Krueger Construction

'Tis the Season!

2011-12-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

To be thankful.
To give back.
To celebrate.
… and… to build!

Holiday season is in full swing and even the big guy is in good spirits. This last week he sent me a text (from Minot) at 6:30 am that read, “2day is the first day of the rest of your life. Embrace it, enjoy it & live to the fullest. Luv gk”.

For those of you who know my dad, this verbatim text may make you smile. It does for me. I just ‘luv’ that guy.

Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is just around,the corner and we are thankful for a number of things this year.

Our great customers. From Minot to Fargo to Dilworth to Hillsboro, we have developed friendships and helped to realize dreams for the folks who custom built with us. Here are some photos from two recent Fargo area projects. We love the framed mirrors, tiled bathrooms, plank
wood flooring, two tone wood work & iron spindles in this Woodhaven home. This couple did their own tile work & hardwood flooring. What they upgraded on flooring costs they saved on install. Win, win.

The custom alder kitchen has granite countertops, plate rack built in, under mount cabinet lighting, step in pantry, under mount sink, oversized stainless range & hood and a convenient microwave built in to boot!

This North Moorhead two story was a very unique build for us and we love the final product!We’ve been working with this particular couple for about 2 years. They had so many awesome ideas and we were thrilled when they decided to move forward with the project to be able to finally put it all together for them!

Who doesn’t love building a new home on a lot with mature trees? We also like the front porch, 4 stall oversized garage (2 deep x 2 wide w/ oversized garage doors), four season sun room off to the left and lots of natural light!

The first level floors are died concrete, a first for us, and they turned out beautifully. Kuddos to the home buyers for all their hard work on these! We like the cast rod iron fireplace, cut out and iron plates (for future decorating use) and the totally custom kitchen (the buyers made the countertops and cabinets themselves)!

We also are digging the big laundry area off the master bedroom (shelving to be installed) and the master bathroom fit for a king and queen with two sinks/ vanities, two showers and one hot tub… I could get used to that!

Our great communities. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we love it here. In rocky economic times and through brutal winters that carry into record breaking floods, our communities pull together time and time again. We are blessed beyond measure to live in a part of the country where community and character are in the forefront of people’s everyday lives.

Each year we give to, support and are thankful for a number of philanthropic organizations, each doing so much good. As the holiday season nears the store fronts in the FM & Minot areas fill with bell ringers for the Salvation Army and we, like most of you, empty the change from our pockets as we pass them by.

Last year, Jimmy and I volunteered (read: I made Jimmy volunteer with me) for the Realtor Ring Day on what literally was the coldest day of the year. It was my first experience ringing the bell and as we froze our faces off outside of Wal-Mart I noticed just how many people give to these little red pots. Almost every person that walked past us first gave us a sympathetic look, then smiled, dropped a few coins or dollar bills into the bucket and said something along the lines of “Happy Holidays” or “Thanks for doing what you’re doing”. It warmed us right up.

Fast forward six months, we were volunteering with the North Dakota Association of Realtors for the Minot Clean Up Day. Let’s be honest, flood cleanup is not nearly as much fun as ringing a bell in a red apron, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do… and so does her husband subsequently. There we were, in all of our hot, sweaty, work boot and facemask glory when a Salvation Army truck rolled by with lunch, smiles and a ‘thank you’ for us. It had come full circle.

This year we jumped at the opportunity to ring again. This time, through The Home Builders Association of Fargo Moorhead. With Jimmy in Minot- Kristi, Kelli and I ventured to Southgate Hornbachers in our bell ringing best. We were again amazed by the friendly, giving members of this community. One individual dropped a generous $50 bill into the pot. We left smiling and feeling great, knowing that in just an hours time we helped to support a great organization that supports our communities.

Our Great Family. In 2011 we officially welcomed Jimmy into our family and as an unplanned twist of fate, we also welcomed him full time as a Krueger Construction, Inc. team member. As our family and business grow we can’t help but feel so lucky for our health and for one another. Granted, there are times that we might not see eye to eye, but at the end of the day we all really do ‘luv’ one another and what we’re doing.

So whether it’s building our family, community or actual houses- it has been a great 2011 and we are looking forward to what 2012 has to offer!

