Summer Home 2023

ome H SUMMER

MAGAZINE BRINGING THE OUTDOORS INSIDE

Coral Cove Interiors helps give a Long Lake Airbnb a fresh, new look – just in time for summer

A TASTE OF WADENA Local chefs share some of their favorite recipes (and how to make them!)

MASTER GARDENERS: Dedicated to helping the community with their gardening needs

A special publication of the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal

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Publisher: Pete Mohs Pete.Mohs@brainerddispatch.com

Editor: Tris Anderson tanderson@dlnewspapers.com Contributors: Nathan Bowe nbowe@dlnewspapers.com Vicki Gerdes vgerdes@dlnewspapers.com Barbie Porter bporter@dlnewspapers.com Nicole Stracek nstracek@wadenapj.com Elizabeth Vierkant evierkant@perhamfocus.com Graphic artist: Chris Johnson cjohnson@bemidjipioneer.com Cover Photo: Shutterstock

4 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

MAGAZINE

LONG LAKE AIRBNB

Bringing the outdoors inside

A TASTE OF WADENA Local chefs share their favorites

THE SKOGMOS Powered by the sun

BECKER COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS Dedicated to helping their communities

NICK OLSON & COUNTRY WOOD PRODUCTS Creating that special look for homes and businesses

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When visitors want some time outdoors, they can head to the Long Lake dock in the cabin’s backyard for a cool swim.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

Long Lake Airbnb

brings the outdoors inside Coral Cove Interiors helps give an outdated home a fresh, new look – just in time for summer ELIZABETH VIERKANT For Summer Home

W

hen summer in the lakes area comes to mind, many people think of the booming streets and business brought in by tourists and summer residents. Summer tourism allows a specific industry to thrive in the area: Vacation homes and Airbnbs. One five-bedroom, two-bathroom cabin on Detroit Lakes’ Long Lake that recently finished remodels for the summer season brings the beach indoors for all visitors who stay.

6 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

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2023 SUMMER HOME | 7

Accents of black can be found all throughout the bright home. Not only does it modernize the space, but it also helps ground it from becoming too light.

Elizabeth Vierkant / Summer Home

The property didn’t start that way, however. Owner Jodie Johnson knew the cabin was something special when she set her eyes on it and began her venture into vacation rentals, but she knew that it was a bit of a “fixer-upper” with closed walls, dark paneling and outdated interiors.

“Well for me, this particular property started out with a lot of walls up, and the problem with that is you’re missing out on the lake views,” Johnson explained. “I wanted to try to capitalize on the lake views. In whatever part of the house I was in at the time, it just kind of seemed like, ‘wall block, wall block, wall block,’ and you don’t get to see the pretty view. So I started talking to our contractor on how much it would be to raise the ceiling and knock out the walls, and one thing led to another.”

8 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

The kitchen backslash features white tiles with black grout to bring some modernity into this coastal space.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

“I wanted to try to capitalize on the lake views. [...] So I started talking to our contractor on how much it would be to raise the ceiling and knock out the walls, and one thing led to another.” - Jodie Johnson, Airbnb owner

WADENA, MN

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The upstairs open floor plan and high ceilings lighten up the space as the sun shines through the large windows facing Long Lake.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

Raising the ceiling and creating an open-floor plan certainly helped open up the space, but she also needed a designer to come in and lighten it even more by bringing the outdoors inside.

While working with a contractor to install new cabinets, said worker actually told Johnson about Coral Cove Interiors: A mother-daughter interior design business run out of Perham and Detroit Lakes.

“We kind of jumped in there,” said Chelsea Brooke, the daughter of the Coral Cove dynamic duo. “We did some paint color selections and tile — some cabinetry in the bathroom and countertops and other areas. And then some built-ins got added and then an additional fireplace.

We kind of kept building on it.

And then once we were in the furnishing and decorating phase, Jodie had a lot of great ideas, and she has really good taste.

