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Newsletter from Montana - Minnesota
July 2007
We have two new agents for Minnesota: Jane Nelson and James Hannon
James serves on the city council in Detroit Lakes and is a young man with a lot of energy and ambition. He grew up in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. With the army he served all over Europe, Asia and most states in the US. His career after the service was in pre-press printing, but since this craft fell by the wayside due to modern technology he was looking for a new career and after trying different avenues, he found his calling in real estate. With his outgoing personality and the attitude to get things done, I think he might achieve his goal to become "The Best Midwest Realtor."
http://minnesotahereicome.com/james.htm
http://bestmidwestrealtor.com
JamesHannon@vcn.com (218) 847-4345
Thanks to our new agent Jane, Sky Lodge Properties, Inc. now offers vacation rental services here in the lakes country of Minnesota. To put your second home on the lake into a vacation rental pool is a great way to afford it in the first place. Jane also has her own website where you can get a glimpse of the vacation rentals Jane is handling right now:
http://cabinconnect.com
Jane grew up in Wisconsin and harbors a passion for horses. She had raised and trained quarter horses while teaching parents how to be parents in the Minneapolis and Lake Park school districts. In Minnesota the state sponsors classes for parents in all public schools.
After retiring from horses and the school, Jane ran a successful wholesale business with her husband in Fargo North Dakota for seven years. Since Greg, Jane's husband, enjoys lake living (where no horses are allowed) Jane found another passion: Vacation Rentals. There is no other vacation rental agency in the area, and Jane felt since there are so many second homes, this would be a great way for many people to afford a lake home. And right she is!
Jane lives near the Sky Lodge Properties, Inc. headquarters on Big Cormorant Lake, and the home she had designed and built there was just featured on the front page of "Lake Living" magazine.
Jane has experience in developing land, designing homes, interior decorating and knows how to make a house into a home and what it takes to make it into a vacation rental. Jane is a very spirited lady and you will enjoy her when you come to see what our area has to offer. She is versed in all water sports and activities and will be happy to show you around.
JaneNelson@vcn.com 701-212-9930
http://minnesotahereicome.com/jane.htm
With all the craze about alternative fuel, you might like to invest in some corn growing land. Mike Olson has 1005+/- acres of Minnesota Ag Land listed. The land is tiled, trenched and borders paved roads; just outside a small city in Becker County, (NW Minnesota). The seller will lease the land back at $160/Acre. $3,800/Acre or $3.81 Million. - The seller would split off smaller parcels of 140 acres minimum. Give Mike a call 218/234 8151 or send him an email MikeOlson@vcn.com
We do not have a website for the property yet, but he will send you all the information you would like.
Mike also listed 150 acres "8,000ft of shoreline on a 97acres lake and a 124acres lake in Becker County, MN. The property features some trees and good fishing access. Excellent development potential. Seller will lease the land back for $ 160 per acre. $2 Million." ~ call Mike
For the next listings at least I made the websites. Quite frankly I have a hard time catching up with Mike.
At any rate, he listed what used to be a duplex and I guess the home can easily be reversed to be a duplex again
http://minnesotahereicome.com/Duplex
This Minnesota home is set on 10 acres and boasts 5 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2 full kitchens, which is a perfect setup when family or friends come to visit! The land with this property has about 6.5 acres of heavy woods that have harvested deer every hunting season. These woods run from the back yard down to Lake 610. At the waters edge the owners have a dock and 3 duck blinds scattered along their 330 ft of shoreline. The lake is 12 ft deep and about 35 acres. It is classified as a natural environment lake and holds some pan fish. Come to think of it, this would make an excellent vacation rental! The home comes with a 30' x 40' insulated garage/shop with a wood burning stove, 100 Amp electrical service, floor drain, welder hook-ups and an old paint room with exhaust fan. Next to this shop is a 12' x 15' wood shed that gives a rustic, country feel to the property. There is an additional 24' x 30' pole barn, chicken coop and garden shed. For those that like to enjoy the Minnesota summers the property also features a 50'x54' vegetable and flower garden. This compliments the fire pit set on a beautifully landscaped patio. All these features are just a start to this unique property that could be set up to fit your wants and needs! $335,000
Mike Olson (our agent of the month) managed to rope in our first North Dakota listing. The home sits on 11 acres bordering 70,000 acres of the Sheyenne National Grasslands, which is home to the Prairie Chicken, Sharp-tail Grouse and Pheasants.
The benefit to living next to the grasslands is that you could ride your horse for days and feel like you were back in unsettled America. There are also trails for 4-wheelers, but the riders must stay on the trails to avoid disturbing the vegetation. If you like, you can run cattle on these lands. The government sells "Extremely Inexpensive" permits to cattle owners who live in the area. Contacts for these permits include Sheyenne National Grasslands District Ranger: Brian Dotts at 701-683-4342 and the Sheyenne Valley Grazing Assocation at 701-439-2670.
The home itself is a perfect match for the Sheyenne. Set on 11 acres, this cedar sided home has 3bedrooms/2baths, 2 stall attached garage and a beautiful front deck. Inside one can see all the additional work that has been put into this 1997 home. Recent improvements include tile floors in the kitchen, new doors, and an electric fireplace. The home is located in McLeod, ND which has a population of about 126 people (including area ranchers). The property is about one hour southwest of Fargo, ND and can be yours for $ 215,000
http://minnesotahereicome.com/Sheyenne
The Sheyenne is one of the treasures of North America, it features a large density of northern tall grass prairie with the world's largest populations of the threatened Western Prairie White-Fringed Orchid. If you click on the link, you can see a photo of it there, quite the flower!