Happy Holidays!

Calling All Women!

2011-11-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

It’s clear to me that this community is full of incredibly talented, hardworking, driven women. One year ago it was less clear how to pull these individuals together. Sure, there are your cooking clubs and book clubs and work mentors. There are church groups or, for my mom, the red hat lady society. I do still not quite understand that one, but maybe I will one day. Don’t get
me wrong, I love a good cooking club or book club (and I participate in both…
currently planning a Cooking Light Thanksgiving for our cooking club!). At any rate, I was looking for something a little different.

Enter Bonnie Krueger.

I was sitting in my office, probably brainstorming blog ideas, I don’t remember, when she came
in with an article cut out from the Fargo Forum. She does that from time to time, brings me articles that she thinks I might be interested in. Instead of bringing the entire newspaper or telling me to look it up online, she takes the time to snip it out and drive across town to deliver it to me so we can talk about it. What a sweetheart.

Anyway the article was about the United Way of Cass Clay 35 Under 35 Women’s Leadership Program. Long story short, I applied and, to my surprise, was selected to be a member of the 2011 class. My life and perspective on work balance hasn’t been the same since.

I can’t explain what a great experience the program has been, introducing me to 34 other women in various fields who are, frankly, incredible. Throughout the course of 6 months we heard wildly accomplished women leaders in our community speak on a variety of topics ranging from communication, leadership, etiquette, spirituality, diversity, mentorship, age/ gender issues, influencing the future and so much more. I learned more about myself and women leaders in this community than I thought possible in such a short time.

None of us wanted the program to end, but on June 9th we graduated as the 2011 class of 35 Under 35 and today the applications are due for the 2012 class.

So.
This is me.
Telling you.
To apply.
You won’t regret it!

We're Baa-aaaccckkk...

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

…from a slight non blogging hiatus. In reality, we never actually went anywhere; things have just been so busy around these parts that it’s been difficult to sit long enough to jot down a few thoughts. I blame this, almost entirely, on planning my wedding. However, we’ve also re-opened our Minot office and built a handful of truly beautiful and unique custom homes here in Fargo. We welcomed a new full time employee into the ranks and volunteered a bit with flood clean up in Minot. Most recently, we have braved another Fall Parade of Homes and we are currently in the process of designing a couple of new plans {which we find to be wildly exciting… it’s the little things that keep you going in family owned construction business!}.

Wait.

Speaking of exciting.

We did go somewhere too.

Yes, it’s true; we finally talked The North Dakota Poster Child into a weekend trip to Las Vegas where we helped to celebrate the marriage of one of my best friends. Here we are poolside at The Mirage for the reception. Congrats Alex and Amy! Viva Las Vegas!

With the inability to not think about work for more than an hour at a time, the big guy did rent a car to go scope the Las Vegas market and tour a few homes. He can’t help himself. We did tear him away long enough to catch an afternoon viewing of The Lion King before we headed back to Fargo. Hakuna matata!

At any rate, we are back. And ready to blog, so stay tuned! Lots of updates coming your way...

Something to Celebrate: June Bonus!

2011-06-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

June is here and, although the first official day of summer isn’t until June 21st, we’ve decided to celebrate early!

On Monday evening a chaotic storm ripped through our community wreaking havoc all over Fargo, Moorhead and surrounding areas. Thankfully, there was no major damage to any of our customer’s properties or our spec homes. The Krueger Construction, Inc. Model Home/ Office did lose a sign [still nowhere to be found!] and the city fence was uprooted shattering into pieces when slammed against the side of the garage by 78mph winds. We feel quite grateful to have weathered the storm with such minor repairs. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Woodhaven missing parts of their rooftops or sheets of siding and all other homeowners whose properties were damaged.

As the FM community is once again in clean up mode from the Memorial Day storm, our neighbors to the West in the communities of Bismarck and Minot are fighting floods. We wanted to have something to celebrate, after all June IS National Homeownership Month, so we’ve decided to offer a bonus for the month of June to ring in the summer of 2011!

For one month we are offering a $3000 Buyer Bonus on the following properties:

4262 28th Ave. S. - Autumn Fields

2871 Umber Court - Autumn Fields

3861 3rd St. E. - Osgood Reserve

More info on these homes HERE.

