Weekends just don't get any BIGGER than this coming March 16th and 17th in Minot ND. 3 BIG events that will surely fill all the Hotel/Motel rooms and pack the restaurants over the weekend. 1) The Boys Class B Basketball Tournament is in town. About 95% of North Dakota's schools fall into the class B category. Students, parents, close relatives and those 20 times removed will be coming to Minot for this tournament. 2) The Abrahamson Rodeo & Rodeo School will be in town for Magic City Madness. Ye Ha! What a great time for participants, observers, and photographers like myself. 3) Volleyball! Minot Rec Commissions 29 Annual Volleyball Tournament. The biggest open volleyball tournament in the State will be here this weekend as well. These are NOT school teams, these are open teams much like... 02/28/2019

The word WITNESS brings up all kinds of images in our heads but for a Notary Public it's usually one of three ways that the term is applied. Is the common term "witness" the same as the term a Notary Public would use? Yes to some extent.For notaries it's one of three things: 1) Witnesses to wills and powers of attorney are called "signature witnesses" The legal role they play is to be present when the signer ads his/her name to the document. In this case witnesses also sign the document. 2) On a witness Jurat their job is to witness to the signers identity. A credible witness confirms a signers identity much the same as a document (like a drivers license) would. Credible witnesses are a greater form of identity verification than a printed ID because a real person is personally confirmin... 02/27/2019

Notaries do not notarize documents, we notarize signatures on documents. While this may sound like "splitting hairs" the truth is the document is 100% irrelevant to the notarization. If you want something notarized because you think it will give credibility to the document itself you are wrong. The notarization only attests that the persons signature on the document is the person who showed the notary satisfactory evidence that he/she is the person who signed it.   02/25/2019

What's Up Buttercup?That's what Sally K. & David L. Hanson want to know as a challenge this month: The BEST Challenge to be Your Best ! It made me think of The Champs, "What's Up Buttercup". Don't remember The Champs? They are best known for TEQUILA! (Which may be my next stop.)The challenge is to tell about a new "habit" you are making in 2019 that will make a difference for you and others for the better (I think). Hope I got that right.My challenge may sound self centered on the surface but I know it is not. I and my son Timmothy have joined a club called Publish or Parish. I've posted about it twice now. My first post was about the first meeting we attended on 2/09/2019. The second post was about my first two pages of writing that I brought to the club to be critiqued.The club has be... 02/24/2019

North Dakota is one of a FEW States that does not require a Notary to keep a Journal. A professional keeps a Journal, it's a sure sign that you are dealing with a Pro who wants to protect both you and him/her self. A Notary Journal is required in most States. In North Dakota a Journal is not required but the use of a Journal is certainly the mark of a PROFESSIONAL Notary Public. The Journal is further evidence of when and that you indeed had your document notarized. If your transaction should end up in court the Notary's Journal may be used in court as proof that your document was indeed signed and signed on the date in question. If your Notary doesn't use a Journal they are NOT as professional as they can be. At Ward County / Minot Notary Services we protect YOU with the use of a Notar... 02/22/2019

14 Minutes with Steve Carbno of GoodwillA year ago, nearly to the day, we visited with Steve Carbno of Goodwill Easter Seals about what was new at the Goodwill Thrift Store. There was a lot new then and there is even more now. Take 15 minutes to hear the exciting news about this non-profit ministry. Minot Today is broadcast over two radio stations every Friday. You can find it on 106.9 FM at 12:15 (Noonish) and again at 4:45 on 1320 AM. Of course I always post the broadcast as a Podcast here as well as my Podcast site at Pod-O-Matic. 02/20/2019

One person wearing two hats can be confusing. Since my retirement from Real Estate I've chosen to wear two hats (prominently) in my semi-retirement life. Truth be told I'm putting in just as many hours as ever but I'm doing so in positions that I enjoy much more then I was prior to semi-retirement. I've told you about my notary work, and yes that is still work BUT the other hat (which I LOVE) is my involvement in radio. When I retired from 16 years of Real Estate in the Minot ND area the ONLY thing I wanted to do was to work for KHRT radio. I have been advertising on KHRT Radio for more than 16 years and as a successful business man I can tell you that you just don't do that unless you are seeing results. KHRT radio listeners are loyal to the station and to the advertisers who keep it o... 02/15/2019

