Shirley Bicentennial Park AKAScandinavian Heritage Park, Minot NDThis Minot ND Park is an oasis in the midsection of Minot's main street, Broadway. Now I don't mean it's in the middle of the street, I mean it's at the heart of town, just South of Downtown. You will see from the pictures why it is a favorite of many.There are many statues like this commemorating famous Scandinavian persons in history. (Longefellow)There are several tributes to skiing and skiers.There are several buildings honoring Scandinavian architecture. This is the Stave Church which can be rented for weddings and the such.This globe is made out of granite and weighs several tons yet it floats and spins in the water. Regretfully it is getting pretty scratched up by vandals.The Visit Minot, Visitors Center. You can le... 06/14/2015

Military Day @ Roosevelt Park Zoo In Minot ND 06/26/2015Military Day at the Roosevelt Park Zoo has been set for June 26th this year. Sponsored by the Minot Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee there will be FREE admission to the Zoo as well as the Roosevelt Park Swimming Pool. There will also be FREE food from 11:00 to 2:00. For more info call John at 701-852-6000.  06/12/2015

There is a lot of confusion among both Buyers and Sellers in the Minot North Dakota Real Estate market. Those who do not follow the news closely or are getting their information from non-traditional sources are getting bits and pieces of news, some true, some myth.In a nutshell the truth is that despite the slowdown in the oil field oil is not dead or dying. There is a natural transition going on and the job field in the oil market is changing. Yes some jobs have been lost but at the same time other oil field related jobs are growing.North Dakota is still growing and Western North Dakota is still leading the way. Each key City in Western North Dakota is still growing at a rate that is the envy of the rest of the United States.The Minot North Dakota housing market has changed substantial... 06/09/2015

Mentally Defective Person Alert! I realize not everybody reads the paper or watches the news at night so I think this news story needs to be told anywhere people may read it.Over the last two days there have been reports of a mentally defective person getting their jollies out of firing a rifle (I assume high powered) at random homes, buildings, and vehicles in Minot ND.Two of the reported shootings have been near my home and an undisclosed source has stated that there was a third one near my home where shots were fired into a kindergarten classroom. All together I'm aware of 5 shootings including the kindergarten incident.Fortunately this mental midget has yet to hurt anyone but it's only a matter of time if they don't catch the idiot soon. Being no one has seen or heard this defective... 06/04/2015

  The Time To Wait Is Over!      They Are Off To The Races I was about a month off on my prediction that the market would explode in the spring but the EXPLOSION is here now.For those of you who were wondering if I lost interest in blogging this month, because of my inconsistant posting, the answer is no, this ol' dog has been running like I've never run before!Even though the number of listings are nearly double in number of what they were at the beginning of the year, sales have been so rapid we are even seeing old inventory fly off the shelf.Some of this may be attributed to prices dropping with the slow down in the oil field  but mostly it's just the "Spring Fever" we see every year as school lets out.With this kind of buying frenzy we may see prices bounce back up as well so if you... 05/31/2015

Minot Real Estate 101, Downtown I remember back in the 1960's when something new was being built on the edge of town. Something BIG, something Fargo/Moorhead had never had before. Everyone was excited. This was HUGE! Fargo was about to get it's first Shopping Mall! Brookdale Shopping Center on the South edge of Moorhead MN was going to have a Post Store as the anchor on one end and a Red Owl Store on the other with at least a dozen stores in between! WOW!! It's going to be AWESOME!Well that was the 60's and that was Fargo/Moorhead but all over the country Downtown shopping areas have struggled and become banking centers instead of hubs of retail commerce.From what I've seen over the years in many towns/cities the first to come back and occupy the spaces once held by retail giants were d... 05/21/2015

