Don Sabinske, Sabinske & Associates Inc.

Grab your bibs and your kids.

CAER is hosting a fundraising spaghetti Dinner this Sunday evening. CAER is a great service in the community for middle to low-income families to supplement their groceries in an effort to keep everyone in our community healthy.

Please come, bring your appetits and maybe a donation, too. Their urgent needs are listed at the bottom of the post.

And, thanks, for CAERing!

10/16/2011 - CAER Spaghetti Dinner from 4 to 7 PM

The CAER Spaghetti Dinner will be held on Sunday, 10/16/11, at the Church of St. Andrew at 566 4th St. in Elk River.

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We will serve from 4 to 7 p.m.
Cost is $6 per ticket ($4 for kids under age 4)

Take out is available too!
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CAER is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization, located in Elk River MN and serving Elk River, Otsego and Zimmerman families in need of emergency food assistance. CAER was founded in 1979 as a vision of the local ministerial association. Churches, schools, youth groups, civic organizations and businesses have joined hands in a wonderful community effort to help those in need. The CAER food shelf is managed by dedicated staff members and a volunteer Board of Directors.

URGENT NEEDS
Coffee
Cake/Dessert Mix
Frosting
Instant Rice
Boxed Potatoes
Canned Potatoes
Juice
Mayo
Deodorant
Laundry Soap
Toothbrushes
Size 3 & 4 Diapers

PAPER GROCERY &
RE-USABLE BAGS...
PLEASE!

Please tell me how the real estate industry will ever gain again. The job cuts in September are the largest since April of 2009. That is two and a half years ago. Some of the brains in the financial world predicted that we MIGHT be out of this recession (depression) by 2011.

Think again. This pain is going to continue for quite some time, I am afraid. There is nothing on the horizon to make companies invest in the U.S. labor force, build new plants, fill inventory orders on American soil and ship them overseas.

We are becoming an importer of goods faster than any exports we can claim.

I am not a financial analyst, but the writing is on the wall. Our economy can not sustain a population of non-taxpayers. And, how can you pay taxes without any income?

Last Tuesday, the Fed Chairman told a Congressional Committee that the economy is close to “faltering”. Does that make you comfortable with your IRA or 401K?

Do the banks need another bailout? Will Wall Street come pandering again?

Oh, that’s right, they don’t beg. They demand. In their case, it is an “or else” deal.

Is this unfixable? I certainly hope not.

Again, I want to emphasize that I am not a financial planner, accountant, CPA or lawyer, however, I have had experience with people who have purchased real estate as part of their retirement or financial plan.

These people come to me because they have been referred. I treat them as I would any other client who is looking for "investment" property.

Some people are under the mistaken assumption that the only permitted investments include stocks, bonds, mutual funds and REITs is incorrect in a self-directed IRA. The only things which are not permitted are those prohibited in Section 4975 of the IRS code, and for IRAs, collectibles. Please note that the IRS does not have an approved or non-approved list of investments.

Next, the purchase of retirement homes in IRAs and Qualified plans: the beneficial owner of such an account may direct his or her plan to purchase a home in an IRA for investment purposes. This means that a disqualified person (say the beneficial owner, his or her ascendants or descendants) may not have use or live in the home, as this would violate the prohibited transaction rules. However, when the individual is eligible to receive a distribution from the IRA or plan, the home may be distributed to the beneficial owner, at which time tax must be paid (unless it is in a Roth IRA) on the value of the home.

The self-directed plans, including IRAs and Keoghs, permit complete diversification in any assets permitted by law, which includes real property, notes and most anything else. This includes leveraged real estate, the leveraged portion being subject to unrelated business income tax.

There are about 15 major companies and hundreds of banks trust departments which administer IRAs and Keoghs where clients have held Real Estate, Notes, LPs, LLCs and many other diverse investments. All of these are regulated by an agency of the federal government. All of these companies and banks know the IRS code, and know what it says. The IRS code along with private letter rulings and prohibited transactions, and publications 560, 590, 575 and more deal with this subject in some form.

If you, or someone you know, is looking for real estate at these rock-bottom prices and low interest rates, please let me know. Or put them in touch with me, and I will make sure that they have all the information they need to make an informed decision.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, nationwide there are approximately 89,331 people awaiting kidney transplants with nearly 3,000 new patients being added to the kidney waiting list each month.