10 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

While slightly more enclosed, the basement still feels crisp and open with yet another view of the lake from the couch, which faces a cozy wood fireplace for any winter visitors.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

The oars, anchor and blue couch tie lake living into the downstairs space.

Elizabeth Vierkant / Summer Home

“She kind of liked the coastal, light, bright and airy feeling. That home was really kind of dark and heavy feeling before. So we kind of went in with that and just wanted to crisp everything up and make it feel really coastal. I think that this property — and we’ve worked on all kinds of vacation rentals in the area — is a lot more luxurious and a lot more aesthetically pleasing

than what’s being offered in Detroit Lakes.”

Brooke and her mother, Stacey Morris, certainly crisped and brightened the entire space up. When a visitor walks in from the outside, they’re immediately greeted with an almost entirely open-floor plan with the exception of the hallway with the bathroom and bedroom spaces to the side.

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The dark blue walls and ceiling of this bedroom brings guests under the sea while light accents on the bedspread, decor and furniture balance out the space.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

Light wood and bright decor span throughout the entrance, leaving those who enter with a refreshing sensation. Blue accents in the rugs, furniture and miscellaneous decorations bring the coastal vibe of water inside. The large, L-shaped couch with plenty of space for many guests is next to a large television and fireplace while overlooking the gorgeous view of Long Lake. With light decor, an open floor plan and large windows, guests almost feel as though they’re already out on the water.

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This bedroom focuses on the crisp, bright and coastal design tastes of owner Jodie Johnson, as shown in the white decor and beachy wicker accents.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

Even in the brightest of the cabin’s rooms, pops of blues, grays and blacks help balance and ground the space.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

“We kind of kept building on it. And then once we were in the furnishing and decorating phase, Jodie had a lot of great ideas, and she has really good taste.” - Chelsea Brooke, Coral Cove Interiors

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Light wood and woven decor help bring the coast inside and keep spaces feeling open, even as a visitor descends downstairs.

Elizabeth Vierkant / Summer Home

“When we first met Jodie, we keyed in on a couple of words she said to us,” Morris explained their design process. “It was light, bright and airy with a slight coastal vibe.

We’re from California, so when we hear the word ‘coastal,’ it’s very refreshing to us because that transcends into lakes country as well. Lighting can make the biggest difference.

We’re not on the coast; we’re not looking at the ocean at this property, but we are looking at a lake. Creating that design was important because people like to enjoy the space they’re living in.

“Jodie is a fan of blue tones. Well, blue tones in the lakes area just works so well, and blue is always timeless. We wanted to feature different tones of blue that reflect the sky, the water and nature. Then we mixed that with some modern vibes, like our tile in the kitchen is a geometric white tile with black grout. And so we had hints of black, and some of the pieces of our furnishings has more of a lake vibe.”

Designing an Airbnb is a little different from designing someone’s full-time home. It allows the designers a little more freedom to fully explore a concept, and it lets them incorporate specialty spaces such as the coffee bar off the side of the kitchen and the downstairs bedroom workspace.

The basement is just as crisp and bright as the upstairs, but the many bedrooms and bathrooms it has allow for a

14 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

slightly more enclosed space when a visitor wants to get away. With light flooring and furniture decor reminiscent of lake life — such as oars and an anchor — the sitting area also features a fireplace and dark blues to bring the sea inside.

Making all of these changes wasn’t an easy feat. Johnson originally began her renovations in February 2023, and Morris and Brooke joined her side around early April.

Though Johnson hopes to still do some exterior renovations and landscaping, the interior was complete just in the knick of time — ready for their first renters of the summer. The bedrooms, which each have their own large bed, offer guests the choice between light and airy, blue and cozy or both. All spaces are equally well-decorated but offer a different vibe that may suit each visitor.

Then, when guests want to spend some time in the great outdoors, they can swim on the lake or sit on the deck or patio. Then when they return inside, the open air of the outdoors is still with them. Lake life, modernity and coastal living all blend seamlessly throughout the property.

