Apple's HomePod (left) displayed next to the Google Home and Amazon Echo devices. Apple's entry into the smart home device market was "late to the game and mispriced," says Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives.

The Washington Post | Getty Images

Amazon, Google, Apple and the Zigbee Alliance on Wednesday announced a rare partnership that's focused on making smart homes easier for everyone.

Amazon, Google and Apple are all competing for people to buy products that work with their in home-systems and are still trying to build a solution that's simple for everyone to use. But the competition itself has created a really confusing landscape for consumers and manufacturers of smart home products.

According to September figures from IDC, the "worldwide market for smart home devices is expected to grow 23.5% year over year in 2019 to nearly 815 million device shipments." That figure is expected to grow to 1.39 billion devices in 2023. For that to happen, and for consumers to keep their sanity, consumers are going to need some sort of standard that gets everything talking to one another.

That's why companies that typically compete against one another are teaming up.

Today, you might walk into a store and buy a smart lock for your home. But you'd have to figure out if you need to buy a lock that works with Amazon Echo (which uses various standards including Zigbee), Google Home or Apple HomeKit.

This same headache extends to the companies that build smart devices. They need to decide from the outset if they want to support various connectivity methods used by Amazon, Apple or Google and, if they do, they need to continue updating the device throughout its life so it's secure across all platforms.

The new standard aims to fix those problems.

It's called "Project Connected Home over IP" and it will work to create a new standard for the smart home so that people can buy products knowing that they'll work with the systems they have at home, and that they're secure. A logo on gadget boxes will let customers know if it's built and supported by Project Connected Home over IP or not.

"The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use," the companies said in a press release. "By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification."

Zigbee Alliance companies that are already creating products will also contribute. They include, among others, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), IKEA, NXP Semiconductors and Resideo.

The group will focus first on physical safety smart home devices, such as smoke alarms and CO sensors, smart doors and locks, security systems, electrical plugs, window shades and HVAC controls before expanding into other types of devices and commercial solutions.

The group is working to release a draft specification and preliminary open source materials late next year. It's unclear when the first products will be on the market.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Project Connected Home over IP will support CO sensors.

Read more:

Apple, Google and Amazon are cooperating to make your home gadgets talk to each other - CNBC

An empty lot stands where a mobile home resident moved away once residents were notified that their lot rent would increase at the Golfview Mobile Home Park in North Liberty Tuesday, June 11, 2019. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Proposed protections for residents of Iowa manufactured housing parks are back on the table in Des Moines.

And those protections couldnt be passed into law soon enough, several park residents shared Saturday. They shared struggles about making ends meet after out-of-state companies bought their communities and hiked lot rents up to 69 percent.

At least 85 residents, affordable housing advocates and local elected officials packed a public hearing Saturday afternoon at the state Capitol. Aides dragged folding chairs into the chamber to accommodate the crowd.

Spearheaded by state Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, the hearing allowed attendees to weigh in on the need for reform. More than 18 people spoke.

Jean Parker, a 33-year resident of Golfview Mobile Home Park in North Liberty, said her lot rent increased 58 percent this spring, after Orem, Utah-based Havenpark Capital bought the community.

Under new management and their lease, theres a tone suggesting any infractions can lead to eviction, said Parker, who is retired. She now must seek permission to grow tomatoes on her property, she said.

These people do not consider eviction as a nuisance, they consider it as an opportunity, because if I cant move my trailer and if I cant live in my trailer, it is abandoned and they can take possession of it, Parker said. Havenpark has said that what they do is legal. I hope you (lawmakers) take that as a challenge, because otherwise, youre going to be allowing them to take us to the cleaners.

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Numerous other attendees hailed from Dubuque, where Cedaredge, Colo.-based Impact Communities, also known as RV Horizons, bought the Table Mound Mobile Home Park about two years ago and raised rent and utility fees.

Brett Shaw, a Dubuque City Council member, said Iowas inadequate and exploitable laws governing manufactured housing create a situation ripe for predators.

Of the so-called mobile homes, Shaw said, Not only is it often impossible to move them, but these homeowners have a vested financial interest in doing everything possible, including paying unreasonable rents and fees, in order to keep their possessions.

