I am donating my mornings May 11th - 17th to a cause close to my heart. It is not a vacation but it is very enjoyable to me as I know I am contributing to my faith.The picture above is of Roy Leavitt (L) and Bill Schwartz (R) broadcasting on the AM radio side. The picture below is Chad Olson broadcasting on the FM radio side.I was able to work on both the AM and FM side on the air today. Like I said, it's not a vacation BUT what could be better then to be around like minded individuals, lifting up a cause you believe in, AND get a free lunch catered by some of Minot's best restaurants?   05/12/2022

At least once a year, and more often twice a year, I tell you about KHRT Radio's Sharathon. It happens every fall and every Spring.This years Spring Sharathon starts on Wednesday the 11th and ends on Tuesday the 17th. Join us for good music, cool stories, and great testimonies on 106.9KHRT and Solid Gospel 1320KHRT.As usual I will be answering the phone several mornings when callers call in to pledge support for our local Christian radio station.The two Sharathons are held as a way to make up for the money we refuse from establishment who would advertise from us if we were not a family friendly venue.I love volunteering my time because of what Christian radio means to me. I donate money as well because I firmly believe in the message and I buy advertising on KHRT because I love the loya... 05/09/2022

Kroll's DinnerKroll's Dinner is a German restaurant designed to look like the old railroad dinner cars and inside it looks more like a Rockin 50's Café. The food is very authentic German and the top features are Kefala Soup and Fleischkuela. That being said I personally stick to burgers or chicken platters. What ever you order it will be good and the prices are fair as well. The three of us ate for $30.00 total and we were stuffed full.Another good testimony to the value of Kroll's is that it is always busy, I don't remember the last time we didn't have to wait for a table and this is at a shop that has been around over 50 years. They have not advertised in at least a decade BUT when they did people LOVED the ads. Listen to these two stout German girls hype Kroll's Dinner.   05/08/2022

Yesterdays photo walk was a challenge for my aches and pains as well as subject matter. The good news (for me) was that it was relatively pain free and I think I have some interesting photos... let me know.First of all I stopped over the zoo pond and looked down at last years leaves drifting around. Unbeknownst to me the camera was set to movie mode so I hope you enjoy this 4 second video. 😎Here are some other shots from yesterday.I like this one because of the "layers" involved with the leaves on top of the water, the water, and the stuff on the bottom of the pond.And then there were these love birds on the bridge over the river. You can see the love the female has for here mate just in the way she is looking at him.This final picture was something that provoked the question of why.The... 05/03/2022

Nina Hollander, Broker posts about it every year as do many other bloggers and it always makes my mouth water. Now it's finally Minot's turn to have a restaurant week.I may try all eight listed above just to see how they stack up to my two current favorites which are:A special note about my featured picture at the top of the post.I once did a 15 minute radio interview with Christine Daily who started Magic City Hoagies a few years back. Christine is a joy to visit with. In the interview she said she and her husband moved here to get away from the heat of FL. She has been a FANTASTIC supporter of Minot. Last year she opened a new place next door to my office that serves great ice-cream.  Business has been great and just this week she has announced that she is adding to that shop Magic Ci... 04/30/2022

This one minute fifteen second video was shot 10 days after the picture above was taken. The video is very different yet not dissimilar. People moving here to serve at The Minot Air Force Base or to work in the oil fields might ask "What is the weather like in North Dakota?". I'd have to say that I don't have a clue. 🙄. 04/23/2022

First of all you may be asking "Why would you be driving in a blizzard?". It was Easter Sunday. We just received 36" of snow with a reprieve on Saturday (no snow) and round two had just started. In the end the official snowfall total by Sunday afternoon was 48".With many of the responses to earlier posts on my blog activerain.com I realized that a lot of people have never driven on snow much less have drove during a blizzard. Here is a little snippet of what it is like. This video is from my dashcam while driving West on Business loop 52 (the main E to W arterial) and then North on Hwy 83. Hwy 83  is also known as Broadway and is the largest/busiest street in Minot. The section this is filmed in is 4 lanes with an additional  middle lane so in effect there is supposed to be 5 lanes of t... 04/19/2022

Mothers Day is coming up May 8th this year. Why not get Mom a book or art work from a local artist. May I suggest stopping by The Titus & Philemon art gallery at 201 Main Street South, Suite 100 (just inside the front door) Downtown Minot North Dakota.Timmothy's books will give mom 50 pages of laughs... and who doesn't want to hear Mom laugh?    04/18/2022

While waiting for The Dollar Tree to open we noticed this  little robin sitting on the parking lot looking as to say "what am I to do? We have seen many spring/summer birds over the past month and they have been building nests to start thier families. BAM! 32" of snow in a record setting spring storm and now we are being told to expect 5" to 8" of snow on Easter Sunday (tomorrow). Like the little robin, many of us are saying "What am I to do?". 04/16/2022

It is over and it is a record!The biggest April blizzard in Minot's history is over and it officially left us with 36" of new snow on the ground.Timmothy and I did a pretty good job of keeping up and tomorrow morning if the street department has done their part overnight I will be headed back to the office and the job of notarizing loan documents so folks can be one step closer to being in the new homes of their dreams.One of the two cars that was stuck and abandon in the street in front of our house has been removed by the owner and I believe the street department can work around the other if they have to.There is still another snow in the forecast (Easter Sunday) but after dealing with this one it should be a piece of cake. That being said I let Timmothy do most of the work because as... 04/14/2022