“Bringing all of that together was important in achieving what Jodie had in mind,” Morris said. “And so I think we executed it really well. It’s a perfect mix between lake and coastal.”

To learn more about Coral Cove Interiors, go to their website, coralcoveinteriors.com. They can also be found on Facebook @coralcoveinteriors and Instagram @coralcoveinteriors.

For more information or to book a consultation, contact them at 218-3250298 or info@coralcoveinteriors.com.

To book a stay at the cabin, search for “Long Lake Road, Detroit Lakes, MN” on airbnb.com.

A hammock hangs in the trees by the cabin, allowing visitors to do their lounging outside just as they would indoors. This way, they can enjoy the beautiful lakes country summer.

Contributed / Jodie Johnson

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A Taste of

Wadena Local chefs share some of their favorite recipes and how to make them at home this summer NICOLE STRACEK For For Summer Summer Home Home

16 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

S

ummer never fails to bring everyone together. Whether it’s gathering around the fire pit or hosting family dinner night, introducing new recipes for summertime gatherings is the perfect way to spend quality time with family and friends.

Take a nod from some of Wadena’s chefs, bakers and brewers to find the perfect recipes and drink pairings to help make this season’s celebrations extra savory and special. From delicious baked goods to summer salads to savory wraps with a twist, make it like they do in Wadena!

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Oma’s Restaurant & Bakery Oma’s Restaurant & Bakery, an authentic German restaurant, is owned by the Schmidlin family. They offer an array of freshly baked bread, pastries and traditional German foods that can easily make a family meal at home extra special. Visit the restaurant and bakery for some fan favorites including the freshly baked bacon and sourdough bread or kuchen (German for “cake”) or throw on your best chef’s hat and make a traditional German recipe yourself.

Annette Schmidlin shared one of her family’s favorite summertime meals to make at home. “Our family enjoys making this in the summer with fresh herbs and produce straight from the garden,” Schmidlin said.

German shrimp scampi with tomato sauce

Ingredients:

Spaghetti pasta Olive oil Cherry tomatoes Sugar Garlic Thyme Balsamic vinegar 15-20 large shrimp, deveined and peeled Chili flakes Lemon pepper Salt & Pepper to taste Fresh spinach Dill Parmesan cheese

18 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

Directions: Step 1: Boil water for pasta, season well with salt. In the meantime, cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Place the cubed tomatoes into a frying pan with olive oil and make sure not to burn them. Add salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, and, if you like, balsamic vinegar.

Step 2: Clean, peel and devein shrimp. Wash the shrimp under cold water and use a paper towel to dry the shrimp. Season them with sea salt, lemon pepper, and, if wanted, chili flakes. Pluck the stalk from the spinach.

Step 3: Cook the spaghetti to al dente (around 10 minutes). Save some of the cooked tomatoes for topping, and add the remaining cooked tomatoes to a blender to make a sauce.

Step 4: Heat up a pan and use olive oil to cook the shrimp. When the shrimp have a nice gold-brown color add the tomatoes. When the shrimp and tomatoes are almost done, add the spinach and put them aside after a few seconds.

Step 5: Take the spaghetti and swivel the pasta in your pan and mix noodles with your tomato sauce, sample it, and add more seasoning if needed.

Roll the spaghetti on your plate and let the shrimp slide on your spaghetti, use dill and parmesan cheese as topping.

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Daniela Navarrete is the owner of Meraki Mexican Bakery in Wadena, which recently opened.

Nicole Stracek / Summer Home

Meraki Mexican Bakery Daniela Navarrete and husband Franciso Mejia are divvying out delectable donas (doughnuts) alongside a plethora of other sweet treats and fresh baked goods at their recently opened Meraki Mexican

Bakery located in downtown Wadena. Incorporating traditional Mexican baking techniques and recipes, Daniela is providing a sweet take on brunch or breakfast with her recipe for Mexican cinnamon bread.

