January and the morning temp was around forty... I saw people dressed as we do in North Dakota when it's 30 degrees below zero. I was wearing shorts and tank top. Today, finding appropriate clothing is easy, just do a search for "clothing for sub zero environments" and all kinds of vendors come up to offer you warmth. The screen shot above is from Amazon but if you prefer to shop in person check out Scheels in a mall near you.The proper underwear makes a huge difference in keeping warm in environments where the mercury dips below freezing and even as cold as 30 degrees below zero.Prior to today's clothing technology winter underwear was made of t...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
A lament of the change of seasons in poetic form.Personally my feelings run pretty close to Titus the guinea pigs lament. We have already had our first snowfall but it came and went and we reverted back to brown and of course bare trees.One thing that first snow showed me was that Timmothy and I deserve a pat on the back for our preparation for the winter months. The two things we missed were we forgot to put a garden hose away and I still had an automotive battery in the garage that needed to come in. If you live down South you may not be aware that a battery that is in storage (as opposed to one in use in a vehicle) will freeze solid. When this happens the case will actually crack and the acid will leak out. A second note about the acid core type of batteries. If set on cement in stor...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
We have certainly moved into cold season here in Minot ND as we just went through a couple of days with the daily high NOT reaching freezing.Colds may be the cause of the sneezes or it could also be indoor allergens. Either way one should cover their sneezes, which no one does in the little videos above.I'm not qualified to give medical advice but I will tell you that when I think a cold is coming on I double my intake of vitamin C and I also break out the zinc.Also speaking from personal experience it is my observation that genetics play a part in everyday health. While it seems I catch every/any cold that comes around my bride (Carol) has maybe been down with a cold 1 day in the last 28 years.My advice as a non-medical professional is that if you moved here from a warmer climate (ther...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
Yesterday was the Downtown Halloween Trick or Treat for little children. I saw a costume or two that I wasn't ready for. How about a 3' tall Gene Simmons (life size head of Gene with a extra long tongue hanging down).You can't get much scarier than that.Here is my try. It took me a full 10 minutes to put it together.A cover band that I have exposed you to before, Broken Peach, just released their Halloween song for 2025. It's more fun to watch than to listen to.You may want to turn the sound down or off on this one.  
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
My exaggerated answer to Titus is: "just stand still, everything will fly by you in the frenzy of the other shoppers". 🙄The Ugly Box Store of Minot has never advertised, it doesn't need to, word of mouth keeps this store busier everyday than Target is on Christmas Eve.What is The Uglee Box Store? First let me clarify the picture above only represents about 5% of the stores square footage. What you do see is only a small portion of the bins in the store. Why is it a madhouse (although the picture above is at a relatively calm time. Check out these prices...No matter which day you go it's crazy. I go on Wednesday when everything is a dollar and I go on Friday when all the new stuff gets put out. What can you get for a dollar? This last Wednesday I got a new pair of shoes, a box with four ...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
I will admit that I get sad thinking about winter being right around the corner BUT once winter is here it really doesn't bother me... until maybe April if it's still hanging on.Winter is a time of solitude. It reminds me of Superman's hideout, it gives you space to think and contemplate.When we want companionship we just open a door and our families are there for us just like Timmothy's cartoon above.I credit the well know friendliness of North Dakota to our long winters. Come Spring we are all joyful to see others out and about. Of course life goes on as usual so we visit at church, at the bar (if you like), and at our occupations if we work outside of our homes. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter gives us as much family contact as most of us want for a while.All that being said we ar...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
If it were not for Timmothy's cartoon I would not have known about the change of hands of this business. The original owner/creator of the business has been a strong acquaintance for many years. Our relationship began when Valerie was the manager of a local thrift store.She had a dream of being her own boss and took the big step of leaving a comfortable job to pursue a dream.Val started out by purchasing most of the books in the thrift store and other thrift stores. She had nothing but used books. In time she got hooked up with book distributors and today used books account for 5% or less of her inventory.I can not imagine a better ownership then Valeries. She has been a big promotor of Downtown Minot and the writers in our community. You know one such writer,Timmothy, 6 years ago and t...
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