From The Editor: A Summer Home

Welcome to the Summer Home and Garden Issue!

This is the time when the project that you talked about with your significant other will come to fruition. A new garden? Maybe a new patio area out back? Replacing parts of the front walk? Or, a complete refresh of your home’s interior.

Or, how about a new climate control system for your home?

At my place of residence, one of those projects are underway. The roof is being replaced. Hailstorms over the years challenged its integrity. I’m glad my landlord is doing so. Yet, I always have this bad vision of the roofers peeking into my space while conducting a conference call with a story subject…

I guess that’s what blinds are for.

Summer in the Minnesota is an interesting mix of weather events, and what climate change has thrown at us. By now, we should be used to the unusual. The idea of normal has left the state, leaving us with “anything goes.”

It is also a time for possibilities. For example, re-crafting a kitchen with a concept made for a chef, especially when it’s a 50-year-old home.

We also talk about making your home a cool one during the summer months. Remember the days when keeping cool was done by throwing the windows open? With our summers, that has been replaced with efficient systems that will keep you cool all year round – including physically and emotionally.

While shopping for a new home continues to be a challenge, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance could help us with a look at what is going on with the market and what’s on the horizon.

Speaking of climate change, Minnesota is one of the leading states for bicycle use. We’re one of the few places in the world where you see bicyclists out there in the middle of winter getting through a snowstorm. In this issue, the Our Rides column will talk about bicycle use and what to look for in your next bike.

Have you secured tickets to the Guthrie Theater’s “History Plays.” We’re talking a trilogy of Shakespeare’s English Kings that has been the buzz in the theatre community. We caught that buzz and can tell you all about it – spoilers included. Sorry.

However, in this issue, we also feature a local personality on the rise and a bit of news they are about to drop in these pages. We got them right at home. I’ll keep you in suspense to find out who this person is. You may have guessed it from the cover…

From here, it’s another Home and Garden issue. Right for your summer home. Let the breeze come in – or, just turn on the air conditioning. Better yet, jump on your bicycle and take a ride through the summer!