The hearing Saturday also highlighted blind spots in Iowas landlord-tenant laws governing the manufactured housing communities.

Unlike with Iowa apartment renters, the states manufactured housing owners are not automatically refunded security deposits or prepaid rent after leases are terminated, said Ben Bellus, assistant state attorney general.

Owners of manufactured houses also cant seek damages from landlords who knowingly include illegal provisions in leases, Bellus said.

Some attendees representing the manufactured housing industry asked state lawmakers to exercise caution.

Rather than pushing legislation that paints the entire industry with a gigantic brush, said Troy Hames, of Cedar Rapids-based Hames Homes, lawmakers should look at the whole picture.

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Ninety-nine percent of us in the state are good owner-operators, Hames said. If I could, Id buy Table Mound mobile home community and the rest of your communities. I feel your pain. Youre being mistreated.

Lawmakers also ought to take into consideration the fiscal realities of owning a manufactured housing community, said Jodie McDougal, an attorney representing the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association, of which she said both Havenpark and Impact Communities are active members.

I think its really important that we have all the information on all of the realities so that we can do what I think everyone wants, which is to maintain a good source of affordable housing thats needed in Iowa, McDougal said. In particular, we dont want these homes, these communities to go to developers who are going to take it away and close it down and turn it into apartment complexes or commercial.

Not all residents were persuaded. The crowd applauded one woman who questioned the rent-raising companies, How do you sleep at night?

The Iowa Senate this spring unanimously advanced a bill to require owners of manufactured housing parks to give residents a 180-day notice of rent increases, rather than the current 60 days. The measure failed to make it through the state House, however, before the session closed.

Across 80 of Iowas 99 counties, there are at least 550 manufactured housing communities, encompassing 35,443 units, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties.

Of those communities, 414 were owned by in-state entities. The remaining 136 were owned out of state, including what Wahls said were 38 acquired since 2018.

It is my deep hope that the mom-and-pop operators in this state who have for a long time done the right thing ... will continue to make affordable housing an option for Iowa residents and that they will join us in fighting back against rent gouging from greedy out-of-state companies that dont see Iowans, they see dollar signs, said Wahls.

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The state senator later added, We deserve better than what is happening right now. Period.

Comments: (319) 398-8366; thomas.friestad@thegazette.com

Read more from the original source:

Iowa Legislature called to reform 'inadequate and exploitable' manufactured housing laws - The Gazette

SPRINGFIELD,Mo. (KY3) -- The Springfield Fire Department is reminding you to check your smoke detectors after a fire damaged three mobile homes Thursday afternoon.

According to Springfield Fire Chief David Pennington, the last time the fire department delivered free smoke detectors to the neighborhood in northwest Springfield was in November 2018.

Thursday, three homes caught on fire and none of them had a working smoke detector.

Everyone inside the homes on West Atlantic escaped without injury thanks to neighbors knocking on their doors.

"You've go three minutes from when the fire starts until your window for escape is small or nonexistent," Pennington said. " In that three minutes it's whether you've been notified or not the clock starts when the fire starts."

He said it's smart to test your smoke detectors often, which can be as simple as pressing a button.

"Test them at least annually, but monthly is my preference as the chief that's what I do in my home," Pennington said.

Council member Phyllis Ferguson said the city created "zone blitz" in northwest Springfield to solve problems like an influx in fires.

"Public safety is always of great concern," Ferguson said. "We looked at what was going on in the northwest quadrant in Springfield and we identified some things that we could do to make it a safer area."

One of the solutions they came up with is "Project Red Zone." Firefighters go door-to-door to install and test smoke alarms for people in the community. The services are free of charge.

Pennington said the neighborhood on the city's north side was one of the their first targets, but isn't the only one to reap the benefits.

"Smoke alarms are available at all times, whether you're in the Project Red Zone area or not," he said. "[Call] 417-874-2300... and they'll get you to us."

Pennington said the fire department will circle back to the neighborhood if it needs to, but in the mean time firefighters will be canvassing a few new neighborhoods.