Going To The BallDads Bragging AgainOn Saturday my little girl went to the Ball, a Military Ball put on by her Jr ROTC class.Overly concerned dad that I am I was excited for her and not even the least bit worried as I'm very comfortable with her and her class mates in the Jr ROTC program.On Friday we attended the years end Jr ROTC Awards Ceremony in which Tina received more awards than any other Freshman in her class.         Again, sorry for bragging but it was another proud Dad moment.I also want to take a monment to endorse the Minot Jr ROTC program. We are NOT a military family but Tina loves the program. This program is great for both Young Men and Women. Tina entered the program because she is aware of the benefits and opportunities that the ROTC program opens to young people such... 05/19/2015

GREEN IS TURNING WHITEAnd I Don't Like It!That's Snow!It's May 18th and last night about 6PM it started to snow in Minot ND. That's when the picture above was snapped and believe me it got a lot worse. We even have winter driving alerts posted for this morning (Monday May 19th). Yuck! I'm definately thinking of moving to Death Valley for my retirement.  05/17/2015

12 Days Of/To FreedomJust 12 more school days to go in the Minot North Dakota Public School System for this school year.12 days of freedom for me to come home at lunch, listen to what I want on the radio, read a little love note from my Bride telling me what is in the fridge for lunch and to grab a 10 to 15 minute snooze before returning to work.12 days til freedom for my Bride who teaches and also for my Kids who attend school before their summer vacation. 12 days til the best of both worlds when I will get a hot lunch with real kisses and my son will serenade me with his piano skills instead of Rush with his ranting skills. My daughter will ask if I want to kiss my grand pigs (her two Guinea pigs) and will ask if we can go camping this weekend.12 days and the world will change. God gr... 05/17/2015

Minot Real Estate 101, Planning To Build?If you are planning to build, remodel, or add a room to your home why not start by taking a plan off the shelf?The Minot Public Library has over 100 books just on house plans! This only scratches the surface of books related to remodeling and other home improvement or home repair books.I see they even have books on how to find me: "Locating the Best Realtor".Stop by the Minot Public Library today... and tell them Bob sent you.  05/13/2015

Hazardous Waste DayA couple of times a year Minot has a special Hazardous Waste Collection day that you can bring toxic chemicals to a collection site for disposal. Toxic chemicals may include : Paint, Insectisides, Herbasides and more. You can also bring those old TV and computer monitors, fax machines, printers and more.This weekend (May 15th and 16) from 8AM to 5PM you can bring such materials to 1025 31st Street SE in Minot. See you there!  05/11/2015

Minot Is A Railroad TownMinot was named after Henry D. Minot, a railroad investor.We have two railroads running through the middle of Minot North Dakota, The Burlington Santa Fe and The Canadian Pacific Railway.Both have train yards as well right inside the city limits. Route planing is essential when driving across town in Minot.We are happy to have the two railroads here in Minot as they provide hundreds of good high paying jobs as well as the workers and their families that go come with them.Obviously there are a few drawbacks such as the aforementioned route planning and the noise but again the jobs and the families that these employers bring to our community are truly a blessing.  05/08/2015

Minot's AMAZING Garbage MenWho brags about their garbage men? We do in Minot North Dakota.Why?There are very few rules to follow when dealing with Minot's garbage men.Rule #1) No cans larger than a standard 32 gallon can. That's because they have to lift them, no fancy equipment.Rule #2) No yard waste. Yard waste must be recycled by taking it to a City roll-off for that purpose.So what makes these guys so special?#1) They take anything but yard waste including appliances, trees, branches, pretty much anything you put out there.#2) They pick up twice a week.They do this on a 4 day schedule which gives them Wednesday, Saturday, and Sundays off. I'm sure the schedule is designed to let them re-coop after a couple of busy days. I think they are amazing.By the way, I'm not being bias here, i... 05/06/2015

Building Upon A Firm FoundationI could easily make this a Biblical lesson as I love to preach the good news but I'm going to stick to Real Estate and construction here in Minot ND.We are seeing more and more homes in this area, Minot ND, being constructed with permanent treated wood foundations. When I first saw this I was a bit alarmed having only been familiar with concrete foundations.I have found that most of the contractors I visited with say that wood is as good as concrete BUT any foundation is only as good as it is built by the contractor. I don't know if I said that right but in short you can have a poor quality wood or concrete foundation if the contractor doesn't know what they are doing.I also spoke to over 50% of the appraisers in Minot ND and everyone of them said it makes... 04/23/2015

