SS 2 – DATA VISUALIZATION FOR BETTER ASSESSMENTS, 4 hrs. Wednesday. Ben Bedard, AMA, Olmsted County: Integrating appraisal theory and chart making techniques, this class will teach assessors and their staff how to visualize data to make better decisions and presentations that are more persuasive to the public.  Real residential data will be used to make a variety of charts.  The instructor will explore statistical review and scatterplots with examples of central tendency, normal distribution, populations and samples, and overfitting and skew. Computers with Excel are strongly recommended so that students can work along with the examples.  Experience making charts in Excel is not expected, however students should have the basic ability to navigate spreadsheets. Limit 65 

SS 3 – BASIC AGRICULTURE – CLASSIFY AND IDENTIFY, 4 hrs. Wednesday. Mark Koehn, CMA, Stearns County, Gale Zimmerman, SAMA, MN DOR: This seminar will provide an introduction to the assessment of agricultural property. Topics to be covered include: assessor verification of agricultural use, classification of 2a/2b acreage, programs associated with the agricultural classification, agricultural buildings, tips for reviewing agricultural properties, depreciation and rates for agricultural buildings (with handouts) and old barn repurposed. Limit 65

SS 4 – RESIDENTIAL GRADING, 4 hrs. Wednesday, Instructors: MAAO Residential Committee: This seminar will review the grading manual the Residential Committee has created. There will be discussion on the different types of construction, materials used and the finishing work that makes the difference between one grade to the next. They will review the details for both the outside and inside of the property. Limit 65

SS 5 – MASS APPRAISAL REVIEW, 4 hrs. Wednesday, Instructor: Steve Hacken, SAMA, Winona County:  This seminar will cover the different types of data involved in mass appraisal and statistics.  The three approaches to value in mass appraisal, statistics, and their uses will be discussed and case study problems will be used to demonstrate statistics in mass appraisal. Bring a calculator. Limit 25

SS 6 – WHAT’S NEW IN RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION, 4 hrs. Wednesday, Larry Mayer, Solution Design, Inc.: The instructor will review changes in the residential construction industry regarding codes, air tightness, and energy efficiency.  He will cover policy updates with HUD, FHA, VA, and appraiser requirements to be certified as a green appraiser & listed on the Appraisal Institutes website by state.  In addition he will discuss what are the design techniques and documentation that make a home high performance and what are the type of rating standards in marketplace today plus what is comfort & health, and review the current Xcel and CenterPoint Gas High Performance New Home Program. Limit 65 

Seminar Full SS 7 – FAIR FARM RENTAL AGREEMENT AND AG UPDATE, 4 hrs. Wednesday, Nathan Hulinsky, University of Minnesota Extension: This seminar will go into depth about Minnesota fair farmland rental agreements.  How these rates are determined and other factors that affect farmland rental rates.  Minnesota farmland values will be discussed.  The Agriculture Economy as a whole will be analyzed and discussed.  A historical examination of farm profitability in the different farming sectors will be of emphasis as well as, a look into the future profitability and viability of the farming industry. Limit 30

SS 8 - MN RESIDENTIAL FORM REPORT, 4 hrs. Wednesday, Instructors: Form Report Instructors and Graders: This seminar will assist individuals in writing a residential demonstration form report. The student will be provided with the most complete and up to date checklist to refer to as the candidate writes their report. The student reference manual will provide step-by-step instructions for writing the report and will include many examples to help them successfully complete their report.  Limit 25

SS 9 – BUSINESS WRITING FOR ASSESSORS, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructor: John Gellatly, Retired Assessor:We begin with an analysis of concepts that assessors must attempt to explain to taxpayers and the value of written messages to that attempt.  This is followed by instructions in building the foundation of lucid writing to successfully establish the writer’s meaning in the mind of the reader:  choice of words, sentence structure, organization of the message, and presentation.  Examples related to the assessment field and other occupations are offered as well as sample outlines and letters dealing with assessment administration issues. Limit 65

SS10 - RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructor: Jason Jorgenson, SAMA, Meeker County & Erik Skogquist, SAMA, Local Assessor:  Learn what different types of material and components go into a house from the excavation and footings to the shingles. This course will also cover some examples of what makes a home higher quality compared to a minimum code built home. Limit 85. Second time offered in this licensing period.

SS 12 – CALCULATING EFFECTIVE RENT, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructor: Alyssa Hamilton Browne, MAI, SAMA, City of Minneapolis. This seminar will introduce participants the concepts of effective rent and will provide the tools to analyze leases for tax purposes. Participants will calculate in class examples of effective net rent by analyzing contracts. Applying these techniques to the three approaches to value will round out the theory portion of this seminar. Finally, real life examples on how effective rent is used in tax court appeals will be discussed. REQUIRED: A financial calculator to complete the in class examples. Calculators will not be provided. Limit 65

Seminar FULL SS 13 – ELEMENTS OF LAKESHORE VALUATION, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructor: Gary Griffin, SAMA, Crow Wing County: The objective of this seminar is demonstration of the different variables that contribute to lakeshore value: shoreline types, quality adjustments, and quantity or excess lake frontage adjustments.  There will be examples of lakeshore valuation by extraction, use of aerials and Geographic Information System (GIS) for access, footage and shore quality. Limit 65

SS 14 – AGRICULTURAL MARKET UPDATE, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructor: Denny Schmidt and Greg Thomas, Upper Midwest Management Corporation: This seminar will cover a broad range of topics relating to the current state of the agricultural sector.  The state of agriculture is more than just our local scene as it is impacted by policies affecting the Renewable Fuels Standards and foreign trade such as NAFTA.  Three consecutive years of record corn and soybean harvests have affected our supplies thus putting downward pressure on our commodity prices.  Renegotiation of the Farm Bill is also being worked on at the Federal Level.  A state issue is the Buffer law. All of these issues affect our land values and land rental rates and will be discussed in this seminar. Limit 65

SS 15 - MN RESIDENTIAL FORM REPORT – HANDS ON, 4 hrs. Thursday, Instructors: Form Report Instructors and Graders:  This workshop will be a hands-on experience where candidates can bring their form reports, all of their data, and have four uninterrupted hours to work on their report. Form Report Instructors and Graders will be on hand to help with any questions or stumbling blocks you may encounter. Please be prepared to work on your report. Bring more data than you think you need so you will have ample information and comparable sales to make suggested Adjustments and changes. DON’T FORGET YOUR LAPTOP AND CALCULATOR. Limit 25