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Firefighters warn the community to test their smoke detectors after fire rips through three Springfield, Mo. homes - KY3

During their regular meeting Tuesday morning at the Pierce County Courthouse, Pierce County's Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt the county's Comprehensive Plan.

Comprehensive plans serve as policy guides for decisions about land development and growth, and to establish goals and objectives for future land use. Requirements of comprehensive plans include that they be general, long-range, "focus on physical development" and "relate physical design proposals to community goals and social and economic policies."

Prior to the Tuesday passage, the last time the county's Comprehensive Plan received revisions was 1987.

Other actions

- The board approved by a 4-1 vote (with District 4 Commissioner Terry Hoffert being the sole no vote), a property tax incentive application for Home of Economy.

- The board reappointed Lonnie Anderson, Alan Beaver and Mike Voeller to the county's Planning & Zoning Board.

- The board approved precincts for the 2020 election. The polling location will be the courthouse and hours will be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

- County Tax Director Kelsey Siegler met with the board to discuss how the county wants to handle mobile homes that are delinquent on taxes. Pierce County States Attorney Galen Mack requested copies of notices sent to the owners, and said he would look into the procedure.

- The board approved a raffle permit application for the Knights of Columbus.

- The board approved a transfer of $1,741.08 from the Victim Witness fund to the county's general fund.

- The board approved a resolution for B&J Excavating for graveling and reshaping from nine miles south of Rugby (starting at Highway 3) and east seven miles.

- The board approved beer and liquor licenses for the Rugby Golf Club, Rugby Eagles and Larry's Bar in Selz.

- The board approved abatement applications for Perry & Rose Armstrong and for Russell H. Bezanson II.

- Heart of America Correctional & Treatment Center Administrator Mike Graner informed the board that the facility house 99 inmates in November and is currently housing 98; 23 of 24 officer positions are filled; and the facility made a $12,628.18 profit in October, pushing the year-to-date to a $2,848 profit.

- Pierce County Sheriff Josh Siegler met with the board. Siegler informed the board his department received 50 calls in November. Siegler and the board discussed Sheriff's Department bills and a law enforcement complaint.

- The board approved the meeting agenda, November meeting minutes, bills, financial statements, treasurers checks and HACTC bills.

- The board voted to nominate Dave Migler for board chair and Brossart for vice chair.

Link:

County Commission adopts comprehensive plan - ThePierceCountyTribune.com | Rugby, Pierce County and North Dakota news, sports and information - Pierce...

Carl Falls genuinely feels for former and current River Valley Trailer Park residents.

However, the Aweres Township Local Services Board chairman says he fears his hands are tied in terms of offering help to those who have fled and, perhaps most importantly, to those who have opted to stay.

The Aweres park, north of Sault Ste. Marie, was officially ordered closed late last year chiefly due to a failed septic system. Falls said hes aware of at least six families that have stayed put and toughed it out last winter, powering their mobile homes with generators as electricity is no longer supplied to the site. Wood stoves are often used to provide heat.

Its a heart-wrenching story to begin with, Falls told The Sault Star in a recent interview. You have to remember those are real peoples lives that were destroyed there. I know people who have lived there and thats their home and was their home for many years.

Unfortunately, as a local services board, there is nothing we could do other than just stay in touch.

Which is something he and other officials, including Aweres Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Hiiemaa, have been doing for more than a year, occasionally driving through the park and speaking to residents. Fire services are maintained.

Were mandated for anything we can access, Falls said. Even if they didnt have their roads plowed, we would take our Argo back and throw a pump in the river. We are going to answer the calls because we are mandated to, even if the taxes werent being paid. Were there to protect life and limb. And if somebody ever demised in a trailer fire there and we didnt show up We just said, We dont care about the fees or anything. Were just going to answer the call.

Hiiemaa readily agrees.

We help whoever we can when we can, he told The Sault Star. We dont get into the politics part of it. So, if anyone needs help, we do whatever we can.

Along with the promise of fire protection the department has received no serious calls since the Oct. 30, 2018 park closure assistance also includes counsel relating to fire safety.

As a fire prevention thing, we try to make sure they know what they should be doing, Hiiemaa said. They spent one winter there already pretty rugged individuals.

