Eric Kodner CRS, ABR, e-PRO, CLHMS, Madeline Island Real Estate Wisconsin

Yesterday evening, I received a cellphone call from a fellow who wanted information on one of our listings. He was calling me from Madeline Island, using a Blackberry with Verizon service.

He was having obvious trouble getting a decent cellular phone signal in downtown LaPointe. We were able to chat for about ten or fifteen seconds and then his phone would drop the call.

With his phone number displayed on my Caller ID, I figured it was worth a try to see if he could receive text messages. And it worked! We were able to exchange email addresses and I sent him the information he needed.

Text messaging has turned out to be a boon for us in our real estate practice. One of the biggest advantages is the fact that text messaging uses far less bandwidth than a cellphone call. So when your cellular signal fails you and drops calls, or even if you don't have enough signal to connect with the person you're attempting to call, it's worth trying to make contact by sending a text message.

I've read that text messaging worked when all other forms of communication failed during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005.

If you find yourself showing property in an area with low population density, text messaging can keep you in touch with office or clients, even when the available cell signal is so poor that calls are difficult to place. And if you are momentarily in a "dead zone" (zero signal area), most cellphones will store your SMS message so you can hit "re-send" at a later time and you'll have a better chance of getting your message on its way.

I've found text messaging especially useful in northern Wisconsin and in parts of rural Minnesota or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the cellular service is poor. It even works quite well on the seventy-mile stretch of Highway 13 that runs between Superior, Wisconsin and Ashland, an area that is notorious for dropped calls.

Our Madeline Island EMTs and other emergency personnel would be wise to offer a text messaging number that could be used to obtain fire, ambulance or police assistance. Last year I witnessed a tourist accident on Big Bay where a first responder was trying to render first aid and no one nearby could get enough cell signal to call the LaPointe EMT (landline) number.

You can read more about my experiences with cellular phone service on Madeline Island here:

Cellphone Secrets - How to Get a Cellular Phone Signal on Madeline Island

Now I remind my clients "If you're having trouble reaching me by cellphone, text me at 612-670-2539".

This evening, I was delighted to receive a call from a fellow who was interested in purchasing one of our listings. Unfortunately, he was attempting to call from a cellphone from downtown LaPointe, on Madeline Island.

Our Island has poor cellular service that is almost legendary. Unless you have Alltel local service (from Chequamegon Telephone Cooperative on the nearby mainland) or your cellular carrier is AT & T, you can expect to have problems using your cellphone on Madeline Island.

I have a Blackberry World Edition phone (with Verizon service), however in this part of the world, it doesn't work very well). On Main Street, in front of our office, I get one or two signal bars, occasionally three at best. In various parts of town, I get zero signal bars. I can receive incoming calls but if I dial out, the call is usually dropped shortly after the recipient answers. Clients and friends who subscribe to a Verizon plan tell me that they've had the same problem up here. I've also heard that Sprint and T-Mobile work poorly on the Island, if at all.

Apparently "3G" stands for "going, going, gone" when you try to place a call in the Apostle Islands.

For those of you who don't plan to terminate your Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile plan early (and pay a penalty for doing so), there are a few options.

Firstly, get as close to the water's edge as you can when placing a call. Lines of sight are important when you make a cellular call in a remote area. I've found that I can get a decent signal sometimes by standing on the Ferry Dock in downtown LaPointe. The dock shared by the Beach Club and our Madeline Island Realty office is a fairly good place to get a signal as well.

Perhaps the best and clearest signal location I've identified in LaPointe is the beachfront area next to the Pub Restaurant and Rendezvous Center for The Inn on Madeline Island. I usually get three or four signal bars there, at least when weather conditions are clear.

Another good signal location can be found within a few yards of the Marine antenna behind the Madeline Island Yacht Club. The MIYC antenna tower and its Yagi antenna may be a place where you can "hitch a ride" and pick up a signal that's a little stronger.

I'm hoping some enterprising person will decide to open a cellphone rental service on the Island. In the meantime, I wish we could get a cellphone tower on Madeline Island that would be compatible with the digital service available from most major nationwide providers.

Madeline Island will be hosting the fifth annual "Big Ice Golf" Tournament in LaPointe, Wisconsin, on February 21.

The event will take place from Noon to 4 p.m. on the 21st. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the La Pointe Volunteer Fire Department. Local businesses have chipped in to sponsor the nine-hole course on the Lake Superior ice. The tournament site offers a beautiful view of the lake and the Bayfield mainland.

There'll be no sand traps, no water hazards and no lugging golf clubs in the hot sun. If you've never played golf on the ice, here's your chance to experience some unique midwinter fun!

Google Earth is a fun and useful utility, but it's far from perfect.

I found myself searching for the town of LaPointe, Wisconsin on Google Earth yesterday evening. And depending on how you type the town's name, you get entirely different results.

LaPointe is the commercial zone on Madeline Island, located at the southwestern tip of the Island. LaPointe Township includes the entire island. Madeline Island is one of the twenty-two Apostle Islands in western Lake Superior, situated about seventy-five miles east of the Duluth-Superior metropolitan area.

There seems to be a sort of eternal debate among Islanders (and summer residents) about whether there should be a space between "La" and "Pointe". It seems to make a difference on the Web when you're searching for our town. I have seen some search engines generate results based upon two separate words, rather than upon the town's complete name, when the space is utilized.

Anyway, Google Earth shows two very different locations for the town of LaPointe (or La Pointe):

• Under "Search" and "Fly to", if you type in "La Pointe", you get a location on Oak Island, in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior. Oak Island is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, miles from the town of LaPointe.
• If you type in "LaPointe", you will see multiple results for LaPointe businesses, including our company, Madeline Island Realty.

In Google Maps, you can submit a correction by visiting TeleAtlas.com. TeleAtlas feeds corrections in map locations to Google Maps on a regular basis, although it may take some time for the change to appear on the Web.

I haven't yet figured out how to get Google Earth to recognize that the town of LaPointe is NOT located on Oak Island.

Maybe it would be a good idea if we could all arrive at some uniformity about whether to use "La Pointe" or "LaPointe" on the Web.

Today, I was delighted to learn that I've been appointed to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association (WRA) Equal Housing Opportunity Committee!

The purpose of our state's EOC is to monitor and evaluate "legislative, legal and regulatory trends with respect to equal opportunity in housing". The EOC works with our WRA Public Policy Committee to help craft or influence pending or proposed legislation dealing with Fair Housing issues.

I feel honored to be invited to join this WRA committee. I believe that service on association committees and boards is more than an obligation. It's important for real estate professionals to "walk the talk" when it comes to Fair Housing and ethics issues. And service on a committee such as this one is, for me, part of that effort.