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

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 Opportunity Committee!

The purpose of the 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.

Today I attended the Wisconsin CRS Chapter luncheon at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center, in Green Bay. The CRS luncheon was part of the event schedule for WRA's "Designation Week" which opened yesterday and continues through Friday, February 5.

2009 CRS Wisconsin Chapter members (left to right), Chapter President Pat Dollins, Eric Kodner, Jo Baldridge

Close to fifty Wisconsin CRS Chapter members attended today's networking luncheon, chaired by President Pat Dollins. Following the event, I spent a pleasant couple of hours staffing the CRS booth at the Convention Center, along with Pat Dollins and Jo Baldridge.

And this evening, our CRS Chapter hosted a hospitality suite at the Radisson, with a guest list that included CRS instructors Chuck Bode and LeRoy Houser, as well as 2008 WRA Chairman Mike Spranger.

The Council of Residential Specialists will be hosting their 2009 National "Sell-a-bration" in San Francisco, February 5-7.

According to information provided by some friends (and verified on the Web), the ice caves at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are now open and accessible.

Park rangers have reportedly cored the ice between the caves and Meyers Beach, and have found the ice thick enough to accomodate tourist traffic.

The ice caves are awesome and beautiful! You'll need a parking permit or 2009 seasonal pass in order to bring your vehicle into the Meyers Beach lot. You can call the Visitor Center at (715) 779-3398 x399 to verify if the lot is open for parking and to obtain price information.

Bring a camera or two and dress warmly..it can be extremely cold this time of year in the Apostle Islands! You'll have to walk approximately a mile across the frozen beach and lake ice to reach the Mawikwe caves.

I guarantee it's worth the trip and the effort.