Falls said Local Services Boards essentially have four mandates: 911 service, fire department service, recycling and library service.

Because Aweres is unorganized, forest fires are covered by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and sanitation is also looked after by the province.

Everybody kind of has a role here, he said.

River Valley Trailer Park is eerily quiet during a late morning earlier this week. The elements have taken their toll on abandoned trailers, with some already beginning to collapse. The road throughout the park is plowed in some places, while other sections dont appear to have been cleared since a previous snowfall. Tire tracks are deep in one unplowed stretch.

Smoke rises from chimneys of the few occupied trailers and the only sound throughout the park this day seems to be the low humming produced by generators. Knocks on doors of apparently occupied trailers mostly go unanswered, but one young woman, a resident at the park for the past two years, agrees to speak only on condition ofanonymity.

Life there has been very rough said the woman, who lives alone.

She had shared the residence with an elderly relative until health concerns became too much.

We were snowed in last year, and my nannys sugar went up really high and we were scared we werent going to be able to get her out if something happened, said the woman, breaking down in tears.

She said attempts since last summer to find alternate housing have been frustrating.

Its so hard to even just find a place, she said, but added she believes something positive may be on the horizon.

She didnt provide details about possible new digs, but said shes very disappointed officials didnt step in to assist residents when the situation began to go south.

The government didnt help, she said. Im living without water. Im living without normal power. I have to use a generator. Its stressful. Im up sometimes all night trying to get it to stay going because I need to be able to eat.

A wood stove provides heat, but fuel can be expensive, up to $100 per cord, the resident said.

Its absolutely ridiculous, she said, adding when wood is low, she gathers fallen tree branches from the woods.

Sometimes it gets so cold and I dont have any wood, she said.

It can cost up to $30 a day for gas to run the generator and she pays someone to bring her fuel.

The park is a mess, she said. Its hard to have company you cant do anything.

A faint smile crosses her face as her dog barks from inside the trailer.

Thats the one thing that does keep me going, she said.

Indeed, life at River Valley Trailer Park has been sour for some time.

A July 21, 2018 Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks notice advised residents to remove their belongings from the park by the closure date after its owners opted not to replace the aging, failed septic system that officials concluded posed a health risk to residents. The letter notes ownership is not able to run the operation due to a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care closure order.

Then, on July 25 of that year, MECP advised River Valley Trailer Park its application for sewage works would be considered withdrawn, and the file closed, if additional information was not received by Aug. 10. River Valley Park submitted an application for a new sewage system to MECP the previous October, but the file wasnt processed because the ministry needed more detail from the owners. Financial assurance was also required in case of bankruptcy or closure.

Algoma Public Health also started legal action against River Valley Trailer Park, with documents exchanged on June 27, 2018.

Prior to the closure, APH inspectors continued to visit the park about once a week, the unit confirmed.

Contending with park waste, of all sorts, naturally poses challenges.

Residents, Falls said, may take garbage to the dump or have it picked up by a private contractor.

As for personal sanitation, Falls said he did not poke my nose into that one.

Thats the other question , he said, adding that concern is the domain of other authorities, such as APH.

They have the officers with the badge, he said. I carry no badge and I dont carry any authority.

Algoma Public Health confirmed to The Sault Star that following a lengthy period of time and in the absence of repairs, it ordered the closure of River Valley due to health risks to residents from a malfunctioning sewage system and environmental contamination.

At this time, APH is satisfied that the health hazard to the general public has been mitigated and will continue to monitor and respond if new public health concerns arise, the unit wrote in an email.

Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha has kept an eye on the River Valley situation for some time.

He confirmed six families have chosen to stay in the park with generators and some type of outhouse accommodation.

Its unfortunate what (has) happened there, Mantha said in a recent interview with The Sault Star. I thought there was a possibility to get something done. However, there was the finances, securing the finances for the landlord was very challenging.

The MPP said he had earlier communications with the park owners, but contact has since dried up.

The park owner has seemed to have walked away from the park, Mantha said.

An emailed request for comment to River Valley Park was not returned. A contact phone number is no longer in service.

