NEW ULM - More than 200 booths with a wide variety of exhibitors greeted Home & Self Improvement Show goers Friday at the New Ulm Civic Center.
Solutions to gardening and lawn care, home improvement, remodeling, fitness, wellness, nutrition and other topics were discussed.
Arbor-lovers should be interested to know the New Ulm Tree Advisory Commission is offering up to $200 towards planting a tree anywhere within the city limits, including your yard, for finding the largest hackberry tree within the New Ulm city limits.
Article Photos
Staff photo by Fritz Busch
Marvin Hinrichs of Willmar and Today's Fireplace & Spa talks about clean-burning fire technology atop a bed of glass fire gems to a couple Friday at the New Ulm Home-Self Improvement Show at the New Ulm Civic Center.
Tree circumference should be measured with a tape measure 4 1/2 feet above the ground. Winners will be announced at the Arbor Day ceremony at 10 a.m., Friday, April 27 in German Park. Last day to enter is Monday, April 23.
Hackberry fruit have thin, purple skin, sweet yellow flesh, aka sugar berry; ripe in September; frequently hanging on trees most of winter, providing an important food supply for several wildlife species.
More information can be obtained at the New Ulm Recreation Center, 122 S. Garden St.
For state-of-the-art technology enthusiasts, ECS Inc. of Mankato offers a single, universal remote that can be used to control a home theater system, surveillance cameras, heating, ventilation and air conditioning temperatures, interior and exterior lighting, door locks, and up to 6,500 third-party devices.
"It'll prevent people from fumbling around with lots of remotes," said Eric Magelee of ECS.
Several exhibitors provided information on radon, "the silent killer," estimated to be responsible for about 21,000 annual U.S. deaths.
According to Radon Solutions in Mankato, about half of those diagnosed with lung cancer never smoked or are former smokers, and only 15 percent live beyond five years of their diagnosis.
The Minnesota Department of Health estimated that one in three Minnesota homes has elevated radon levels that kill 1,000 Minnesotans a year.
The firm urged people to test their residence for radon and added that most radon mitigation systems cost between $1,300 and $1,600 to install.
For more information, visit www.radonawareness.org and www.epa.gov/radon
The New Ulm American Legion Club provided information about Project New Hope which supports free retreat camps with counselors for veterans and their families near the Twin Cities metro, Dassel, and Underwood.
For more information, visit www.ProjectNewHope.net
Brown County Recycling exhibited its Home Composting Rain Barrel Program including information on the Earth Machine and Systern.
For more information, visit.www.co.brown.mn.us/solid-wastelandfill-and-recycling/composting information
Saturday seminars on the civic center second floor begin with estate planning basics at 10:30 a.m., home buying, 11:15 a.m.; Keeping the Farm in the Family, noon; Sun Power Solar, 1 p.m., Norwex Products, 2 p.m., Getting Your House Ready for a Fast Sale, 3 p.m.; IRA Rollover Workshop, 4 p.m., Meditation Introduction, 5 p.m.
Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.