Episodes

Kelly Ryan Kegans: Telling Housing Stories

A talk with Kelly Ryan Kegans, Editor of Minneapolis St. Paul Home and Design Magazine. In addition to her work locally, she is a contributing field editor, location scout, and photo stylist for national titles, including Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home, HGTV Magazine, and Country Living. Kelly Shares her expertise on what makes a story stand out and why sharing home design stories is so special.

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Art Pratt: The Next Generation of Homebuilders

A talk with Art Pratt of Pratt Homes and the current board chair of Housing First Minnesota. Pratt shares his memories of growing up in the industry and how that shaped his career as a third generation homebuilder. Pratt gives insights into how the industry and Housing First Minnesota can help shape and inspire the next generation of homebuilders.

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Jim Fuschetto: The Housing Industry's Impact

A talk with Jim Fuschetto, VP of sales at Lyman Companies and the current president of Housing First Minnesota Foundation. Fushetto shares how his involvement in industry trade groups helped him create authentic sales relationships and how it's encouraged him to volunteer and give back to the community. Fuschetto also shares how he got his start in sales and his advice for advancing in the field.

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Amy Hendel: Designing and Marketing an Artisan Home

A talk with Amy Hendel of Hendel Homes on how they broke into the luxury homebuilding market and became a leader in the industry. Hendel shares how her background in art and designed combined with her husbands love of architecture and homebuilding made for a perfect team. A five-time Artisan Home Tour participant, Hendel shares how the home tour has helped elevate their brand.

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Ryan Meres - Understanding Your Homes Energy Efficiency

A talk with Ryan Meres of Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) on how
home energy testing has changed the game for green homebuilding. Meres shares
his insights on the growth of RESNET's Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index to
help builders and homeowners achieve better energy efficiency in their homes. Meres
explains how programs like Minnesota's Green Path has helped homebuilders lead the
way on energy efficiency.

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Danielle Yegge & Joe Braun: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

A talk with Danielle Yegge and Joe Braun of Style & Structure. Yegge and Braun share
their story of starting their own design and construction firm and the challenges that
come with it. Yegge and Braun talk about the importance of having fun with your team
and how to manage growth in a busy industry.

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John Quinlivan: Housing First Minnesota’s 2023 Board Chair

A talk with John Quinlivan, Housing First Minnesota’s 2023 president and the owner of
Gordon James Design Build. Quinlivan shares why he made the leap from the corporate
world to custom home building midway in his career and why he hopes to help more
people understand the amazing career opportunities in construction.

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Nikolas Scoolis: The 2023 Housing Market

A talk with Nickolas Scoolis, manager of housing economics at Zonda. Scoolis shares his
insights into the current housing market, how inflation could continue to impact housing,
and what we can expect to see in the overall market in 2023. Scoolis also discusses how
the existing housing inventory levels and affordability could contionue to limit
homebuyer activity.

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Nolan Gray: How Zoning Broke the American City

A talk with Nolan Gray, nationally renowned researcher, planner, Mercatus Center affiliated
scholar, and the author of Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How
to Fix It. Nolan shares why he thinks zoning broke the American city and why he thinks
zoning abolition is necessary to build more affordable, vibrant, and sustainable
cities in America.

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Peter Coyle: The Policy Landscape of Land Use and Housing

A talk with Peter Coyle, a land use attorney and shareholder at Larkin Hoffman. Peter shares
his insight into the state of housing and development at the legislature and in the courts.

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John Sharkey: Making Green Homes More Attainable

A talk with John Sharkey, CEO of GreenHalo Builds and Sharkey Design Build. John shares
his journey as a custom homebuilder specializing in green building.

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Kristin Reinitz: Leading the Way for Women in Construction

Let's Talk Housing hosts chat with Kristin Reinitz, director of business development and
sales at Admit One Home Systems, the chair of Housing First Minnesota's Ambassador
Committee, a Women in Construction member, and a leader in the housing industry. Kristin
shares how she got her start in housing, why she stays heavily engaged in industry
groups, and how she hopes more women discover the amazing career opportunities in
the housing industry.