Mexican cinnamon bread

Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 1 ½ tbsp active dry yeast 1 ¼ tbsp baking powder 1 tbsp Cinnamon 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 ¼ cup vegetable shortening 2 /3 cup warm water

Topping:

1 ¼ cup sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp vanilla

Directions: Mix all ingredients for five to 10 minutes until all ingredients are completely blended. It should be a smooth and manageable texture. Make tablespoon-sized balls with the dough and shape figures to your preference, you can give it an elongated shape or flatten it with a rolling pin and put filling in to close as a small taquito. Cover and let rise for one hour. Bake at 360 degrees for 30 minutes, let cool, then coat with topping. Enjoy!

20 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

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Fired Restaurant and Drastic Measures Brewing

Fired restaurant is conveniently located inside Drastic Measures Brewing and together they offer a unique menu of wood-fired foods including artisanal hand-tossed pizzas alongside their award-winning specialty brews.

Owner Ashley Doebbeling said her inspiration behind Fired came from her husband, co-owner and head brewer Brett. “My husband built a wood-fired oven at home because he loved cooking on one. We loved it so much we brought it to the brewery and built one there too,” said Doebbeling.

Beverage choices complement summer recipes nicely, with a menu full of craft beers, lagers and fruited sours.

Local private chef Glenda Flores loves summer gatherings so she can make some of her favorite recipes with family and friends.

“When summer rolls around and we start to see kids out playing in the sprinklers and people mowing their grass, we know summertime is in full swing,” said Flores. “But my favorite sight during the summer is barbecues and get-togethers at home, and just seeing others enjoying life.”

Here are some of her favorite summer eats.

What you need: Cube and seed half of a watermelon, chop two to three basil leaves, fresh shredded parmesan cheese, and a handful of dried edamame sunflower seeds. Put everything in a bowl and mix with dressing.

Dressing: Red wine honey black pepper vinaigrette ¼ cup red wine 4 tbsp honey to taste ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar Juice from half of a lime or lemon Fresh cracked black pepper to taste and finish with flaky sea salt 22 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

For a casual summer vibe, try hosting a barbecue with friends. Doebbeling recommends their ‘Purplest Nurplest Double Fruited Sour’ for a dessert-style beverage that is akin to eating a blueberry pie. “People tell us it’s like drinking pie, but it pairs really well with any backyard barbecue get-together because it’s like dessert with a kick.”

Another excellent beverage choice is the “So They Say West Coast IPA.” “This one is a bitter Imperial Pale Ale brewed with citra, centennial and Columbus hops,” said Doebbeling. “It has notes of citrus, pine, floral and earthy flavors. It would make a great pairing with anything salty or savory.”

Flores’ take on a

Mediterranean watermelon summer salad

Flores’ sweet soy ginger chicken wraps

Directions: Grab eight boneless skinless chicken thighs (chicken breast tenderloins work fine, but use about 10) marinate in 2 cups of 100% apple juice and two cans ginger ale for two to four hours.

Grill chicken (outdoor or indoor style charcoal or gas is perfectly fine) until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and you have a nice color with a bit of char, allow to cool then give a rough chop. Put in a bowl and set to the side.

In a medium saucepan add 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, 5 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon powdered ginger and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and bring to a slight boil.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for five minutes stirring frequently.

Pour your sauce over the bowl of chicken you set to the side.

Next, set your favorite flavor wrap or large tortilla on a flat surface and fill with your favorite veggies. Flores uses spring mix green onions, leeks, shredded napa cabbage, carrots and cucumbers. Wrap up like a burrito, cut it in half and enjoy!