We are hoping that soon Mother Nature will let up a little, but until then: cheers to all of the hard working, well-grounded people in our communities who take on these natural disasters with such a positive energy and sense of community. The Poster Child is proud, and so are we!

Journey

2011-05-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran in my first ever marathon relay for the Fargo Marathon. What an experience! First let me start by saying I am not a marathon runner… I’m barely a 10K runner. I’m not in it to win it, I’m in it to finish without embarrassing myself by tripping over another runner [which I did, but I didn’t fall] or having to walk [which I also did, but only on the uphill part of the run].

As I trained for my 6.2 mile leg I ran a couple of 5K ‘races’, built a playlist on my iPod that rivals the Billboard Music Awards and spent many hours running around Woodhaven and on a treadmill at the YMCA. Two Saturdays ago I ran 44 laps at the Fargo South track- not the highlight of my training experience, but when it’s pouring rain there are few options for getting 5.5 miles in.

By the time marathon day rolled around I was excited and a little nervous, but mostly I just wanted to get the run over with. I arrived at the Fargo Dome around 6:40 am, did some stretching… feeling totally out of place as people twice my age and half my body fat did high knees in the lobby and strapped on their water fanny packs. I took my place at the start point, well behind the 10 minute mile pacer, and off we went. Winding through the streets of Fargo and Moorhead lined with cheering spectators and enthusiastic bands, I had never felt more proud to be a part of such a great community.

Photo: Relay Team Smokin’ Asics (L-R) Nicole Young, Kim Krueger, Mindy Graham, Meghan Ibach

Growing up, I had heard the phrases: “Everybody got to where they are by starting where they were” and “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” on several occasions. These terms carried me through high school sports, college classes, Delta Gamma recruitment, Miss USA, the FM Parade of Homes, to name a few. Although I grew up watching my parents, then brother, build our families business I am still relatively new to this. I admit that most days I wish I knew as much as my dad does about, well, anything, but especially the housing market.

Last week this school of thought resurfaced on both personal and professional levels. My dad reminded me that good business is about the longevity. It isn’t about coming in first place every time, but rather slowly and steadily building your business model and team, doing a good job and keeping a steady pace. Our family has been doing this for 27 years and step by step we continue to build our community and help people live the American dream of owning a home. There are definitely days that I wish I had all the answers, but I know that learning to take the first few steps to find them is an important tool. So weather it’s running your first relay marathon or taking a moment at work to get things back into perspective, the journey really is just as important as the destination.

Why Not Minot?!

2011-04-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last Friday the whole Krueger crew packed up and made our way to Bismarck through the winter storm to celebrate the birthdays of my mom [Bonnie] and brother [Corey] at a Willie Nelson concert. He is one of few living music artists that we can all agree on, so it really worked out perfectly that there was a show on their birthdays. Corey, our music lover, would probably have a lot more to add about the technicalities of the performance and how great the show was. I’m not quite as involved in the music scene, but I will say this: The show WAS great. I think all of us can appreciate the fact that Willie still travels and preforms with his original band and his little sister. Some families are just meant to work together. We know the feeling.

Here is a photo Corey shot from the 4th row of the man himself, Willie Nelson:

On Saturday we ventured to Minot to finish off the first spec home we’ve built there since I was just a little girl. No better way to celebrate a birthday weekend than by staging a house, right? My mom and Corey were troopers and with the whole family working together, including help from a couple of extended Krueger relatives, we were able to clean and stage the house in just one day!

This is a shot of the newly staged living room at our Minot spec home:

We are excited to be back in the Minot market again where our roots run deep! Our company was founded in the Magic City in 1984 and I know my parents have thoroughly enjoyed working with some of the same contractors as they did back in the day. As Willie Nelson once wrote, “… when you put your life in a good place, good things follow.”

We truly believe that the communities we build in are great places, so cheers to all of the good things that lie ahead!

2011 North Dakota Professional Builder

2011-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Greg Krueger, President and CEO of Krueger Construction, Inc. obtains 2011 North Dakota Professional Builder certification!

Administered by the North Dakota Association of Builders, the North Dakota Professional Builder [NDPB] program is the only one of its kind, recognizing professionals in the home building industry across the state.