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James Julkowski: 2022 Housing First Minnesota President

We talk with James Julkowski, Housing First Minnesota's 2022 president and the Twin Cities 2019 Remodeler of the Year, as he discusses his background of more than 15 years of experience in the homebuilding and remodeling market including how he got his start.

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Elliot Eisenberg: What's Ahead for Housing and the Economy

A talk with internationally acclaimed economist Elliot Eisenberg as he shares insights into the
current economy and what it means for the housing market.

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Paul Roecker: Giving Back with the Housing Industry

A talk with Paul Roecker, a military veteran, sales representative at Lyman Roofing and Siding, and president of the Housing First Minnesota Foundation. Paul shares why he continues to serve our community and how he got involved with the Foundation. 

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Sarah Dulong: Marketing and Home Tour Aficionado

A talk with Sarah Dulong, director of marketing for Ron Clark Construction and Design and
the Parade of Homes Committee chair. Sarah shares her years of experience using
the Parade of Homes as a premiere marketing event and gives insights into the market. 

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Mark Williams: Award-Winning Custom Homebuilder

Let's Talk Housing hosts chat with Mark Williams, homebuilder and owner of Mark D. Williams
Custom Homes. Mark shares his background in custom homebuilding and his experience on
this year's Artisan Home Tour. 

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Samantha Grose: A Unique Approach to Design and Remodeling

Let's Talk Housing hosts chat with remodeler Samantha Grose of Oak and Arrow Homes.
Samantha shares her story of how she went from designer to owning her own remodeling
business. Samantha also shares insight into remodeling trends and the challenges of the
current market. 

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Carole Griffith: Green Homebuilding and Sales Expert
Let's Talk Housing hosts chat with Carole Griffith, current chair of the Minnesota Green Path
program and vice president of sales and marketing for top 10 Twin Cities homebuilder Robert
Thomas Homes. Griffith shares her take on the challenges of selling homes in today's housing
market and key insights into Minnesota's Green Path program, which helps builders sell
energy-efficient new homes and helps homeowners understand the efficiency of their homes.

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Betty Hardle: Twin Cities Homebuilding Icon Turned Advocat‪e‬
Let's Talk Housing hosts chat with Minnesota homebuilding icon Betty Hardle. Betty shares
how she got started as a builder back in the 1970s and discusses how she found success
as a female homebuilder. Following her career as a homebuilder, Betty went on to
work on the data side of new construction. Her insight into the barriers to building
new homes and her passion for homeownership has her advocating for housing
affordability and inventory for future generations.

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Todd Polifka: Housing First Minnesota's 2021 President
Let's Talk Housing hosts Katie Elfstrom and David Siegel chat with builder and remodeler Todd
Polifka of Custom One Homes. Todd is the 2021 Housing First Minnesota President and a
well-known and respected builder in the Twin Cities marketplace. Drawing on expertise in
sales, and a desire to advance his career rapidly, Todd shares how he found his true calling in
the housing industry building and remodeling homes for Minnesotans.

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Carla Warner: 2nd Generation Leadership in a Growing Family-Owned Business
Let's Talk Housing hosts Katie Elfstrom and David Siegel chat with the Midwest's appliance specialist Carla Warner of Warners' Stellian. Carla shares her family's success story of how they grew their small appliance store into a well known regional brand and how they continue to grow, with more stores slated to open this year.

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Gary Kraemer: Minnesota's Only Four-Time Builder of the Year
Let's Talk Housing hosts Katie Elfstrom and David Siegel chat with Minnesota's only four-time
Builder of the Year award recipient and the 2020 Housing First Minnesota President, Gary Kraemer
of John Kraemer & Sons. Gary shares his story of how he got started in the industry. From humble beginnings working with his father to creating one of the most renown builders in the state.

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