Chapter News and Awards

Summer 2025 President's Message

Summer 2025 President's Message

Hello North Star Chapter members,

Summer is quickly passing by, and it is hard to believe that Labor Day is now less than seven weeks away!  I hope you have been able to enjoy the weather, but it seems like if it is not raining, it is 1,000 degrees outside or an air quality alert from Canada.  The first part of this year has been like an episode of Oprah. However, instead of giving away cars, we have been offering education and networking opportunities.  You get CE! You get CE! You get CE!  And, just as an FYI, the second half of the year does not show signs of slowing down.

To recap, the first quarter meeting included a regional economic activity overview by Erik Luna Garcia with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and was held at Dave & Busters of all places.  Sure, the games may have been a bit loud [insert ZZ Top guitar solo] and you may have been disoriented by all flashing lights as you entered the facility, but the food, education, and company were great!  Next, the Chapter selected a group of appraisers to participate in an appraiser panel at UW-Stout, and we organized a collaboration with the University and the Wisconsin Chapter in Eau Claire. The collaboration event provided an overview of recent development actively in Eau Claire, and we toured three landmark developments, the Sonnentag, the Brewing Projekt, and Banbury Place.  Sadly, no ghosts were spotted at Banbury Place, and “just like that”, the event was over.  About half of the attendees were UW-Stout students, and we lost Sam Adesiji during one of the property tours. The collaboration was a success, and thank you to everyone who supported this event, especially Rodger Skare for chauffeuring our group.

The Trends Seminar continues to be well attended and provides excellent opportunities for education and networking.  However, I would like to make mention of something that came up along the way.  I was asked by several attendees why not have Trends be 8.0 hours of CE to fulfill my credit requirement?  Well, I believe that Trends is more than cramming the maximum amount of CE into one day to fulfill a licensing requirement, and that the seminar should allocate time to say hi to Tim Vergin, Jeff Warfield, and Josh Folland.  Also, as a callback reference for those who attended Trends, did you know that Josh Folland is the tallest AI member in the upper Midwest, and did you know that Byron Miller is the AI 2026 VP Nominee?!  Congratulations Byron!  It’s a long way to the top, if you wanna rock n’ roll.  You will do great things.

Our second quarter meeting attempted to offer an outdoor experience at a marina for a seminar on the valuation of marinas.  Seemed like a great idea, right!?  Well, of course, it rained, and the loud pitter-patter off the metal roof did not bode well in our favor.  For those keeping count, that is two for two on quarterly meetings with loud noises.  My “cool event” locations are not fairing well, but I am going to keep trying!  Nonetheless, our presenters, Gary DeClarke and Bruce Lunde, carried on like champs and made the best of it.

You have earned yourselves time off for the month of July, but starting back up on August 1st, there is a property tour of the Star Tribune’s Heritage Printing Facility in North Loop.  It is approved for 2.0 hours of CE for real estate and appraisal.  Also, in August, we are volunteering at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, August 21st, to generate funds for a Member Appreciation Day!  Please consider supporting your chapter by donating a quick six-hour shift to pick up a couple of scraps of trash.  All proceeds go to the Member Appreciation Day, and you get free admission into the State Fair.  Come early or stay late to enjoy the festivities.  The Member Appreciation Day is set for Sunday, August 24th, and includes a private deck experience at CHS Field for a St. Paul Saints game! Thank you to our sponsors, OREP, Diversified Real Estate Services, Smith Gendler, PA, The Appraisal Group, Valbridge Property Advisors, Patchin Messner Valuation Counselors, Keystone Design Build, Newmark, LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA and Henning Professional Services.  There are several other groups that have expressed interest in being a sponsor and I am hoping to print more logos on our State Fair T-Shirts.  Please let us know if your company is interested in being a sponsor! Pregame lunch buffer starts at 1:00 PM, and the first pitch is thrown at 2:07 PM. Free admission to all chapter members and their families.  Please note that there are only 70 tickets available, and there is a ticket limit of up to five per family.

Also, mark your calendars for September 9th.  We are headed down to the big town of Adams, Minnesota!  You haven’t heard of it?  Population 688 and five miles from the Iowa border…  This is a collaboration with the Minnesota Chapter of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) and the event will offer 4.0 hours of CE and include a presentation on solar and wind renewables, as well as a property tour of a solar farm and wind farm.  Tell your friends.  Disclaimer: The event is still a work in progress and CE has not been approved by the MN Department of Commerce.  Lunch will be provided and a charter bus transportation option from the Twin Cities is available for an additional fee.  We are also working on a fall chapter meeting (TBD) and the end of the year meeting for set for Thursday, November 20th, and will be held at The Club at Golden Valley (7001 Golden Valley Road in Golden Valley, MN  55427).  

Look for our Save the Date email with information on the above offerings, as well as other upcoming education for the Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser Course, Basic Appraisal Procedures, and General Income Approach Part 1.

Additionally, there is a rumor going around about a CE opportunity in Puerto Rico for a week in February 2026.  I can confirm that the rumor is true!  This will be an ala carte menu --  Take as much or as little CE as you desire.  The plan is to offer three full days of classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and two property tours on the off days (Tuesday, Thursday).  More details to come!  Lastly, on education, I would be remiss to mention that Java with the “2026 National AI VP” is offered at various Caribou Coffee locations throughout the Metro area every third Friday of the month and it has a cult following.  This group advocates for appraisers and they would love to see and/or hear from you.

Alright, enough about education and social events, what else have we done?  The North Star Chapter participated in the Leadership Development and Advisory Council (LDAC) conference in Washington, D.C., on May 14th through the 16th. For those of you who are unfamiliar, LDAC is a group of dedicated appraisers who come together once a year in Washington, D.C., to formulate solutions to problems and challenges faced by the appraisal profession. Each year, the North Star Chapter supports this trip for two or three of our members who are interested in attending LDAC. This year concluded the tenure of Erin Waytas.  I want to give a big THANK YOU to Erin for her support and efforts at LDAC!  If you are interested in the experience or want to learn more about LDAC, please visit the Appraisal Institute’s website or reach out to us for more information.  We will be seeking new participants for next year’s conference.

Byron Miller also participated in Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., on May 14th and 15th and met with eight different legislators to talk about PACT, Reconsideration of Values (ROVs), and licensing for property data collectors.

Byron Miller also participates in this thing called the Government Relations Committee, where he and his cronies, Brett Hall and Christy Mackaman, lobby and advocate for the betterment of the appraisal industry. This year, the Government Relations Committee was a catalyst in passing new legislation that included increased fees for Chapter 117 appraisal reimbursement and out-of-state CE reciprocity, meaning that we are guaranteed CE for courses approved by other states.  Thank you to the Government Relations Committee!

A few more things, we have revived the PR Committee to engage existing members and attract new members.  We have also reinstated the Kurt Ophus Scholarship to our members.  Either one $1,000 scholarship or two $500 scholarships will be awarded at the November Chapter meeting.  This scholarship is intended to further appraisal-related education for North Star Chapter members in good standing.

Other than the above, I think that pretty much summarizes the first part of the year, and it might be dang near Labor Day by the time you finish reading this long-winded message.  I told myself I was not going to make this message as long as my predecessor's, but here I am…  I appreciate all the support from our members and look forward to seeing you at the next event!  Sign up early, sign up often.

Andrew Totzke, MAI

2025 North Star Chapter President