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

Large Industrial Site in Minot for Sale Check out this heavy industrially zoned property centrally located within Minot North Dakota in the heart of oil activity.This large 47 acre parcel is ready to accommodate many different uses. It's highly visible with well water, septic sewer, railroad and truck access.Listing Price is currently $2,700,000 and features 20 acres with buildings zoned M-2 as well as an additional 27 acres of agriculture.Buildings include:70' x 160' pole barn35' x 50' office50' x 50' sales area40' x 40' shop with overhead doors50' x 100' open space with sidewalls26' x 40' metal building Contact Signal Realtors Kristen Boen and Duane Peterson for more information and view the complete details here: Visit Minot Commercial for all commercial real estate in Minot. 701-852... 06/13/2012

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? Prairie Dogs That Is! When this spring arrived, my first spring in this office location, I thought it was cool to see a gopher/prairie dog. It was a sure sign of spring. They are so cute and they just play so much it's got to make you happy. They also whistle. Problem is... they dig, and dig, and dig. They also breed faster then rabbits. The office yard now has a zillion holes in it, makes mowing a bumby ride. What to do? The neighboring office (people I like) have a Scottie named Lilly and she loves to go after the gophers. She hasn't caught one yet and I doubt she ever will. I don't want to accidently poison Lilly trying to get rid of my non-rent paying guests. There are so many holes in my yard it would take as much water as the flood to drowned them out. I coul... 05/23/2012

Hey Man, You Got Any Grass! After the flood much of the vegetation was killed off, everything from grass to trees. After all they were underwater for more then a month. Many folks, like myself, were thrilled to be able to get back in our homes once they were re-constructed. Our yards did not hold nearly the importance that re-building our dwellings held. Very few of the thousands of homes that had to deal with the disaster had time to put seed down last fall. Still today, nearly a year later, less then 50% of the homes in the valley are completed and inhabited by their pre-flood owners. I'm not a yard manic but when you have a two school age children and a dog it's nice to have a yard. Keep in mind those like myself who re-built have just spent thousands to restore our homes, an all mud... 05/22/2012

  The Landscape Changes When You Are The Land Of Opportunity! North Dakota, particularly Western North Dakota, had seen slow but steady growth for the last decade or two. Minot North Dakota had seen “better then” slow and steady but only by a thin margin. That was until The Minot Air Force Base added another bomber wing and at just about the same time the US Geological Team announced the largest oil find ever (and anywhere) was under Western North Dakota. Rumors abounded about how Minot North Dakota may grow as large as Houston Texas over night. I think everyone I know or had visited with was very excited to be living in the midst of an economic boom while much of our country was facing/dealing with economic disaster. Imagine a town of less then 30,000 people looking to grow to 100,000 ... 02/22/2012

OFFICE SWEET OFFICE THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE OFFICE Office Sweet Office. It's small, it's ugly, but it's mine. After a summer of conducting business out of my mother-in-laws basement, Starbucks, and the public library, I finally have an office to call home office. With all the positives it's easy for me to overlook the ugly color of the building (which I will repaint this spring) and the fact that the interior needs a little spritzing up. The next big step is to get that secretary I've talked about for 2 or 3 years. I hired one and she quit before she started because she didn't like the interior colors of the office. This despite the fact I told her she could pick new colors and I'd paint! I thought the colors were a little loud myself but I kind of like them and now that I've added some... 01/03/2012

Who Says An Old Dog Can't Teach YOU New Tricks??? Jack is a 12 year old mutt. He loves to fetch but we've never known him to actually catch a ball. Even at the age of 12 he will run after a ball much longer then your arm will hold out throwing the ball. Jack has never done steps. He will run up them (in shear terror) if he has to but forget him ever going down steps on his own. So what will he do if he is in the mood to play fetch and no one is paying attention? He just throws his ball down the steps and expects YOU to go get it. This is new behavior he's learned since we became (flood) refugees living at Grandma's house while our home is being rebuilt. With my office being downstairs (until I relocate into my new space sometime this month) I am usually the one Jack makes fetch the ball... 11/06/2011

HURTING CONTRACTORS NEED TO HEAD TO MINOT ND It's been a while since I sent out a plea for contractors to come to Minot if they want business. Business that they can charge full price for, rebuild their companies and retain their good workers. Minot and Western North Dakota is, and will remain, America's major boom area for a minimum of 5 years and more likely for 20 years. In the last week it has been re-affirmed that Western North Dakota is sitting on more recoverable oil then Saudi Arabia. WAY more! For several years now I've been posting about our major shortage of workers. ANY entry level job, even McDonnald's, is now starting it's people out at more then $10.00 per hour with benefits. Truck drivers are getting $100,000.00 a year or more. Carpenters, electricians and plumbers are g... 10/29/2011

CLEANED and SANITIZED....Really? Buyer BEWARE! If you are buying a home that has been in a flood situation or if you are a Realtor working with homes that have been in a flood situation you really need to understand what to expect when you hear the words "Cleaned and Sanitized". As an Active Realtor in an area that has suffered from wide spread flooding I am very concerned about what is being sold as "Cleaned and Sanitized".  The following pictures are from my own home that stood in 6' of water for more then a month due to the flooding. These pictures are AFTER $3,000.00 of cleaning and sanitizing by a very reputable company that spent 3 days (144 man hours) in my home. The scary thing to me is that after the cleaning and sanitizing I could easily have said "good enough" and started she... 10/24/2011

31 Days Of Positivity! Celebrate Your Heritage! 31 Days Of Positivity! Celebrate Your Heritage (or somebody elses) Let's start October out with a MASSIVE dose of positivity! #1) VOLUNTEER! I love going to the Norsk Hostfest every year. Admittance is a bit spendy but it's free for volunteers. Volunteer shifts are only 4 hours and you can stay all day. It's a week long party celebration and many people volunteer every day. Volunteering to do something good helps make me feel more positive. #2) GET OUT AND MINGLE! I don't remember the numbers but I believe this event brings in 100,000 people or more. Gotta mingle in a crowd that big. #3) PARTY! That's what it is... one big party. #4) CELEBRATE YOUR HERITAGE! I'm German but some where in there I must have a drop of Scandinavian blood. Just ... 10/01/2011