Thanks Guys!!!

Pictured from left to right

Eric McAuliffe, Adam Gannon, Chris Cosco, Ken Godfrey (NMU Athletic Director),

Chris Forsberg, Zak Green, Josh Cosco, Andrew Short, and Kyle Annelin.

I'd like to thank to my son Josh and his 6 friends for joining me at the NMU Berry Event Center for the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association play-offs on March 8th! I had a great time. I've never seen six pizzas disappear so fast!!!

The NMU Wildcats went on to defeat the Michigan State Spartans in their three-game series in the second round of the play-offs and then to a 2-1 win over Notre Dame in the CCHA Third-Place Game on Saturday March 22 at Joe Louis Arena. Great job Cats!!!

National Recognition for Marquette Again...

Outdoor Life Magazine names the city of Marquette as number seven of the 200 Best Places to Live. Recognized as the source for hunting and fishing adventure, the magazine ranked the top towns for hunters and anglers to live. This is what they had to say...

Leading Appeals: Huge diversity of fish, from native brookies to rainbows and lake-run brown trout to steelhead, salmon, lake trout, walleye and pike.

Amenities: Upper Peninsula's largest medical center, Northern Michigan University and thriving retail and arts scene.

Bottom Line: Trout share space with smallmouth in the U.P.'s pristine streams, and more than 100 lakes are accessible within a half-hour of downtown Marquette. The deer opener is like a national holiday here.

One of the best salmon and steelhead towns in the nation is hundreds of miles from the ocean. Just outside this thriving college town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, anglers cast to surly Chinooks, fight chrome-bright steelhead and play colorful lake-run brown trout. Inland anglers prospect dozens of rivers for trophy brook trout and woodland lakes hold walleye, northern pike, whitefish and crappie. But Marquetters save their vacation time for deer season, when the U.P.'s public land fills with downstaters looking for trophy bucks. Bear, ruffed grouse, ducks, coyotes, rabbits and a growing population of wild turkeys provide plenty of hunter days on the Hiawatha and Ottawa national forests and smaller state parks of the area. "The coolest thing about living here is the public access," says fishing guide Brad Petzke. "I fish hundreds of miles of rivers every year and, because of our liberal stream laws, there are only a few spots you can't access." Fishing is always good in the streams that feed Lake Superior and trophy lake trout are available in the big lake itself.

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF THE TOP 200 TOWNS AND THEIR RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

Lake Superior Sunrise!!!

Although most have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off this week in observance of Good Friday I myself am booked with several showings throughout today and tomorrow. It's great to be busy and I enjoy working with my clients, but I have to admit at 6am this morning as I was dragging a comb across my head and chugging coffee in an effort to revitalize I was feeling a bit uninspired. My wife, son, and "Buddy" the dog were still sound asleep as I left the house and while backing out of the driveway I thought "It's not even light out for crying out loud."

Then I arrived at my office and was met with this view from my office window. Ok - so maybe getting up early and coming to work on a holiday is not so bad after all. Sometimes the world has a way of reminding you how fortunate you are. I hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter.

Marquette County - Real Estate Market Snapshot

Once a quarter I plan to provide a quick "snapshot" of the Marquette County Real Estate Market.

This will include only residential sales that were listed and sold in the North Central MLS in Marquette County. This does not include vacant land, multi-family units, commercial buildings, properties sold for sale by owner or sales outside of Marquette County.

There have been 61 residential sales in Marquette County from Jan. 1, 08 to Mar. 19, 08.

• The average sale price of those residential sales was $128,878.93.
• The average home sold had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.
• The average square footage was 1,787 sq ft
• The average cost per square foot was $72.75
• The average days on market was 168.

Sales by area...