The park resident, who described the owners as immigrants, doesnt place full blame on them.

They became Canadian citizens, which is awesome, she said. (But) they let the park get to this point and our government didnt do anything.

Mantha said he has followed up with APH and MECP, which have no concerns with what is there onsite or what is being done.

APH has been to the site, said Mantha, who was told there are no public hazards or concerns.

There was no evidence of public safety concerns over the course of the summer, he added. If there are issues, if there are further complaints the come, (APH) would be going back and inspecting the park.

Those still occupying the site are, essentially, on their own, paying no rent, the MPP said.

Theyre just kind of there, said Mantha, adding responsibility for the mess must ultimately fall on the shoulders of trailer park owners.

There was a failure of the owner to secure the financial needs in order to make the appropriate investments to bring the sewer system (up to code), he said. When you buy it, you buy it with all the liabilities that come with it.

Winter access to the park is now a chief concern.

Those individuals are staying in their homes and thats their homes, Mantha said. Thats their investment and theyre doing what they need to do to get by.

Mantha said he understands both MECP and APH filed charges against the owner and, for whatever reason, the latter withdrew charges. Mantha said the APH explanation he received basically said having both agencies file charges was kind of a doubt jeopardy. The MPP said he awaits a more thorough legal explanation.

I have not seen that documentation, Mantha said.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks confirmed to The Sault Star that on Aug. 24, 2018, River Valley Park Inc. was convicted of one offence under the Environmental Protection Act and was fined $60,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $15,000, and was given one year to pay. On the same date River Valley Park Inc. was also convicted of two offences under the Ontario Water Resources Act and was fined $5,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $1,250 and was given one year to pay. Also, on Aug. 24 of that year, Harjeet Singh Dusanjh, formerly a director of the company, was convicted of two offences under the Ontario Resources Water Act.

APH told The Sault Star its case against the park was, indeed, withdrawn acknowledging successful conviction and fine by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

MECP says it is aware that some people are staying at the site.

To be clear, the ministry has no authority to deal with persons living without permission at the park, ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler told the Sault Star.

The province says it no longer monitors the site becausethe owner closed the park and all park services, including the large septic sewage system, no longer in operation.

The ministrys role and involvement was related to concerns about the sewage systems that were not properly approved on the property, Wheeler said. As that system is no longer operating and there is no off-site environmental impact, the ministry is no longer involved.

Meanwhile, many River Valley Trailer Park residents merely abandoned their units, most of which were 40 to 50 years old.

They couldnt move them, Falls said. And when they tried to move them, they broke them.

I know people who just walked away. They locked their door, walked away and when they came back, the place had been broken into and anything that was there that was any good was gone.

Its a very sad looking place.

And very bleak this Christmas for those toughing it out.

Christmas is coming and I cant even have a Christmas, the resident said. I cant do anything .. I cant bake. I love baking. I love doing everything like that. It sucks. I cant have a normal life.

jougler@postmedia.com

On Twitter:@JeffreyOugler

Link:

Its a very sad looking place - Sault Star

Late on Sunday, the 1st of December 2019, China had imposed a new regulation that would require Chinese data carriers to scan faces of their users registering for new data services, a first-of-its-kind move that Beijing said was put into effect to crack down on frauds.

On top of that, following reveal of Sundays (December 1st) announcement, industry analysts were quoted saying that the rollout of Chinas facial recognition technology would mean millions of Chinese nationals would come under the recently introduced facial recognition technology, but the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not mention the names of companies appointed to carry out the services for telecom providers, however, since Chinas SenseTime and Megvii had been the leaders in facial recognition software across the globe, they would more likely to be appointed to provide network carriers with the services, suggested analysts.

In point of fact, Facial Recognition Technology in China went for a trial-run a year earlier, as its supermarkets, subway systems alongside airports had already been using facial recognition technology, while Chinese e-commerce behemoth, Alibaba Group Holdings had provided their customers with an option to pay using their faces at Hema supermarket chain and running a hotel in Hangzhou where its guests require facial recognition for an advanced level check-in.