Congrats, Greg, on rising to the highest level of professionalism as recognized by our state!

Trade Home Renovation!

2011-03-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Spring is upon us and, despite the idea of fighting another flood; we are looking forward to it! In the construction industry, spring means the start to our ‘busy season’ which will take us straight through to Fall. Every year we eagerly wait for the snow to thaw, the flood to subside and a pile of muddy boots to gather at our front door when the construction season hits full swing.

With pre-solds to start, spec homes to finish and a Spring Parade of Homes to prepare for, it’s an exciting and busy time in our offices. Spring seems to usher in a new attitude and energy as the daylight last longer, the thermometer registers readings above zero and the sun begins to warm up the valley after what seems to be the longest winter in the history of North Dakota, or at least in my 26 years here. Change is upon us and it’s perhaps, for me at least, one of the most anticipated changes of the year.

In the theme of change, I thought it might be appropriate to share with you, our handful of loyal readers… all of whom I am certain are my mom re-visiting the same blog post, some changes we’ve made to one of our trade homes in South Fargo.

Kristi and I found this particular home to be, well, adorable. It’s a comfortable red bi-level home with white shutters and is perfectly placed in a residential neighborhood with mature trees and a big yard. We took the home off the market a little over a month ago for renovations and here is what we did inside:

We repainted the entire interior, including doors, cabinets, and trim. THAT was a project, but we love the outcome!

The Living Room went from this:

To This:

The upstairs bathroom went from this:

To this:

Each bedroom was painted a bright, bold color. We neautralized the colors going from this:

To This:

The kitchen needed a little facelift too, so we brought in new countertops and changed out the fridge. We also painted and removed the chalk board from the snack bar going from this:

To this:

With a fresh coat of paint, we were inspired to get new closet doors to match the rest of the 6 panel look throughout the house. We also replaced all of the knobs and hinges, from this:

To this:

New lighting fixtures were purchased to give the home an updated look, here is a the after shot of the dining area showcasing the new lights:

Yesterday the carpets were cleaned and today we put the move in ready, updated home back on the market! Change is, almost always, a good thing!

Our Very Own North Dakota Poster Child

2011-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

Almost three years ago and a recent college grad, I moved to New York City to work in the public relations industry. I had only been to Manhattan once before on a media tour for Miss USA 2006. Needless to say security guards, television appearances and big hair are not part of the daily grind in the city and I had no idea where to begin in planning my life there. In true Krueger family form the whole crew packed up for a ‘family vacation’ to the big apple to find me an apartment and help me to navigate the dreaded subway.

I use the term family vacation loosely. As it turns out, piling five Krueger’s together in one taxi is no vacation, especially when said taxi has no air conditioning… in June.

We did have a little fun amongst the arguing, uncomfortable heat and underlying tone of the weekend that dad clearly did not want me to move to this big, urban, concrete jungle. Here we are at a Yankees game… he even smiled!

I loved my time in New York and, on occasion, I find myself missing the city and the people I met there who made that chapter of my life so fulfilling; however, I know when I made the difficult decision to quit my public relations job and venture back to the Midwest, I was moving in the right direction.

As previously mentioned, my dad is an avid fan of North Dakota and bordering cities. In fact, we jokingly refer to him as the Poster Child for the state that we all, admittedly, adore. While we do love this part of the country, his enthusiasm trumps ours tenfold. Although he can appreciate an occasional trip to Florida and Arizona, only for a weekend and only to golf or enjoy Disney World. For the most part he loves nothing more than being in good old ND with those he cares about most.

After my first few years in the real world, I can see why my dad cherishes North Dakota, aside from the obvious reasons: family, friends and memories. He loves North Dakota for the quality and pace of life, for the economic security and for the feeling of community.

In the past month NBC affiliate Valley News Live and Womens Health Magazine reiterated what my North Dakota Poster Child father has been saying all along. I hate it when he is right.

Building an Experience

2011-01-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

Handshakes and eye contact, please and thank you, honesty and respect, quality and passion. These elements were the building blocks of a company my parents started 27 years ago and they still serve as the foundation for each of us today.