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Taste of Columbia Owners and sisters Gladys Kanis and Miriam Miller stock the shelves of their Columbian market with chocolate bars, spices, dehydrated foods and candies just to name a few! Kick back and relax this summer

while sipping drinks under the sunshine. For lunch try making arepas, a classic Columbian side dish. Miller shared her traditional Colombian recipes with ingredients that can be found at her store: Taste of Columbia.

Arepas Ingredients: 2 cups of harina pan (Columbian flour) – enough for two arepas ½ to 1 cup of water Dash of salt Butter for cooking

Directions: Pour harina pan in a bowl, add water and salt. Mix until combined and until the mix is no longer sticky. Make the dough into a ball and flatten. Melt butter in a small frying pan and place arepa in pan, fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve warm.

24 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

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the skogmos

are powered by the sun Detroit Lakes residents become the second household in city to get solar power BARIE PORTER For Summer Home

Joe and Margaret Skogmo recently had 12 solar rooftop panels installed. They are the second home in Detroit Lakes connected to the grid with rooftop solar panels.

Photos by Barbie Porter / Summer Home

J

oe and Margaret Skogmo are the second household in Detroit Lakes to hook into the city’s electrical grid with rooftop solar panels.

For Joe, the desire to reduce greenhouse gases emitted from using electricity came from his parents, Jeff and Marlys Skogmo.

“My parents grew up on a farm and instilled in me the preciousness of land and our responsibility to take care of it,” he said.

26 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

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Crew members from All Energy Solar installed 12 panels on a roof in Detroit Lakes. The owners, Joe and Margaret Skogmo, estimate savings from their electricity bill of between $50 and $75 per month.

Conversations about solar power began several years ago “Our main motivation was to impact the environment in a in the Skogmo home. The cost, however, was prohibitive. positive way; to reduce our carbon footprint,” Joe explained.

After all, the two had to balance a mortgage, child care, food “So we decided to do it.” and other living costs.

Joe scoured the internet for a reputable company and “We’re a middle-class family with a middle-class income landed on All Energy Solar. They liked that they are a Minand three kids,” Joe said. “We weren’t sure if it nesota-based company that has been in the industry would ever be a real possibility with a viable since 2009. impact.”

The Skogmos opened a dialogue about The Skogmos kept an eye on the marthe solar panels, and their concerns. ket, hoping prices would decrease as They learned in the winter the panels the technology became more prevwill likely have productivity, but at a alent. When 2020 rolled around, reduced amount. They learned the they requested an estimate to solar panels can be removed if shininstall enough panels to cover gling work is needed and that the the electrical usage of an average panels are insured in their homefamily of five. owner policy for an additional $5 “It was still too expensive,” per month. And, they also learned Joe said. the panels have a 25-year producWhen the Inflation Reduction tivity warranty.

Act of 2022 passed, tax credit “After 25 years, the productivity incentives were put into place that may decrease incrementally until dropped the cost of installing solar they no longer work,” Joe said.

Joe Skogmo panels enough that the Skogmos asked With a price of about $20,0000, the for an updated estimate. They also asked Skogmos moved forward with their longfor the price of a smaller unit of 12 solar time goal. panels.

“It all looked good,” Joe said. “But, what Joe explained the original plan was for 24 solar really sold me was the extra steps the company panels, which they were told would cover all usage for a took to communicate with Detroit Lakes Public Utilities.” family of five living in a typical 2,000-square-foot home.

Joe said other companies would leave that duty to the “The question became, reduce our (electrical) usage by homeowner, but All Energy Solar was adamant about ensurhalf and make a small impact, or make no impact at all,” ing the system was appropriately connected to the grid.

Margaret said.

“I felt like we had both the city and the solar company

“Our main motivation was to impact the environment in a positive way; to reduce our carbon footprint. ” -

28 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

looking out for our best interest,” Joe said.

Once the panels were installed, and the electrical panel was hooked up to the grid, the Skogmos saw their impact in realtime.

“In the last 14 days, we produced 350-kilowatt hours,” Joe said. “That equates to 30,000 phones or 560 pounds of CO2 removed (from the air).”