We are "officially" at 21" now and half way through the storm. Timmothy and I have been out there twice today to clean up and with the 60 some years of storms I've seen I'd have to say this is in the top 5 already for sure.Virtually anything scheduled for Thursday has been called off and many of Fridays events as well. Our worship schedule for Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled and now we are looking at streaming Fridays service assuming that many will not have dug out by then. 04/13/2022

I was looking forward to sleeping in this morning being we were forewarned by the weatherman that we were going to receive a record breaking amount of snow over the next three days. A NO TRAVEL warning was put out by law enforcement. The clown in the 4 wheel drive above did not get the message.We are getting pounded by a blizzard just 5 days before Easter 2022.They have been warning us for nearly 5 days that this was coming... I didn't believe them, I mean WHEN is the weather guessers ever right, especially 5 days out.Well I have to admit they nailed this one.It started yesterday just before noon and is expected to hit us full strength all day today and for much of Friday as well.Timmothy and I were out cleaning up what has fallen so far. 36" is predicted and we have received half of th... 04/13/2022

Grace Lutheran Church will joyfully recall the victory of Jesus' resurrection with our Easter Sunday service at 10am on Sunday, April 17th.  (We will also have our annual Easter brunch and egg hunt after our Easter Sunday service.  If you're able to stay, consider bringing a brunch dish to share!)There is no better time during the church year to invite friends and family to church, so consider who in your life needs the good news of Jesus, and invite them to come celebrate this "holy week holiday" with us! 04/07/2022

Last week, Mar. 22, 2022 Zoya, an endangered Amur Tiger at the Roosevelt Park Zoo  gave birth to three cubs over the weekend.The zoo said Zoya began giving birth early Saturday morning, with the first cub arriving shortly before 6:30 a.m., and the last shortly after 10:30 a.m.The zoo said Zoya is taking good care of the cubs, and they will leave her to care for them for a few weeks before the zoo’s vets perform physicals and provide vaccinations. After that, the zoo said they will reintroduce Zoya to the cubs.I literally see Zoya and the male tiger every day as I live less than 1,000 feet away from their zoo enclosure. It's really fun to see them and I'm sure I could easily did up a dozen pictures I have taken of them just in the last year.  04/05/2022

With the exception of Open Houses I have set aside Sundays for the last 30 years. Now retired from Real Estate it's easy to just give a flat, blunt NO when asked if I will work as a Notary Public on a Sunday.Every once in a while there is an exception, like this past Sunday. I was asked if I could Notarize a four page document for a man who was injured in a hit and run auto accident. They live out of town but offered to come to my office to get this done.Compassion will get me to break my own self imposed rules.I enjoyed our visit, he had brought his wife and son along and as we signed documents their son enjoyed Timmothy's books and Art Gallery.As a bonus, just as I was locking up, a local artist and his girlfriend came in and asked to see the gallery. That was also an excellent visit ... 04/04/2022

If I said "That's a Whooper" I'd have to say I'm not talking about fishing in this case. My 2 minute explanation is embedded in the GIF below.Last Fall I was lulled unto thinking that my property taxes would not go up or would go up very little. That was because all news outlets were feed that line from the County. Well the rate may not have gone up but our property values via assessment jumped up by 10% or more! You don't have to sit idly by, you can challenge the appraisal and it's not to hard to do.  04/01/2022

From inside The Titus & Philemon Art Gallery, an artist/cartoonists' perspective of sleep and drink. These are two recent strips from the Minot Daily News and more importantly they are creations from the mind of Timmothy Nathaniel Timm. I had a little trouble with the lighting (and holding on to the material) but I'm sure you will enjoy the antics of Titus and Philemon in these two strips. 03/31/2022

I have no desire to cover all the things going on in Minot the first two days of April (Friday and Saturday) 2022 but there are a couple of things I may take in myself. My 2nd podcast of the year, and week, will fill you in. One involves the arts and the other sports even though sports is not my thing I may be up to this one.I just realized I put up the Sabre Dogs logo BUT this is a MSU Beavers game. The good news is that the Sabre Dogs will be back for another season... just a little later. 03/29/2022

After two days of tinkering I figured out how to get my buck fifty piece of podcast equipment functioning.I love a challenge when it comes to old technology and this purchase had several challenges in one package.First of all the package was put together when Windows XP was top dog. Some of the software wouldn't work with my current operating system.Second was that the included microphone (a good quality microphone) was damaged internally.Third, the included recording software was incapable of producing MP3's which is what is needed to upload to most podcasting sites.Long story short: It would have been easier to do this NOT using my $1.50 find but here is the result.  03/27/2022

The Noodle Ministry.I don't know what the absolute lowest point was in your life but for some people it is when they find themselves in jail and flat broke. That person is referred to as "an indigent prisoner" . Many of these people were once bright students and leaders in their occupations but along came drugs, alcohol, death of a loved one or divorce... and they didn't cope well.At this stage, sitting in a jail, broke and abandon it's no wonder they feel worthless.Showing them God's love is what The Noodle Ministry is about. We don't preach at them, we feed them, we cloth them, and we let them know that we are here if they need us to be there with them.The Noodle Ministry is very miserly (cheap) with it's funds. All actions are carried out by volunteers, there are no paid employees an... 03/25/2022