Jim Buchta

1 week ago | startribune.com | Jim Buchta

Buyers have been especially aggressive on Twin Cities metro-area lakes, which are closer to high-paying jobs than lake homes in more rural areas most popular with second-home buyers seeking vacation spots. The epicenter of that demand is Lake Minnetonka, where Cathy Green is busy readying the modest house she and her siblings grew up in for sale.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Jim Buchta

A house is by far the largest purchase most people will ever make, and it's a transaction that will only occur a few times in their life. Purchasing a second home - often a lakeside cabin for Minnesotans - can be the realization of years of dreaming and saving. It's typically a once-in-a-lifetime deal and a daunting process.

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Jim Buchta

By Jim Buchta That commitment wasn't just to its corporate workers. The company has made Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, available on its job sites and provides overdose response training. This conversation with Murray was edited for clarity and length. Ryan Cos. CEO Brian Murray has made sure that his employees have tools to deal with mental health issues. He also talks publicly about his own depression. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

3 weeks ago | fredericknewspost.com | Jim Buchta

When a string of hurricanes ravaged the East Coast this past fall and a cluster of wildfires burned the Los Angeles area in January, tens of thousands of displaced people suddenly needed shelter. A Twin Cities-made website specializing in mid-term rentals — stays of longer than a vacation but not more than a year — hopes to help these refugees and others find temporary, but stable housing while rebuilding or searching for a permanent place. kAm#62= 6DE2E6 :?G6DE@C y@?

4 weeks ago | startribune.com | Jim Buchta

Minnesota's most-expensive home listing just hit the public market with a marketing campaign of equal grandeur. Pajama-clad tween girls leap from a dozen bunk beds, bound past a grand piano and down a staircase in pursuit of colorful pastries, which they share on a sunny lakeside terrace. A string of exotic sports cars zip along the driveway, passing a pair of guest house and over a bridge.