WHERE DID ALL THE BOOK STORES GO?   While visiting down in the San Juan (Pharr) TX area I was struck by how far we had to travel to find a book store. Our host had taken us on several sight seeing trips over the Christmas celebration and in those many trips we never saw one. We had been keeping an eye out because next to the library a book store is my kids favorite place to be (and they don't even drink coffee). After asking several people in my hosts (over 55) community we received directions to a Barnes and Noble about 10 miles away. It was packed! I was kind of taken back by the fact that I'd say the average age in the store was about 30 years old. With this many young people demanding books and willing to pay Barnes and Noble prices I can't believe there isn't a book store on every... 12/27/2014

CLOWN DOWN! Cloudy the Clown (R) and Timmothy N. Timm (L) This picture, taken about 6 years ago, is one of my favorite pictures. It was taken at a church function and two of the entertainers who volunteered were Cloudy & her husband Dizzy. Dizzy, Cloudy, and their daughter Sparkly have won many awards for their acts and Dizzy has been honored nationally for his balloon tieing skills. Cloudy's real name is Claudia Gillespie, her husband Ken, and daughter Janet. This time of year Cloudy and Dizzy are often seen is Santa & Mrs. Claus. This family has done so many charitable acts for others I doubt anyone could possibily surpass the number of smiles and good will they have given our community. Now they need your help. Cloudy has been diagnosed to have stage 4 cancer. I am asking you pray f... 12/16/2014

TIME TO SHRED I was cleaning out an old file cabinet left behind from the previous owner of the company and thinking... what am I going to do with this stuff? These were not sensitive customer files, just plat maps and development information collected by the previous owner, a property appraiser.   I could have spent hours going through each file looking for info I may or may not use.... some day.... but I'm opting to just get rid of the clutter. Just in case there is some personal information in there I'm going to take the paper to a recycling center and have it shred.   Here in Minot we have a company called Kalix that does the job. I like using Kalix because their focus is helping the mentally handicapped. There are other places in town that shred and do a good job but it's nice to ... 08/18/2014

It's time for "THE GREAT TOMATO FESTIVAL"   Actually I'm almost late in posting this being the Festival is tomorrow, August 13th from 5:30 PM til 10:00 PM. I love this event. First of all it benefits several good causes, including The Minot Public Library (which my best friend is in charge of). I also love the event because it's a time I get to serve others (literally as I usually wait tables for the event), and maybe most important of all it's a big reminder to me that my anniversary is just a few days away and I better do something about it.   The event draws a thousand or so of Minot's who's who so it's always fun to see my closest friends (ha, ha). At least for the night I can feel like I'm hobknobing with others who think I'm actually somebody. (ha, ha)   Hope to see you there! To... 08/12/2014

The Cloud He Is Coming Back On The Cloud He Is Coming Back On is a popular Christian song by the Kingsmen and can be sceen on youtube Kingsmen, The Cloud He Is Coming Back On. Last week when I saw this cloud it made me think of the song and I thought... WOW, the whole Trinity! Bob Timm, Real Estate Broker, National Marketing Realtors, 1919 N Broadway, Minot ND 58703 07/21/2014

Broker Bob, It's Official!!! It's official! Broker Bob! To be absolutely precise it's Broker Associate but we are already looking to change that at the first of the year. It's been a very long year of studying and defending myself against false accusations but now I can say it's all been worth it. I went into take the test with very little self confidence but by the grace of God I passed with flying colors. Now the focus is on helping my Broker realize his dream of retirement and swapping titles with him as he plans on retaining his license but slowing down the pace a bit. At 59 years old you would think I should be slowing down as well but having a 13 year old daughter and an 11 year old son my retirement will most likely come with death (hopefully not anytime soon). Thank you to all m... 09/16/2013