This morning I attended my first meeting of the Minot Downtown Business & Professional Association. I was very pleasantly surprised.There were many familiar faces, several business leaders that I know and several that I did not know.I did not know what to expect because when I visited the website it was very disappointing with old information of events already past and who knows how old the membership list is.Again, I was pleasantly surprised! The five banquet tables were completely full and the discussion was up beat and positive. I was particularly pleased that someone said the website is ready to be upgraded and the hang-up is the web hosting site needs to give them the password, or create a new one, being the last person to work on it changed it and is unavailable to help out.I hope... 02/13/2019

In today's "To Do" column of the Minot Daily News I noticed a group called POP, Publish Or Parish, was meeting this afternoon.I thought my son Timmothy may want to join me to see what it's all about. I've been enjoying writing as a blogger and Timmothy is already a published author at the age of 17 so it seemed like a good fit for us.It was not what I expected but I have to say it was even better than I expected. It was a small group and two other "newbies" also joined. I have to say I loved meeting everyone that attended... what a great congenial group!Participants are encouraged to bring some of their material and pass it around for constructive criticism. The material I read was great, it was an honor to be able to share and comment on it.Their FB page is Minot WriMos so after the me... 02/09/2019

Today's guest on Minot Today is Terry Peterson, Assistant Director at RSI (Rehab Services Inc.) and he explains all the good that this non-profit does in the greater Minot Area. RSI is local, 100% local! Everyone knows about the thrift store just off Broadway in the old Elks building but I had no idea just how diversified they are and the huge number of people they serve. Listen in for the details.  Minot Today is broadcast over two radio stations every Friday. You can find it on 106.9 FM at 12:15 (Noonish) and again at 4:45 on 1320 AM. Of course I always post the broadcast as a Podcast here as well as my Podcast site at Pod-O-Matic.  02/08/2019

All week our temps have been brutal. It's not so bad for us humans (those who dress right anyway) but I feel for the little critters out there.Check out tomorrows temps.Those are actual temps... not counting the wind chill!That being said I could not go to bed tonight without doing what I can for the birds, squirrels, and bunnies in my yard. Of course I can't bring them in (and I wouldn't if I could) but I can make sure they have food to eat. Food is so important when it's this cold because these critters burn up twice as many calories just from their little bodies trying to stay warm.It's twelve degrees below zero right now but I just came in from filling the bird feeders (3) putting corn cobs on the squirrel feeder (and breaking out the bucket of acorns I saved this fall), and last of... 02/07/2019

It was a busy time. None of us like excuses for shoddy work or customer relations but this (It was a busy time) is one of my least favorite excuses to hear when I've received poor service.This morning before heading to work I had to remove a huge heavy ridge of snow that crossed our driveway because the plow operator was to busy (lazy I say) to lower the SnoGate on his plow. An attachment that we Minot property taxes paid dearly for a few years ago. I've seen them operate this gate even at a reasonably good clip going down the street. I'm sure his/her supervisor would use the same excuse... It was a busy time because we just received 10 inches of snow.As Real Estate professionals and people in the service industry we market, market, market to get busy. When we do get busy do we sometime... 02/05/2019

After yesterdays snowfall it feels like summer may be farther away then that little rodent is predicting. Every one knows that North Dakota has cold winters (and indeed we have had more then our usual number of sub zero temps this winter) and everyone thinks we have snowy winters (again more this year then the norm) but the truth is we do not usually have snow falls that exceed 4 to 6 inches at a time.Yesterday was one of those exceptional days with 10 inches of fresh new snow. It overwhelmed the street department to the point they could not get the streets open/safe enough to hold school today. Here are a few pics from in my yard.There was no Super Bowl grilling in yesterdays storm.There were no boys of summer cracking the bat yesterday.A little cool for camping.I could plant the garde... 02/04/2019

