June 2015

The Blaine Parks and Recreation Department will be holding a Family Fun Night event on July 14th starting at 6pm. This event will be fully dedicated to families. Children will be able to enjoy plenty of carnival games for free, explore the fire and police trucks and enjoy plenty of concessions. There will also be plenty of inflatables for all kinds of fun.

Parents will want to bring their camera to catch all the action as their children have all kinds of fun. Whether they enjoy the inflatables that will get them wet or just play some of the carnival games, a camera is necessary to capture the memories.

Sponsors

Many local companies are sponsoring this event for families. Some of the sponsors providing goods and funds to make this event

As summer heats up so does the event calendar in our neck of the woods. Even without the 4th of July festivities, the month of July is packed with things to do in and around Blaine.

Fireworks in Blaine

The Independence Day fireworks display in Blaine happens this Saturday at the National Sports Center. They will be shooting them off at 10:00 pm.

Coon Rapids Community Celebration

If this is an event you attend every year you’ll need to know that it has a new location in 2015, near the Coon Rapids Ice Center on Crooked Lake Blvd. The parade is this Thursday and it kicks off the opening of the carnival midway and a whole weekend of nothing but fun. Aside from the carnival you’ll find food, live music, bingo and, on the 4th, a spectacular

Home inspections are great, but if you pass, it doesn't really mean the home has no issues. A home inspector will look for cracks in the foundation, check for wood rot and look for many other issues. However, they cannot tell you about what is found behind the walls, in the sewer lines or between the floor joists. Here are four areas often undetected by a home inspection.

Environmental Toxins

Toxins such as asbestos, radon and leaks paint are not always fund by a home inspection. They may be found by a contractor if they are ripping up walls, but most home inspections don't check for these things.

Water Damage and Leaks

An inspector will find some leaks and some water damage, but previous water damage may have dried up or it may have been

Many of the parks in the Coon Rapids area will be redeveloped over the next few years. The $17.4 million park bond referendum was passed in November of 2013, which has prompted the city to look into ways to get more people using the parks. During the work session on June 9th, the Coon Rapids City Council discussed some of the ideas they have for the area parks.

The city wants to invest in the parks instead of just maintaining the status quo. They want to add more recreation for young families, which they believe will add more types of community engagement across generations and diverse groups. The current city programs have experienced a lack of connection for young families and the City Council wants to fix this issue.

The only direct program

Going green at home is a huge transition. However, you don't have to turn off your electricity, get solar panels and go completely off the grid to go green. You can take baby steps with a few small changes to make your home more environmentally-friendly. Here are a few of the small changes you can implement quickly and easily.

Water Preservation

Something as simple as turning the faucet off when you are brushing your teeth can save more water than you might imagine. If you brush your teeth for two minutes at a time, you could save as much as five gallons of water each time. That adds up to over 1,800 gallons per year.

Another way you can conserve water is through the right faucets and shower heads. An innovative faucet may allow you to save

Nothing Bundt Cakes was started by Debbie Shwetz and Dena Tripp in 1997. They joined forces to create cakes for their friends and families, which turned into a full business soon after they started. The business has grown to a nationwide bakery and provides plenty of locations throughout the United States.

Recently, the company opened a location in Blaine, Minnesota at 1540 109th Avenue NE in Suite 200. This location is open from 9am to 6:30pm, Monday through Friday and from 9am to 6pm on Saturday. They are closed on Sundays.

Cakes

Nothing Bundt Cakes provides plenty of cakes for you to choose from. They have everything from a smaller 8-inch cake to a tiered cake for any type of occasion. All the cakes are made with real butter, real cream

A lot of folks, especially those of you that live in the northern part of Blaine, have been asking us what’s going on with all the construction up around Harper and 128th Avenue. What’s going on is Wagamon Ranch, another new home community for Blaine.

Several builders (Hanson, Regency and Gorham) are planning on putting up homes that, so far at least, will be priced in the $500,000s.

The community will take up 92 areas of designated wetland so you can imagine the headaches during the approval process. All is well, though, and we can look forward to a sparkling new neighborhood with a clubhouse, pool and trails.

Last week, Blaine’s city council met to approve a bunch of other new sites as well, including a new one at The Lakes, a

When it's time to upgrade the kitchen, bathroom or any other part of your home, you need a budget. This comes before any paint is selected, tile is picked out or anything else. Here are a few tips to help you budget for home renovations properly.

Estimate the Overall Costs

Whether you are buying a new home that isn't fully turnkey or you are updating your existing home, an estimate of costs is the first step. You want to start by using the appraised value of your home and figuring out how much each room is worth. The rule of thumb is to spend no more than the value of the room on renovations.

For example, if your kitchen makes up 15% of the home's value and the home is worth $250K, you don't want to spend more than $37,500 to update the

A Chinese restaurant with locations in Blaine and Coon Rapids, Rose Garden is a favorite of many residents. They off a full menu with takeout service and have been in business for more than 14 years within the area. Here's what you can expect when you dine at Rose Garden Chinese Restaurant.

The Menu

The menu at the Blaine location consists of a lunch buffet, dine in and take out options. Some of the items you will find on the menu include:

• Chow Mein
• Egg Rolls
• Wings
• Pot Stickers
• Egg Drop Soup
• Hot & Sour Soup
• Fried Rice
• Egg Foo Young
• Pork with Broccoli
• Shrimp with Broccoli
• Chicken with Pea Pods
• Beef Lo Mein
• Pad Thai
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Szechuan Shrimp
• Sweet & Sour Chicken
• Orange Chicken
• Pepper

Yes, it’s still a hot and heavy seller’s market in Blaine, but don’t take our word for it ― check out the latest statistics.

Blaine homeowners listed 1.1 percent fewer homes in May of this year compared to last, but more than 38.9 percent of the current inventory sold. This means that the inventory of available homes in Blaine has shrunk even more; we now have only a 3.1 months’ supply of homes for sale. Typically this situation will cause a rise in prices (supply and demand).

And it did, but only slightly. Median home prices in Blaine increased less than 1 percent from last year, to sit at $222,000. In April, by the way, the median sales price was $237,000. Blaine homeowners are realizing, on average, 98.5 percent of their original asking