If the amount of solar power generated was ever larger than their usage, the Skogmos would receive a credit on their next month’s electric bill.

Detroit Lakes Energy Services Specialist Bridget Penton explained the city has a buyback rate, which is not the same as the charge rate. She noted the residential rate varies, but kilowatts in June through August cost 11.5 cents; from September through May the first 1,000 kWh per month is 10 cents per kWh and the remaining usage is 7.9 cents per kWh. “The buyback rate is 4.4 cents per kWh,” Penton said.

She added that it is not a simple task to interconnect to the city grind, and gave a healthy dose of

encouragement that those considering solar panels do extensive research on the company lined up to do the work.

Penton also recommended homeowners contact the city early in the process, so connections can be made between the solar panel installer and the city.

The Skogmos are also open to chatting with people regarding solar panels.

“I’ve been surprised by the interest, but it’s great,” Joe said.

The 12 solar panels attached to the Skogmos’ Detroit Lakes home measure an estimated 160 square feet.

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Answers they’ve got the

Becker County Master Gardeners are dedicated to helping the community with their gardening needs

A

s the summer reaches its apex, home gardeners are beginning to see the fruits — and vegetables, and flowers — of their labor come alive.

Along with their gardens coming into full bloom, however, they invariably start to see other, less welcome results: Plant pests, diseases, soil deficiencies, wind and hail damage ... these are just a few of the problems that avid gardeners may encounter. Some of these difficulties can even crop up in greenhouses, container gardens, hydroponic and aeroponic indoor gardens, and potted plants.

30 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

Questions to your

VICKI GERDES For Summer Home

The Becker County Master Gardeners sponsor a community garden in Detroit Lakes every year, where local residents can rent out a garden plot for the season and grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and other crops.

Vicki Gerdes / Summer Home

1104 Birch Street Park Rapids MN 56470 Ph: 218.732.8304 5 Hubbard Avenue Sebeka, MN 56477 218.837.5547

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Vicki Gerdes / Summer Home

Becker County Master Gardeners JoAnn Dobis, left, and D. Mae Ceryes look up a sample of an insect that someone has brought in for identification during a recent Plant, Pest and Gardening Clinic at the University of Minnesota Extension office in Detroit Lakes.

So who can people turn to for answers to their burning horticulture questions? In Becker County, it’s the Master Gardeners, who offer free plant, pest and gardening clinics every Wednesday morning through the end of September at the University of Minnesota Extension office in Detroit Lakes.

The clinics run from 9 a.m. to noon.

“We try to have at least two experienced volunteers here every week,” says JoAnn Dobis, who has been a Becker County Master Gardener since 2020.

Sometimes, the clinics might include a gardening intern or two as well, she added.

“We call our new Master Gardeners interns,” explained D. Mae Ceryes, who has been with the program since being certified by the university as a Master Gardener in 2005. “You’re considered an intern for your first year in the program.”

Interns are supposed to complete their required volunteer hours under the supervision of a more experienced mentor, she added, whether they volunteer with the gardening clinics or work on one of the Master Gardeners’ other projects.

“For the first year, master gardeners have to complete the Extension core course and do 50 volunteer hours in the community,” Dobis added. After the first year, they are required 32 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

to complete at least 25 volunteer hours with the program per year, plus maintaining and expanding their knowledge of horticulture through continuing education courses offered through the university.

So what kinds of questions do Becker County residents bring to them for answers? “We get pictures sent to us (depicting various plant problems), emails, phone calls, and sometimes people bring in samples,” Ceryes said, adding that those samples might include plant leaves, branches, soil samples or even various kinds of bugs.