• Big Bay = 1
• Gwinn = 2
• Ishpeming = 14 *Average Sales Price $70,158.57 ; Price Per Sq. Ft. $45.00
• Marquette = 32 *Average Sales Price $168,339.84 ; Price Per Sq. Ft. $98.81
• Negaunee = 7 *Average Sales Price $101,585.71 ; Price Per Sq. Ft. $52.92
• Palmer = 1
• Republic = 4

*Data maintained by the Upper Peninsula Association of REALTORs or it's MLS is in no way responsible for it's accuracy and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

Another Sure Sign of Spring!!!

The Lake Superior 2008 shipping season has begun! The first of this season's Iron Ore freighters has arrived in Marquette. The "Mesabi Miner" made her journey to Marquette from the twin ports of Deluth / Superior. The 1,000 foot self-unloading bulk carrier was originally launched February 14, 1977! She arrived with a load of coal from Midwest Energy Resources to our harbor yesterday.

The U.S. Coast Guard began breaking Lake Superior ice last Tuesday to speed up the process of reopening lanes for the shipping season. The lake ice on the Great Lakes would take weeks to naturally melt, so every year the Coast Guard helps it along by breaking ice 20 to 36 inches thick in order to form shipping lanes with icebreaking tug boats like the Biscayne Bay, a 140 foot tug.

You can view video and photos of the Mesabi Miner at You Tube by clicking on the links below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJyR9XFT3f0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I1vdu_6Rn4

I will continue to be "on the look out" for signs of SPRING and will keep you posted!!!

What a weekend for Marquette Michigan Hockey!!!

Marquette Senior High Hockey Team named Division 1 State Champions after 8 overtimes in the second longest game in U.S. High School Hockey history!!! Michigan High School Athletic Association stops game at 1-1 tie and names both teams co-champions!!! Detroit Free Press Article GO RED!!!
AND...

The Northern Michigan University hockey Wildcats defeated Ohio State 6-1 on Sunday, March 9 to advance to the second round of the CCHA Play-offs!!! GO CATS!!!

Congratulations to both teams. They showed a lot of heart!!!!

Big Weekend Coming Up!!!

The annual U.P. Builder's Show is as sure a sign of spring on its way as crocus sprouting through the snow! With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, Yoopers begin to feel confident that there may only be one more snow storm on the horizon. Cabin fever has set in for many and we begin to look for any sign that winter will give way to spring. And for some they just can't wait, you know the ones; you see them out and about with their Bermuda shorts and a parka on! "It's above freezing - time to pull out the summer gear!" The show also marks the beginning of my busy season as a REALTOR. Home sales pick up in the spring when the snow melts, trees bud, and flowers bloom. In fact the activity has already picked up towards the end of February this year!

Held in the Superior Dome on the campus of Northern Michigan University, the builder's show attracts upwards of 290 vendors and 10,000 guests! It's definitely worth your time to stop in and take a look at the exhibits. (Don't forget to pick up some of the candied almonds while you're there! So Good!) The show also gives me the opportunity to see friends, clients and associates that I may not have seen through the winter and meet new folks as well. Feel free to come visit with me at the show Saturday March 8th between 10am and noon or Sunday March 9th between 11am and 1pm at the RE/MAX booth.

Print Your Dome Map

If you are looking for something more to do this weekend, I will be sponsoring the NMU Wildcat Hockey game Saturday March 8th at 7:35pm at the Berry Event Center. Come out and support the local team in the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Playoffs. The NMU Wildcats host Ohio State University in a best-of-three series beginning Friday night. The Wildcats enter the playoffs as the sixth seed while the Buckeyes are the 11th. The winner of the series will advance in the CCHA Playoffs. The playoff series is a rematch of last year’s first round when the two teams battled in Ohio. OSU took the first game 6-2, NMU won the second game in overtime 3-2, and then NMU advanced by winning game three (3-2). It's a great match-up. Tickets are currently on sale at the Superior Dome ticket office, the TCF Bank ticket outlet in the University Center or on-line (http://www.nmu.edu/tickets/). Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to have their season seat and to avoid lines on game day at the Berry Events Center ticket window. My family, friends, and I will be in box suite #1 - feel free to stop by and say "Hello!"& GO CATS!