As we have blogged in the past, the Flood of 2011 caused major devastation to Minot (and surrounding areas). Two years later, residents, businesses and parks are still struggling to rebuild and restore. To help support Roosevelt Park, Scheels is sponsoring a Twilight 5k Run/Walk and Kids Run to take place Saturday, August 31st! What a neat event to participate in, as you are helping raise money to restore the zoo, park and pool areas~but also a race at Twilight?! Cool! Glow sticks, t-shirts and swag bags will br given out to all participants. Kids Games and registration begins at 6:00 p.m. Kids Race begins at 7:30 p.m. 5K Race begins at 8:00 p.m.  For more information on how to join in the fun, please visit www.visitminot.org. 08/27/2013

Minothome.com Have you Heard of it? If not type it in and click the link, you ll be glad you did. Minothome.com lists homes for sale in and around the ward county area here in North Dakota. As well as rentals when there are any available. If your not looking to buy or rent maybe you are looking to upgrade your home or sell your home. scroll through the links on the left hand side and you will find something to help. there are many links to help with home projects and upgrades. from simple small ideas to big transformations. this site has many links for your many interests. we list what you should know before you sell your home and when your in the market to purchase a new home. there is also a page for the DIY people out there. then you will see a section where you can learn about Minot... 08/22/2013

Summer is always full of fun, Like family vacations and great activities. Here in Minot ND we are happy to have our zoo Back open after the flood just 2 years ago. The North Dakota state fair just came for 9 days, and no we are in for more fun. Downtown on Main st. in Minot ND there will be an Annual festival. The festival will start at 10am and go on through 5pm. Some of the fun includes Dakota Cruisers classic car show, Dizzy the Clown, bingo, food and craft vendors, and carnival and inflatable games. There will be 2 historic Minot slide shows at the Taube Museum along with children's art activities, A MAFB K-9 dog demonstration, FunTyme karaoke contest, dance performances, in store events, sidewalk sales and Saint Meridian band performance. Plus so much more! So if your looking for ... 08/07/2013

                 Summer Time is the time of year we all look forward to, with summer vacations, no school, and warmer play days for kids. Here in Minot ND we are starting our summer off with a Summer-night Celebration at the Historic Heritage Park. Friday June 21st be ready to get out and have some fun. This festival is for all ages its a fun-filled event planned with something for everyone. There will be souvenir pictures for children, great food and entertainment, story telling, garlands of flowers for your head (just like in Sweden), and even beginning Norwegian language lessons. Also to top it off there will be a traditional bonfire in the park’s pond. This annual event celebrates the Scandinavian heritage in our community. You'll find remembrances and replicas from each of the fiv... 06/18/2013

      Registration Begins April 6th at 9am @ the MSU Dome Walk will start at 10am and lasts for 1 hour, it is a 3 mile walk. this yearly walk represents the 64 babies born premature every hour in the united states, 28 of which will have lifelong health issues as a result of being born premature, and 9 of these premature babies won’t live to see their first birthday. So get up and get out there. Donate and or walk for a good cause. Every dime donated helps fund the help these babies need to survive. Every bit of support helps. This year the March Of Dimes is celebrating 75 years. With each year becoming more successful from the help people like you and me provide.   For more information or to see how you can help go to www.marchforbabies.org     04/05/2013

Minot ND Is Pet Friendly  I have been asked if Minot North Dakota is a "Pet Friendly" community. Click on Titus The Bee above for my little video presentation. Minot is pet friendly (as long as you have a friendly pet). ALL pets are required to be on a leash when out side of the home or out side of a fenced yard, even Titus The Bee! There is a hefty fine, as there should be, for those who do not clean up after their pet when it leaves a deposit on someones yard or on public property. I believe the fine is $500.00. I would like to see it at $1,000.00 and a day in jail as it seems that there are plenty of law breakers who pass by my yard.       01/31/2013

Why Not Minot? When I made this little video a few minutes ago I was surprised that there were so many videos with the same title on You Tube. Good quality videos. Mine is not. I actually made this video just to see if I could make a video. OK, hope this works. If not I will remove it in a jiffy. I can NOT seem to get the player to come up BUT if you click on the fellow above you will see my video.   01/30/2013