Throughout the span of my life, my parents have been building our family businesses. I remember spending hours on evenings or weekends in my dad’s office coloring on the white board or flipping through real estate magazines planning my dream home as he worked through blueprints and organized files. On ‘take your daughter to work day’ in elementary school my mom brought me to their office where I was charged with the ultra-important task of helping to punch and staple files [with the supervision of the secretary, who happened to be my aunt]. As we grew up our chore list extended beyond our own household to the houses being built through Krueger Construction, Inc. My siblings and I took our turn at picking up jobsites, cleaning the houses, mowing the lawns, shoveling the sidewalks, sandbagging during the floods, even helping with computer input. As a teenager I believed these sorts of chores were less important than volleyball practice, homework and going to the movies with my friends, but in retrospect I realize that our parents were teaching us the importance of hard work and instilling in us an appreciation for the business that supported our family.

Growing up, there were more obvious lessons we learned as well. Our mom and dad taught us to respect all people, equally. We could never tell if my mom was speaking to a subcontractor, a tenant or someone who was building a $500,000 home when she was on the phone, because she spoke to each individual the same. My dad showed us the significance of being passionate about what you do. His school of thought has always been to work hard and play hard, but work hard first. Fortunately for him he loves his job, so working hard came naturally. To this day, my dad literally lights up when he speaks about building homes in North Dakota and Minnesota and the incredible families we’ve met along the way. It was clear to us, from early on, that when our parents were spending all of those extra hours at work it was because they truly enjoyed meeting with new people, designing homes and doing an excellent job for our customers.

Today, as Marketing & Business Development Director, my ‘chore list’ has changed to ‘job responsibilities’, one of which is our website updates. In my eyes, all websites are a constant work in progress, http://www.kruegerbuilt.com/ is no different. As a member of a generation that grew up using the internet, I understand that it’s an important tool in gathering information. What I feel websites lack is a forum to ask and answer questions and an opportunity to learn more about the people behind the business website that make it function. For that reason, we’ve decided to launch this blog. We want to give our prospective clients and customers, friends, colleagues and other industry leaders insight into what we do and why we love it.

This blog, like our website, will be a work in progress. Please feel free to comment or e-mail me if you have topic suggestions or questions that you are looking for an area Builder, Broker or Realtor to answer.

Cheers!
Kim Krueger
Kimberly@KruegerBuilt.com

2009-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Fargo, ND, June 16, 2009 — Krueger Construction, Inc.™ celebrates 25 years of building quality custom homes in Fargo/Moorhead and Minnesota Lakes area. With the entire immediate family working together- Krueger Construction, Inc hopes to aid in continued community growth for the next 25 years with innovative and energy efficient construction at an affordable cost.

President and Founder, Greg Krueger, is pleased to share in this milestone with the Fargo/ Moorhead community by offering at $2,500 bonus on all new home projects for the remainder of 2009. He says, “We are proud to reach our 25th year of business and even more proud to be serving the outstanding community in which we live. The flood of 2009 reminded us that this area truly is an incredible place to be and we want to celebrate that with our $2,500 discount in our 25th year.”

Twenty five years of hard work driven by honesty and enthusiasm have helped Krueger Construction, Inc. to grow, encompassing all three Krueger children [two daughters, one son] and niece of Mr. & Mrs Krueger as well. Vice President, Corey Krueger, says, “Each of us bring a different talent to the business, but we are also a family. We want to build homes that other families can grow in like we did. That is what sets us apart – we care about this community, we care about what we are doing and we want to do it right.”

Carol Gleeve of Bremer Bank, Fargo, says, “Thanks to Krueger Construction, Inc we were not only shown that we could afford to build a new home, but also the benefits of home ownership. The Kruegers are honest and up front, making sure there are no hidden costs or financial surprises in obtaining the home of our dreams. Greg Krueger was very good at helping to design our homes the way we wanted and his experience helped us to make good decisions about our floor plan and interior design choices.” She adds, “Krueger made sure we were happy with all aspects of the homebuilding process and if a problem arose it was promptly taken care of to our satisfaction. Since our first home we have built three other homes with Krueger Construction and we have been very pleased.”
Please visit www.kruegerbuilt.com for more information on the company, it’s people and our unique Trade Program ™.

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