More:

Chinas facial recognition roll out reaches mobile phones, shops and homes - Financial World

Thehit seriesTiny House Nation started streaming on Netflix in 2019 andhas people all over the world wishing that they could build or buy a tiny home of their own. Seeing the tiny homes that are built for the people on this show is just too much fun and it makes a lot of us think about what it would be like to own a tiny home of our own.

RELATED:I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here: The 10 Craziest Trials In The Show's History

But, although downsizing and living in an adorable tiny home like the ones shown onTiny House Nation may be something that appeals to a huge number of people, it's definitely not something that everyone is cut out for. There are a lot of things (both positiveand negative!) that many people don't know about living in a tiny home.

To see 10 things you didn't know about tiny homes, keep reading!

There are quite a few people that look into getting a tiny home so that they can save some cash. For instance, one of the first episodes ofTiny House Nation on Netflix follows a couple parents that are looking to downsize in order to help save some cash to send one of their children to college.

While they can definitely be affordable and a way for people to save money, tiny homes aren't necessarily cheap. They're small on size, but the pricetag that you're going to have to pay to move into one can still be somewhat high. Tiny houses can run anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000 to build yourself. Looking to simply buy one already built? That number might be at least doubled or even more.

Although a tiny home may be a little more expensive than some people expect them to be, they're still quite a bit less expensive than a normal-sized house in many places. Plus, the price is definitely worth it for some people that dream of living in an adorable tiny home.

But, the upfront cost might not be the only time that you have to pay up. This is definitely not something thatTiny House Nation touches on, but there are extra expenses that come with owning and living in a tiny home. Zoning laws and homeowner's insurance can get complicated and pricy. And if you're looking to sell it later on? It might be tough to find a buyer.

One thing you've probably noticed if you've watched a lot ofTiny House Nation is the fact that a lot of people on the show that are getting tiny homes are single people or couples. There aren't a lot of big families moving into them and there's a very good reason for that fact.

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If you've got a family or you're looking to start one, then a tiny home may not be for you. Although the people onTiny House Nation are excited to move into their tiny home, the show often touches on the fact that the houses are, well,tiny. Because of this, they're best suited to a single person or a couple without kids living at home with them.

A lot of the focus of the houses inTiny House Nation is the fact that they're so small. While that's definitely something that people who want to move into a tiny home need to think about, a lot of the reason that people think about the fact that the houses are so small is because of how difficult it can be to fit everything into the house.

But, along with downsizing your belongings and the space you're going to be living in, many of the time homes that people build and buyare completely mobile. This means that the person living in it can, if they want to, hitch it onto a truck and travel somewhere new with their entire house.

Whether you choose to travel with your tiny home or you decide to park it permanently, one thing that a lot of people don't think about when they choose to go tiny is the fact that people are going toconstantly be asking about it. There's a reason that shows likeTiny House Nation have become so popular!

RELATED:10 Reality TV Stars Who Are Now In Movies

Tiny homes are hugely trendy right now and they definitely draw in a lot of attention from others. If you're traveling in your tiny home or you're just having friends come visit it where you've got it parked, you're always going to have people asking questions about your tiny house.

Because tiny homes are so small, people who live in them definitely have to use their space as efficiently as possible. Every inch of storage space and floor space has to be maximized so that you can fit all the essentials into your tiny home without taking up too much space or making it too cluttered.

Because of this, you're going to have to spend a lot of time tidying up. In a normal sized house, things can be left out and not put away without really being noticed. But since there's not a lot of space in a tiny home, every little thing that winds up out of place becomes a big problem.

Having friends come over so you canbinge a new show on Netflixor enjoy a delicious meal together is a ton of fun. But, if you're someone that's thinking about moving into a tiny home, you might find that it's not so easy to have friends come over and hang out.

RELATED:Cash Me Outside: 10 Most Memorable Dr. Phil Show Guests

The idea of having enough space for friends and family to come over is one thing that many episodes ofTiny House Nation touch on. While a lot of tiny house owners have really creative ways to make more space for seating, it can still be a major challenge to entertain groups of friends and family.

When people (both on and offTiny House Nation) decide to move into a tiny home, they've got their own reasons for making the decision. Some people want the freedom to be able to travel more while other people want to downsize and simplify their life, among other reasons.

