Eric Kodner, Lake Minnetonka Homes & Madeline Island Real Estate

Back in late October of 2009, I got a phone call from Regina Ludes, a staff writer with The Residential Specialist magazine. Regina told me she was putting together an article on the different ways that some agents promote the CRS Designation to the public and to others in the real estate industry. Regina requested an interview and a couple days later, we spent about forty-five minutes chatting over the phone.

Regina's article appears in the newly-released January - February 2010 issue of the Residential Specialist magazine. Please click on the photo below to read the full article.

The article is entitled "Letter Perfect - CRSs Find Unique Ways to Promote the Designation to Clients and Agents". Among the quotes from our interview that Regina included in her article was a comment I made about how we promote the CRS Designation in our Wayzata Lakes Realty company newsletter. She wrote,

"The response from clients has been "gratifying," Kodner says. "I expect clients to see the newsletter, but clients have written back to me and said things like, ‘It's great to see that you're doing something that other agents aren't doing".

[I especially want to thank Council of Residential Specialists Communications Editor Regina Ludes and her Managing Editor for approving my link to Regina's article]

Govenor Tim Pawlenty's latest budget-balancing idea is sure to appeal to folks who are bad at math.

The Governor has proposed phasing out funding of the Minnesota State Arts Board by 2011 to zero. The ten million reduction under his proposal won't do a thing to balance Minnesota's five billion dollar deficit, but the Governor wants to dismantle the State Arts Board anyway, turning it into a "privatized" nonprofit organization.

Not only artists suffer from the plan (yes, artists pay income taxes too). Here's a partial list of who gets hurt by Governor Pawlenty's not-too-bright idea:

The State and Orpheum theaters, the Guthrie Theatre, the Minneapolis Children's Theater, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (plus over a hundred other for profit and nonprofit arts organizations).

Downtown Minneapolis & Saint Paul restaurants, parking ramp and lot owners, operators and employees, waitstaff, cooks, buspeople, ticket office staffers, ushers, hospitality industry personnel and arts audiences get shafted as well.

Municipalities lose significant revenue from ticket tax, not to mention tax on monies earned by restaurants, bars, parking facilities, transportation providers, the Metropolitan Transit Commission, limo drivers and restaurateurs.

Taxpayers get the short end of the stick if this proposal becomes law.

Crippling the Arts in Minnesota won't help balance the State budget.

The Arts accounted for over $1 Billion in economic activity in Minnesota alone last year.

In Minnesota, every dollar government invests in the arts returns $11.

Take away the performing arts, museums, art galleries, dance companies, theater and concerts, and you'll turn the Twin Cities area into Omaha with pro sports.

I discovered Pho Quan Restaurant in Minneapolis, located at 1815 Nicollet Avenue, some years ago. It's still there, still homely, and still one of the best places to grab lunch in the Twin Cities.

Don't look for charming ambiance, clean tables or cute southeast Asian decor. You won't find it at Pho Quan. But the Vietnamese noodle soup is the best anywhere.

The place is frequented by some of my musician friends from the Minnesota Orchestra, including colleagues Robert Anderson (bass) and Taichi Chen (violin). Pho Quan was recently rated among the "25 Great Places to Eat" in the Twin Cities by TwinCities.com and other food sites have followed suit.

Choose from vegetable, beef, chicken or shrimp bowls, available in three sizes. The price is astonishing and the Pho is unquestionably tasty!

The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale has recently published its 2008-09 season schedule of Masses with full orchestral accompaniment, to take place at the Church of Saint Agnes, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Chorale is joined by a professional chamber orchestra which includes former and present members of the Minnesota Orchestra and area freelance musicians [all instrumentalists are members of The Twin Cities Musicians Union, Local 30-73, American Federation of Musicians].

This fall, the Chorale begins its thirty-fifth season of presenting glorious sacred music in the Twin Cities.

Here's the schedule (through December 31, 2008) of Latin Masses with orchestral accompaniment. Mass performance times are at 10:00 A.M. Sundays, unless indicated otherwise below:

• October 19, 2008: Schubert Mass in C
• October 26, 2008: Herzogenberg Messe, Op. 87
• November 2, 2008: Faure Requiem in D minor
• November 9, 2008: Haydn Theresienmesse
• November 16, 2008: Haydn Little Organ Solo Mass
• November 23, 2008: Schubert Mass in A flat
• December 24, 2008: Mozart Coronation Mass, K317 (Midnight Mass, with Christmas music beginning at 11 p.m.)
• December 31, 2008: Mozart Piccolomini Mass, K258

The Church of Saint Agnes is located at 548 LaFond Avenue, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, about one mile west of the Minnesota State Capitol building.

Today and tomorrow, August 9-10, the annual Long Lake "Corn Days" celebration will take place in Long Lake, Minnesota.

"Corn Days" is a two-day festival of food, arts, crafts and family activities in Long Lake, just a few minutes west of Wayzata, Minnesota. This year's Corn Days festival takes place at the Church of Saint George, at 133 North Brown Road.

Events at this year's celebration will include entertainment by local bands, including "The Teddy Bear Band & Panda", "Absolute Gruv", "Stray Voltage", "Locklin Road" and "Fire Ants". Saturday events include a silent auction, Bingo, pony rides and a spaghetti dinner. There'll be a Sunday pancake breakfast at Saint George's, followed by a parade sponsored by the Long Lake Chamber of Commerce. There will also be a four-mile "fun run" (sponsored by Gear West) and a 4:45 p.m. Super Raffle.

This weekend the weather promises to be superb, so take the family and head out to Long Lake for an old-fashioned town celebration!