The western prairie fringed orchid stands as one of the gems of North America's remaining tallgrass prairies. This flowering orchid may grow to 4 feet tall, comparable in height to the surrounding prairie grasses, and may have up to two dozen white to creamy white fringed flowers.
Curiously, the regal appearance of this plant does not attract insects to pollinate the plant during the daylight. Rather, as night descends over the prairie, the orchid's flowers increase its fragrance to attract the roaming moths. Shrouded in this cover of darkness, the long-tongued hawkmoth rises to visit the intoxicating flowers. This moth is unremarkable in appearance and coloration. What is unusual about it is its uniquely evolved tongue for harvesting the orchid's nectar. The orchid's white fringed petals direct approaching moths to the spur and the plentiful supply of nectar it holds. As the moth hovers with its long tongue extended into the spur, two specialized pollen-bearing structures brush pollen onto the eyes of the moth. The western prairie fringed orchid nectar spur is the longest of any North American orchid. Only those species of hawkmoths with suitable length tongues and properly spaced eyes can act as pollinators.
The remarkable relationship between the long-tongued hawkmoth and western prairie fringed orchid has been continuing successfully for centuries until European settlers settled the heartland of North America. They found the tallgrass prairie yielded fertile soils, ideal for raising a variety of crops. Millions of acres of America's prairies were rapidly converted for cropland. Today we have only about two percent left of the tallgrass prairie and less than 40 percent of the original western prairie fringed orchid populations. Today, tallgrass prairie has generally been reduced to small islands in a sea of cropland, and the orchid, facing potential extinction, was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1989.
The fragmented prairie landscape created by man poses the greatest obstacle for these insect-oriented orchids. The expanses of cropland act as a barrier for free movement of hawkmoths between different orchid populations, reducing genetic diversity of isolated stands. Pesticide drift from nearby cropland also poses a threat to non-targeted insects such as the hawkmoth. In some areas, hawkmoth numbers are so depleted that only a very small percentage of flowers are pollinated and produce seed. Long-term survival of this tallgrass prairie gem requires not only protecting its habitat but also insuring the survival of the orchid's only means of reproduction, the long-tongued hawkmoth. Otherwise for lack of a moth, the orchid is lost.
If you rather look at the highest mountain peaks Montana has to offer and would like to ride your horse into the National Forest right from your own property, take a look at
these three parcels in the Beartooth Range near Red Lodge.
Or maybe you rather
own your own valley surrounded by National Forest with four miles of creek in Western Montana? Eight miles of trails on your own property connect to the trail system of the Lolo National Forest and you can ride all the way to Idaho from there without seeing anybody.
Another great horse property would be the
258 acres adjacent to the Custer National Forest an hours south of Billings. You can visit the largest Wild Horse herd in the US while you take your 4-wheeler right off your property and drive through the lush valleys of the Pryor Mountains, or take your own horse of course.
We now added three quarter horses to our farm in Minnesota and we were breaking our heads about the best fence for the pasture, since horses have been known to get tangled up in just about everything. A jack rail fence can be a recipe for a broken leg and even smooth wire can cut to the bone. So we came up with this elastic fencing. It looks like wire, comes in black or white and will be mounted in 5 strands through wooden posts. Here is a video about it you might like to watch if you are planning to have horses around.
Knowing how picky horses are about their water, we also installed Bar-Bar-A horsedrinkers. The water bowl fills with fresh clean water each time your horse or cow puts its nose into the drinker. After the drink, the excess water drains away, leaving an empty bowl. Mosquitoes do not have a chance and the dish stays clean. The waterline to it though has to be buried below the frost line, but that is true with any water line.
Fertilize in fall, see results in spring. Fall is the most important time to fertilize your lawn. Aim for two applications; one in September and another in early November. A slow-release fertilizer will help your lawn soak up nutrients after the long, hot summer. An ATV-mounted spreader will help you cover more ground in less time. Perennial broadleaf weeds, such as dandelion and plantain, can be controlled with the application of broadleaf herbicides from mid-September to early November.
When we flush meds down drains or send them to landfills, they make their way into rivers and even drinking water. Proper disposal is just what the doctor ordered.
The Benefits: Healthier aquatic life. More than 80% of rivers recently sampled tested positive for meds like antibiotics, birth control hormones, and antidepressants.
Safer drinking water. Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals end up in our H2O because most treatment plants are not designed to filter them out.
Helping people who cannot afford meds. Many states have programs that will take your drugs and redistribute them.
The
Starfish Project - takes donations of certain meds by mail and distributes them to people in Africa.
Earth911 - enter your zip to find nearby drop sites for unused pills.
Drug Repository Programs - check with your local Department of Health or Board of Pharmacy.
Pharmacies - many pharmacies, such as Rite Aid, have safe drug disposal programs; check with yours.
As air temperatures soar across Montana, so do water temperatures. As the water reaches temperatures above 73 degrees, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is closing or restricting access to many fishing areas. To keep up-to-date on closures, go directly to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
restrictions and closures page.
The Fifth Annual
River Center Meeting titled, "Ecology - when it comes to restoration design, so what?" will take place at the University of Montana in Missoula on September 20th and 21st, 2007. This two day meeting includes a field trip on day 1 and four keynote speakers on day 2. Keynote presentations will include time for questions and discussion. This meeting will appeal to those who are interested in river restoration. Email any questions about the conference to Johnnie Moore at the University of Montana.
If you are just hot and think you would rather be flying over snowy mountaintops, you might enjoy this video of a
flight over Switzerland.
Hope you are staying cool until my next newsletter at the end of August!
:-)
Best Regards,
Dorothea Lowe, Broker
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