In order to simplify the process of sample identification, however, there are a few submission guidelines to follow. ► For help in identifying a plant disease, bring in a sample of the diseased part of the plant — at least 6 inches longer than the healthy part — encased in a plastic bag. ► For weed identification, bring in the whole plant, including the roots, encased in a plastic bag. ► For pest identification, if possible, bring a sample of the insect pest, along with a sample of the plant material it was found on, encased in plastic or a glass jar. ► For help with grass problems, grass samples should consist of a 10-inch circle of sod, with 1 inch of soil underneath,

Contributed / JoAnn Dobis / University of Minnesota Extension

The University of Minnesota Extension and Becker County Master Gardeners have these signs available for participants in their Pollinator Garden program, which shows people how to plot their gardens for the maximum benefit of pollinators such as birds, bees and butterflies. and including both affected and non-affected areas, placed in a cardboard box or sturdy container.

What they don’t know the answers to, they can find out, Dobis said, whether it’s through the Master Gardeners’ library of horticulture and gardening books at the Extension office, exploring various online resources or making a phone call to the university to talk with a horticulture expert. Sometimes, they also send off the samples to the university for further study.

They also offer soil testing kits for gardeners who would rather do it themselves, added Linda Perrine, who manages the Extension office in Detroit Lakes as well as being the coordinator for the Master Gardener program. She is also a certified Master Gardener herself.

“I was part of the first class (to complete the Master Gardener program in Becker County) in 1984,” Perrine added.

Besides the gardening clinics in the summer, the local Master Gardener program also has a television program on TV-3, the local public access channel, called “Rambling Rose,” and they also sponsor the Detroit Lakes Community Garden on 11th Avenue, where people who have no other access to a garden can rent a plot and grow their own fruits, vegetables,

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In addition, they have a booth at the Becker County Fair, where they answer questions from the public, host a plant sale every year at the Detroit Lakes City Park, and oversee a pollinator garden project where gardeners can learn how to grow gardens that benefit birds, bees and other pollinator species.

One of the keys to a successful pollinator garden is to have “a wide diversity of flowering plants,” Ceryes said, adding that the garden should be plotted out so there are flowers blooming throughout as much of the growing season as possible.

They also have an Earth Day open house every year, Dobis said, as well as a seed starting clinic in early spring, both of which take place at the Detroit Lakes Public Library.

Those who want to learn more about a specific horticulture topic are also welcome to take part in the wide array of courses that the university offers, both online and in person at its five campuses (Crookston, Morris, Duluth, Rochester and the Twin Cities).

The Becker County Extension Office is located at 1120 Eighth St. SE in Detroit Lakes. For more information, call 218-846-7328, extension 7105.

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Nick Olson with the front entrance door he made for a Blarney Stone Pub. Contributed / Country Wood Products

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Nick Olson puts his equipment and know-how to good use at Country Wood Products NATHAN BOWE For For Summer Summer Home Home

R

emodeling your house and need to match some unique crown molding? Or maybe you’re building a new home and want unique stair railing, trim, baseboard, molding, shiplap or other woodwork?

Talk to Nick Olson, owner of Country Wood Products & Services in Audubon. He handles commercial work as well, but also welcomes walk-in traffic at his large showroom at 656 Fourth St. across from the elementary school in Audubon.

34 | 2023 SUMMER HOME

The shiplapped walls and trim work in this home were done by Nick Olson, owner of Country Wood Products and Services of Audubon.

Contributed / Country Wood Products

Olson works a lot with custom-home builders.

“They’re probably my biggest customers,” he said. He also works with design-build architects, and he does commercial woodwork – he is now creating some large, unique curved and circular pieces for a casino project in South Dakota.

It involves a lot of intricate crown molding, with build-ups, curved wood and LED lighting inside.

He does tongue-and-groove shiplap, round window trim and other unique woodworking projects, using hardwoods like ash, white oak, knotty alder and rustic hickory – which are usually stained or clear-coated.

“Natural woods have surged,” he said.