One of our own, Keith Stevens, a computer programmer for the Elk River Area School District is turning to his place of employment, and his employer is even helping him with the effort to find a donor.

A YouTube video of his plight has been been created by Casey Mahon, the school district’s manager of communications, and a plea went out in the school district’s Staff Happenings for staff to consider giving what could be the gift of life.

Keith last asked his sister in California, but he is in need again. He knows this is a big request, but he is going into this with not only his personal need, but the needs of others in his quest.

His sister agreed to go through the donation process to see if she was a match. She was a match and donated one of her kidneys to her brother on January 2, 2000. Currently, she’s living a healthy and productive life.

The video also features compelling testimony for organ donation from Jana Hennen-Burr, the assistant superintendent in charge of educational services for the school district. She was on the giving end of kidney transplant operations nine years ago. She donated one of her kidneys to Jan Gallagher, a media specialist at Rogers Elementary School when Hennen-Burr was the principal there.

Hennen-Burr knew of Gallagher’s medical condition and her need for a transplant. Before Christmas break that school year, Hennen-Burr asked, “What does it take?”

After talking with her family, she came back and told Gallagher, “I’m in if you’re in.”

In the spring Hennen-Burr had a two day physical from head to toe at the Mayo Clinic to assess if she was able to donate to Gallagher. At the end of the second day, she knew she was a viable candidate.

Surgery took place that fall and Hennen-Burr was out of work for five weeks but she said she did not find the surgery invasive at all.

“It was really easy and there was no sacrifice in my mind,” Hennen-Burr recalled. “I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could. It was such a cool process.”

The school administrator says she hasn’t missed a beat in life since that time and that her life has been enriched because of the experience.

Stevens’ kidneys are struggling again, however, and he is now looking for a second kidney donation. Due to chronic rejection, his kidney has too much scarring to be fully functional.

Recently Stevens underwent surgery to have an access point put in place for dialysis. Within the next few months he will begin another round of dialysis depending on his blood levels.

Dialysis is, however, only a temporary, artificial replacement for lost kidney function.

“Some people can be on dialysis for several years,” he said. “With the condition my body is in, dialysis can cause other issues and won’t be able to extend my life.”

Stevens is a husband, father and valued employee to the Elk River School District. He and his wife, Joan, have three children, Josh, Jake and Elizabeth.

Stevens has lived in the Elk River area for 10 years, while working for the school district for six. District officials hope he can work many more.

For more information about kidney donation, call the Transplant Referral line at 612-670-7270 or the University of Minnesota Live Donor Program at 612-625-7017.

Yesterday, I discussed that there was an issue being discussed within the Council and the Mayor's Office about the Energy City

The mayor, John Dietz, who was sworn in on January 3 of this year, proposed a combination of cuts and revenue from other sources that would save the Energy City program, The trade-off is that the annual Energy Expo will not exist as a stand-alone event.

Energy City’s proposed budget for 2012 is $56,800, but the program has been threatened by budget cuts.
Dietz explained his latest proposal during a council work session Monday, Oct. 3.

The details of the mayor’s proposal included $36,000 in staff time. Dietz said approximately $5,000 of that is for Project Conserve and most of the remaining $31,000 is for the Energy Expo He would fund the $5,000 for Project Conserve from the council’s contingency.

Dietz suggested discontinuing the Energy Expo and having an “energy wing” at the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo instead. Dietz said that would increase visibility for the vendors because the Business Expo draws a larger crowd. Because it is a chamber event, it wouldn’t involve city staff time and allow the city to reduce the city’s environmental staff hours and save about $30,000, he said. In addition, Dietz proposed to fund $10,000 of the Energy City budget from an annual contribution Elk River Municipal Utilities makes to the city.

He is also asking, as I mentioned yesterday, for Connexus Energy, Great River Energy and CenterPoint Energy — to pay $3,500 each to fund the rest of the program. All three are involved in Energy City and have representatives on the Elk River Energy City Commission.

Citizens of Elk River, what do you think? Is the Energy Expo worth nearly or over $56,000. Or is that an idea that can no longer be afforded by the City?