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

End of Year Chapter President Message - Byron Miller

Northstar Chapter Appraisal Institute End-of-Year Chapter President's Message

As 2024 winds to a close, I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for being members, as well as reflect on all of our chapter accomplishments. This year has had many challenges for the appraisal profession. On the residential side, the biggest form change in 50 years is on the horizon. Specifically moving towards a cloud based dynamic form input for use by the mortgage industry, otherwise known as UAD.  You may have read about the use of non-appraiser Property Data Collectors (PDCs), in lieu of appraisal inspections. Also concerns over the increased use of waivers, the expansion of the loan-to-value amount, and the discussion and adoption of a standardized Reconsideration Of Value (ROV).

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past several years, it’s been had to ignore the attention appraisers are getting regarding racial valuation bias. In response the Appraiser Qualifications Board is reviewing whether or not to keep the college degree requirement for the certified residential and certified general licensing credential. On the Appraisal standards side, we’ve seen a new version of USPAP come out without an expiration date. And a discussion, regarding what constitutes an inspection.

With all of the changes occurring, many are very pessimistic about the prospects for their future, let alone bringing in new appraisers into the profession. I tend to take a different view, and am optimistic. Our industry is going through a massive upheaval. Other professions have seen this in the past too. Technology and market influences dictate that we update and change our workflow to accommodate a 21st century marketplace.

This is no different than what occurred during the industrial revolution, the transition from the horse and buggy to the automobile, and the transition from rail travel to air travel. The important distinction to consider is how all of these legacy industries dealt with the disruption. Those that adapted still exist today.  Those that were resistant and attempted to, do the same old, same old, are a distant memory.  Anyone remember the elevator or phone operator?  That said, changes in technologies is inevitable, those changes don’t signal and end into the Appraisal profession, but an opportunity for those that adapt. I believe as members of our organization, appraisers are the adapters. By joining our professional organization, taking our education, staying abreast of professional topics and engaging, you have invested in your professional development ensuring a future.

If you are not currently a member and believe as I do in the future of this profession, I strongly encourage you to join AI.  Joining as a practicing affiliate is just $400 per year, and allows you access to our education and other resources to excel.
Our chapter has had a very active year. We offered over a dozen of CE and QE offerings, as well as brought in some of the top appraisal industry people like Rick Carlyle and Jason Tilema to instruct our members on residential and commercial appraisal topics. We also hosted our 25th annual Real Estate Trends Seminar. We also co-hosted a joint IRWA/NSAI event in Duluth which was well received. Recently, we had this year’s national AI president Sandy Adomatis, SRA as well as last year’s national president Craig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS as our guests at our November installation event.

As the 2024 chapter president, I have worked with the executive team and board to focus on member benefit. That is, focusing on providing a tangible benefits to being a member of the North Star Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. One initiative that we started this year was Java with the President. this is a once a month event or we meet on the third Friday of the month at a coffee shop around the metro area to work and discuss issues affecting the Appraisal profession. Did I forget to mention that we buy Java if you come? We have had good turnout and a core group of attendees. From Java initiative, from this event we have had multiple tangible actions. The first has to do with a upcoming Appraisal modernization CE seminar. The second is an Appraisal Management Company or AMC outreach to small banks and credit unions to let them know about the alternatives to using an AMC panel. The third is a national Appraisal salary survey published through OREP magazine. And finally is a member benefit project team, which will be looking at ways to engage existing members and attract new members.

As my tenure as your president comes to a close, I am excited that you are in good hands with our executive team of Kelsey Hornig, MAI, Sam Adesiji, SRA, and last but not least, incoming president Andy Totzke, MAI.

Speaking of our new incoming president, Andy Totzke, he is keeping up the momentum of providing member benefits through his Four - Cs initiative: College Outreach; Collaboration with other organizations; Cool Events; Cardboard. You’ll be seeing more of his efforts prominently an upcoming months. And when you see him, be sure to ask about the cardboard!

It has been an honor and privilege to serve the members of our chapter this past year, and I look forward to an impactful 2025 under the leadership of your incoming executive team and the board.

Thank you all for allowing me to serve you.

Byron Miller, SRA, AI-RRS, MSSE