Which isn’t to say he doesn’t still do a lot with the more common southern yellow poplar, which can be stained, but is more often painted. “Yellow poplar is the largest percentage of what we process,” he said. “A painted true hardwood molding is going to have a different feel to it than particle board molding at a big box store,” he said.

Using different types of wood, he does a lot of custom moldings — both larger than average and smaller than average, depending on the size of the room and the style the customer wants.

That processing work got a lot faster and easier about 10 months ago, when he replaced his old five-head molder with a brand new Weinig Profimat 50 six-head molder.

The showroom at Country Wood Products in Audubon.

Nathan Bowe / Summer Home

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2023 SUMMER HOME | 35

“Our customers are amazed. We had a two-week turnaround … not a lot of people have the know-how, equipment and ability to produce something like this.” - Nick Olson

Now, he said, “the quality of the product we produce is going to be better than anything else in the market – and not so far off on price, either.”

A molder is a cutting machine. The heads are metal cylinders with detachable blades that – in this case – spin around at 7,000 revolutions per minute. He can feed in a length of raw timber and have it come out shaved down to size, intricately shaped, and surprisingly smooth — all done quickly and easily.

The new molder can cut 5 to 30 meters of wood in a minute, depending on the type of wood and complexity of the cut. “The molder can make any of the running feet material – door casings, baseboard, crown molding, wainscoting, tongue-andgroove paneling, even flooring,” he said.

“It’s been a game changer,” he said. “It’s night and day,” over the 1980s-era molder he had been using.

The new molder has cut his set-up time by about 75%, it’s about 50% faster, and “the finished quality out of the molder is considerably better,” so there is much less touch up work needed, Olson said.

The showroom at Country Wood Products in Audubon.

Nathan Bowe / Summer Home

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Nick Olson in his shop with some of the curved pieces made by Country Wood Products for a casino project in South Dakota.

Nathan Bowe / Summer Home

He recently completed a job involving custom-sized ash nickel-gapped shiplapping. “Our customers are amazed,” he said. “We had a two-week turnaround … not a lot of people have the know-how, equipment and ability to produce something like this.”

His goal is to have as much raw wood — alder, hard maple, white oak, walnut and more — on hand in his 20,000-squarefoot warehouse-shop-showroom as is feasible. That way he can easily make whatever the customer needs.

The key to any molder, of course, is the ability to create unique blades – called ‘knives’ in the trade – that attach to the spinning heads and cut the woodwork in whatever design the customer needs.

Olson has the equipment to make the knives, too. It’s called a profile grinder, and works sort of like a heavy-duty key-making machine. He first feeds the design into his computer numerical control router to create a template, which the profile grinder then follows to make a new blade.

Sitting next to the molder on his shop floor is a Diehl straight-line ripsaw, which he uses to cut pieces of wood (called “blanks”) out of raw standard-length lumber. The blanks then go into the molder. “Everything has to go through the molder,” he said.

He also has a large Timesaver sander, but says wood comes out of the new molder so smooth that the sander isn’t always needed anymore Olson’s background was in construction equipment, and he bought Country Wood Products & Services a few months before COVID-19 struck, so he had a challenging first year or so.

Fortunately, he had a lot of freedom running a parts department for five years at a large equipment implement firm — which was a lot like running his own business, he said.

The new Weinig Profimat 50 six-head molder.

Nathan Bowe / Summer Home

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“Without that, owning this business would have been very, very difficult,” he said. Even so, he added, “it’s been challenging — I had to learn the industry better — I spent the first 18 months getting my arms around the industry and where we wanted to go with it.”

But he now has a strong understanding of the business, his shop and showroom are organized the way he likes them, he has an updated sawdust-collection system, business is good and things are looking up.

He has a full-time employee, Nick Hanson, and a part-time bookkeeper, Shelly Dillon.

“It’s a constant work in progress,” Olson said, “but the past year or so, it’s been getting fun.”

This distinctive rounded door trim work was made by Nick Olson of Country Wood Products.

Contributed / Country Wood Products

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