A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL I'm sure all of us that have firm moral beliefs and who believe in Heaven and Hell have seen or have heard of acts that make us think or say "There must be a special place in Hell for people like that". The following comments are serious but also on the light hearted side as the crimes I speak of that deserve a special place in Hell do not compare to murder and other truly atrocious acts against humanity. As an example: When I go to a church rummage sale (usually to raise funds for a youth group or mission trip) and I see an empty wrapper from an item that someone obviously stole. Come on.. stealing a bargin price item from a church... "There must be a special place in Hell" for that person who stole from the church. What prompted this post? In todays Minot Daily... 01/09/2013

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS TIGHT BUT.... The photo above is not altered in any way! However I do not know the true purpose of the modification to this box car. It sits on a track near my home where some old and dilapidated rail cars may sit for a year or more. I can assure you this: if CP Rail (the owner of the car) would put a "For Rent" sign on it they would have many inquiries being our affordable housing in Minot ND is sorely lacking. With just under 200 homes for sale in our community of roughly 40,000 only about 50 homes are priced under $200,000. and about half of those are flood ravaged homes that have not yet been restored. Building is at a feverish pace but they are building homes priced from $250,000. on up. I don't fault the builders, they are paying upwards of $60,000. for a vac... 01/08/2013

Realtor Ring Day, Ringing In Donations! North Dakota has a lot of things to brag about these days, fastest growing State, wealthiest State per capita, greatest longevity, the State with a multi-billion dollar State surplus and more. BUT, one of my favorite things to brag about is Realtor Ring day. Many years ago, at least a decade, Minot ND Realtors got the idea to set a day aside to ring the bell at the Salvation Army kettles. We were the first in the nation, now more then 15 States have followed suit. We also decided to up the ante and focus our annual Realtors Christmas party on the same cause, raising funds for the Salvation Army. It's a blast! Of course we have our diner and there is an open bar but we have two auctions at the party. We hold a silent auction and a live auction wit... 12/29/2012

GOOD MORNING MR. SUNSHINE! Up here in the North land the days are getting shorter as winter draws near. Now I'm getting to the office before the first rays of sunshine. Today's sunrise made me stop what I was doing and take it's picture. Like a child screaming "Look at me, Look at me" I just could not deny it. Bob Timm, National Marketing Realtors, 1919 North Broadway, Minot ND 58703. Phone 701-720-8513 www.MinotHome.com 10/08/2012

It Was A Fair Day It was really much more then a fare day, It was a State Fair Day! Friday was the kick-off with the State Fair Parade and it was huge. Yesterday (Tuesday) my family and I spent 11 hours at the fair having a great time. This year was special in many ways. Last year at this time the fair grounds was under 6' of water thus neither the parade or the fair were held. The folks in charge have done a fantastic job of getting everything back on line after millions of dollars of damage from the flood. Attendance records are already being shattered for all time as our town has grown in leaps and bounds due to the oil boom and just people celebrating that the fair is back. I've got to mention that our family reached a milestone with this years fair. We let the kids cruse the midway... 07/25/2012

SO WHAT If I Don't Mow!   The home behind my kids is one of about a dozen nice homes that were built about 4 years ago. They have the river in their backyard. With the flood last year they had the river runnibg through the house, about 6 feet deep in the living room. All of these homes are in the mandatory buy-out plan thus they have all been abandoned. Tina and Timmothy are about 5 feet tall so the tallest weeds are about 7 feet tall. Regretfully about 20% of the homes that were lost to the flood have yards just like this. Imagine living next door to one. We are very lucky that both neighbors on either side of us have rebuilt their homes and are taking care of their lawns. One neighbor is also taking care of the one next to him (not mine) in an effort to keep those weeds from seeding i... 07/19/2012

SUNSET ACROSS THE STREET I snapped this sunset scene from my own front yard hoping to catch a little more color then I did. However I like the way the clouds showed up as I didn't even notice their unique texture when I took the picture. It was a beautiful day with the temp in the upper 70's, maybe low 80's. I have really been caught up in yard work replanting grass being it was all destroyed in the flood. We have a long way to go but to see the areas that I have replanted start to fill in has been a real joy.  It's nice to stand in my yard this year, opposed to last year when at this time I would have been standing in 6' to 8' of rushing water, and just enjoy nature instead of fearing it. 06/25/2012