Many people find that after they move into a tiny house, it gives them more time to focus on the more important parts of their life. Instead of having to take care of a large house and yard, the compact space gives people more time to focus on what's important to them.

If you're planning to travel with your tiny home, as many people onTiny House Nation say they are, then it's not as easy as simply hitching your house up to a truck and heading out on the road.

Many tiny houses are built with special features that make it easier for the owner to travel with it and make it safe to head down the highway with it on a trailer. Different countries and different states in the US have restrictions on how heavy a load can be and those apply to a tiny house. Although there's not a limit in every state for how heavy it can be, you may be required to stop at a weigh station to weigh your tiny house before you cross the border into another state.

Depending on the state you're in, your tiny house may or may not be classified as an RV. This is great because it means that a lot of RV parks will allow you to park there and stay a while!

But, parking spaces - especially permanent ones - aren't easy to find everywhere. If you're looking to travel, you need to do some research about where you're going to be parking. And if you want to settle down permanently, getting zoning permits gets complicated.

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Excerpt from:

Tiny House Nation: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Tiny Homes - Screen Rant

MASCOUTAH Three conversations were going at once at David Jungs kitchen table, where old friends gathered this fall to catch up.

They laughed about years-old Easter candy left in a freezer. They mused about the rituals of the homecoming parade.

The chatter ceased and all eyes turned to Ed Morrison when the topic turned, inevitably, to murder.

Morrison has ties with everyone at the table over the murders 50 years ago of his older brother, Mike, and his brothers prom date, Debbie Means.

Theres Mary Kay Webb, his childhood neighbor and good friend who helped Ed find the couple's abandoned car the day after prom.

Theres Jung, the traffic cop first to reach the bodies and who dressed as a woman to try to snare a killer.

And Robert Moll, classmate and funeral-home director's son who, at the age of 16, accompanied his father to the crime scene and kept grisly details to himself.

Mike Morrison, 18, and Debbie Means, 15, attended the Mascoutah Community High School prom on May 3, 1969.

Morrison worked diligently over the yearsto piece together what happened in 1969. An Illinois prosecutor dropped charges against the presumed killer so there never was a trial where facts and accusations could flow in open court. Morrison this year self-published his findings in a book, Bad Moon Rising.

I think its helped heal the town of Mascoutah, he said.

Morrison, 67, now lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia, but returned to Mascoutah in October to speak with students at a high school assembly about the crime and its aftermath.

Webb, Jung and Moll welcome Morrisons visits to town and his curiosity that unearthed answers about the double murder. Morrison and a few friends visit the cemetery yearly to toast the couple who never made it home from prom.

This was, after all, the crime that marred their childhoods and the town a half century ago.

"We used to have our windows open and doors open at night," Webb said. "Not after that."

Prom night murders

Mascoutah was a town of barely 5,000 people in 1969. Mascoutah Community High School hosted prom on a Saturday night, May 3, 1969. Mike Morrison, 18, a senior and honor student, invited Means, who was his girlfriend and a 15-year-old sophomore. Her family lived at Scott Air Force Base.

After prom, they went to dinner, then to a friend's home. Later, they met classmates for a party at an abandoned strip coal mining operation. They left after about 2 a.m. Sunday and never made it home. Their bodies were found the next day at the edge of the mining operation, six miles southwest of Mascoutah.

According to a Post-Dispatch account, Young Morrison had been shot in the head at least twice. He was wearing tuxedo trousers and white shirt. His feet were lying in a small stream.

At the bottom of an incline was Means body, nude and bruised. Her hands and feet were bound with clothesline that was tied tightly around her neck, the Post-Dispatch reported. Shed been strangled. Part of her undergarments were used to gag her.

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch article from Tuesday, May 6, 1969, detailing the murders of Mascoutah Community High School prom couple Mike Morrison, 18, and Debbie Means, 15.

A few days later, an itinerant mechanic who repaired mobile homes in St. Clair County stopped coming to work at Scott Mobile Home Sales. His boss grew suspicious. Police found blood in his Shiloh trailer, according to a newspaper account, and the mechanic became the prime suspect.