A Historic Day In Class.Realtors are looked upon as professionals. We are hired buy Buyers and Sellers for our expertise in all things Real Estate. One area that many Buyers and Sellers fail to recognize is our expertise in safety... yes safety.North Dakota is the first and only State at this time to make Real Estate Safety a MANDATORY continuing education course. This course, the one I attended today, was taught by Tracey  Hawkins, The Safety Lady. “Tracey, the Safety Lady” is an industry expert and has contracted with the National Association of REALTORS® as a real estate agent safety expert. As a former agent with 19 years experience, her highly-rated training is based on realistic situations and actionable techniques. She is a popular webinar presenter and regularly writes safety co... 04/21/2015

Why is Minot Still Growing? Real Estate Buyers and Sellers are both asking “Why is Minot ND still growing”. This is a popular question considering that the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to about half of what it was in just a matter of months. Buyers are wondering because no one what’s to purchase a home at the pinnacle of home values and find out in a year their purchase is now worth far less than they paid for it. Sellers want to get top dollar but also want their house to sell and not sit while some people panic sell like homes or even homes of greater value. Panic sell? Yes some people are very nervous about the oil slow down and are concerned that the oil market may dry up and that thousands of homes will all go on the market at once. I believe these fears are unrealistic alt... 04/20/2015

Minot's Roller Derby Season Begins!Ya don't want ta mess with these girls!Minot's Nodak Knockouts vs The Rushmore RollersIt’s The Roller Derby in River City  The season opener for Minot’s Roller Derby League, The Mouse River Rollers, starts on Saturday the 18th at 6PM in the State Fair Center. Tickets are just $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids when you purchase them on line at mouseriverrollers.com or $12. and $7.00 at the door. Don't miss the season opener.Go getem girls!!!  04/14/2015

This Evenings Walk In Minot ND  This evening I took a short walk, about 1 mile, around the Western part of Roosevelt Park in Minot. Roosevelt park is not a very big park but you could say it is in three pieces, the Western portion, the Zoo, and the Eastern portion. Here are a few pics from the walk around the Western portion.The pic above is the new Main Building to the Zoo. This building had to be built twice. They were one week away from opening when we had our flood in 2011 that totally destroyed all but the shell of the building.I will do an entire post on this at a later date. Each one of the "stones" has a plack with a hero's name and story. Very inspiring stuff.The geese are everywhere looking for a place to nest. No matter how small the body of water they check it out.Even at ag... 04/12/2015

Was This House Flooded?Oh no Sir, not THIS house...Minot, N.D., flooded from the Souris River in June 2011" by Clay Church of the U.S. Army Corps of EngineersBelieve it or not you could buy a home in this neighborhood and be told it was not flooded... with the blessing of the MLS.How could this be? If one of the homes in this picture were torn down and a new house constructed, or if someone built a home on one the empty lots you see than the MLS says the house was not flooded.OK, maybe that structure was not flooded but the lot was. The devil is in the details. The pain will be when you are required to purchase flood insurance on your new home that was never flooded.Even though the Minot MLS says it's perfectly acceptable to say that the house was not flooded I don't think it's acceptab... 04/07/2015

Minot Real Estate 101, Plumbing in North Dakota As you can see from the picture above there are many kinds of plumbing materials used in this (my) house. About the only thing not in this picture is a lead pipe or cast iron. What you do see is PVC, copper, PEX, and galvanized pipe, In my home there is also cast iron but almost all of that is below ground.   Not all plumbing materials, including some in this picture, are well suited for our ND climate. If your home heating source would fail during winter and the problem were not rectified you could have a heck of a mess in a matter of hours. Realistically if your home were fairly sealed up you would have about 24 hours before serious damage would occur. Most new construction in Minot homes utilizes PEX for fresh water  and PVC for sewer ... 04/05/2015