I rarely go to movies and I never rent them (we do pick them up at the library on occassion for free) but last night was an exception.My son Timmothy decided our evening entertainment would be to go to "The Oak Park Theater" and see INSTANT FAMILY. I love The Oak Park Theater. I had my Real Estate office right inside the theater until the flood of 2011 destroyed it. The Oak Park Theater is a "second run" theater so movies are only $4.00 and it's a brand new theater now. Our local foster care organization, Path North Dakota, has been on my radio show several times and Tanya has suggested seeing this movie so I was eager to go along with Timmothy's wishes to see it. We were NOT disappointed. I believe the producer tried very hard to show what one might expect when bringing a foster child ... 02/03/2019

During my years as a Realtor no outside institution deserved kudos more then the established lenders in Minot ND. Stepping up to Margaret Rome, Baltimore Maryland , challenge for January I just have to give a high 5 to ALL of Minot's lending institutions. Everyone I've worked with has been Golden!Only one in 16 years has been unprofessional and their stint here was short lived and they are long gone.I never did really develop a "favorite" because they really were all "that" good.If a Real Estate Buyer would ask  for a recommendation, instead of naming an institution I would recommend they try one bank, one credit union and one mortgage broker. I truly had no favorite and they all had competitive rates.One super good story I just have to tell is about my friend Chad who at the time was w... 01/31/2019

Coming up very quickly is February 14th  GIVING HEARTS DAY (I've been told something else is also celebrated that day but my focus is on Minot's Giving Hearts Day).In this radio broadcast airing Friday on 106.9 FM at 12:15 (Noonish) and again at 4:45 on 1320 AM Tanya Hennix from PATH North Dakota and Mike Zimmer from Minot's Men's Winter Refuge tell you about the 14 local charities taking part in this Giving Hearts Day.Most important is that every dollar given locally STAYS locally. Minot Today is broadcast over two radio stations every Friday. You can find it on 106.9 FM at 12:15 (Noonish) and again at 4:45 on 1320 AM. Of course I always post the broadcast as a Podcast here as well as my Podcast site at Pod-O-Matic. 01/31/2019

During my radio broadcast/interview with Justin Anderson (executive Director of Minot Area Council of the Arts) he mentioned Giving Hearts Day coming up on February 14th. This coming Friday's interview is all about Giving Hearts Day. Here is a list of Minot participants:Giving Hearts Day is a State wide event but you specify what charity you want to give to and the money stays local. I hope you will listen in to Fridays radio broadcast to learn more about how this all came together and how you can participate.Minot Today is broadcast over two radio stations every Friday. You can find it at 106.9 FM at 12:15 (Noonish) and again at 4:45 on 1320 AM. Of course I always post the broadcast as a Podcast here as well as my Podcast site at Pod-O-Matic. 01/29/2019

Often people will come into my office and ask me to notarize a hand written note. It may be a bill of sale or something as simple as "if I should die I want my girlfriend to get my cowboy boots".This is the 1st tip in a series of Notarization. What is Notarial language? Why a Notary can not stamp just any piece of paper brought to them. If you have particular questions about what a notary is or does I'd be glad to answer your questions by email as best I can. Please keep in mind I am a Notary in North Dakota and State laws very so if you live in another State you may wish to check with an official or attorney in your State. 01/24/2019

Getting ready to spike it! I love playing volleyball so this is right up my alley. However I'm not sure what team would be excited to recruit a 64 year old man with a long list of health problems (plus I could stand to lose 10 pounds).I do not believe there are any restrictions on who can play so whether you are a teen or in your 60's like me you should sign up today. 01/23/2019

Tickets are on sale today for those who are part of "Friends of the Hostfest" and to the general public tomorrow. I've written many posts about this EXTREMELY fun 4 day event that is held at the North Dakota State Fair grounds. Although I don't believe there is a drop of Scandinavian blood in me I go every year and have a blast (just like I'm not Irish except for onj St. Pat's Day... then I'm all in).Some of the acts announced so far include: Chicks with Hits, Clint Black, Daniel O'Donnell, The Texas Tenors, Terry Fator, and Chicago. This just scratches the surface as there are acts all day, every day, for four days. For more about Norsk Hostfest just google it.I hope to see you there! 01/22/2019