By the end of May, police nabbed that suspect, 39-year-old Marshall Wayne Stauffer (who used an alias of William Raymond Nickerson), in Sacramento, California. Police said he had undeveloped camera film linking him to other crimes.

Marshall Wayne Stauffer, also known as William Raymond Nickerson, in handcuffs in 1969 as he is escorted from a police car in Belleville, Illinois, to face charges in the murders of Mike Morrison and Debbie Means. Photo via UPI ran on page 3 of St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday, June 11, 1969.

Extradited to Illinois, Stauffer pleaded guilty in Clinton County of robbing a Belleville boy and girl and also raping the girl near Breese on the night of April 25, days before the Mascoutah prom. He was sentenced to two terms of 50 to 52 years in prison.

As part of a plea deal in the Clinton County case, St. Clair County states attorney Robert Rice dismissed the Mascoutah murder case. Rice said one reason he dropped the charges was that Means' family had been transferred by the Air Force to Germany; returning them to St. Clair County for trial would have involved considerable difficulty, according to a Sept. 10, 1969, Post-Dispatch story.

Morrison is still furious, not only with Rice's decision but also that Rice didn'tinform the Morrison family. His parents found out from a television newscast, he said.

A Post-Dispatch story on Sept. 10, 1969, about state's attorney planning to drop murder charges in Mascoutah murder case.

After an uproar in the community, Rice agreed to meet with Mascoutah residents to explain his decision. Before more than 300 people in the school gymnasium, Rice said there was insufficient evidence. Morrison watched from the back of the gym. He saw that people were angry, pointing fingers, yelling at Rice. "Our kids are not safe," someone shouted.

Jung was among the troopers guarding Rice. "The people started heading for the stage," Jung said. "They wanted a piece of him. We grabbed him by the arm and we got him out the side door."

Stauffer served 21 years for the Clinton County crimes. He was later arrested for kidnapping and raping girls in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, and given a life sentence. Stauffer died in 2002 in an Idaho prison at the age of 71, according to the Idaho Department of Correction.

The drink line

Morrison, who was 17 when his brother died, distanced himself from Mascoutah after the murders.

My parents would walk into a restaurant in Mascoutah for a casual dinner, thered be a hush, fingers point at them. Not to be rude. But they were always, The parents of the boy. They would never get away from that, Morrison said.

His family including Morrison's other siblings,a 10-year-old brother and a college-aged sister moved in 1971 to Bowie, Maryland. Morrison graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and worked at a bank in Du Quoin, Illinois. He moved to Germany and Virginia, where he worked as a financial planner.

Morrison returned to Mascoutah periodically, including for his 30th class reunion, where hewaited in the drink line behind Moll. The former classmates hadnt spoken in a decade. Out of the blue, Morrison turned to Moll. Werent you and your dad there when they retrieved the bodies? Morrison asked. Moll said he was, and Morrison asked if hed mind describing what he saw.

Eddie, Moll replied, Ive been waiting for 30 years to tell you.

Moll knew that, as a funeral director, a trade he learned from his father, certain topics werent discussed. But Moll reasoned, Its his brother and he wants to know. So Moll divulged specifics hed long kept from his friend. One detail he shared was the image of Mikes hands gripping the grass, even in death.

When my dad and I turned Mike over, his hands were down and he had grass in his hands, and the roots came out. His hands were still clenched like this, Moll said. Something vivid. I never forgot.

Ed and Mindy Morrison are shown in the Holy Childhood of Jesus Cemetery in Mascoutah, Illinois, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Ed's brother, Mike, is buried in the cemetery alongside his prom date, Debbie Means. The two were murdered after their prom night on May 3, 1969. Ed and Mindy have written a book in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of their deaths. Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, cfletes@post-dispatch.com.

Morrison was taken by surprise, realizing that perhaps his brother hadn't died instantly as hed thought. As Moll and Morrison spoke in a corner at the reunion, Morrison summoned his wife Mindy to hear Molls account. Others at the reunion gathered around.

They wanted to hear that, too, he said.

It was the first time people outside Morrison's group of friends talked openly with him about the murders.

Morrison wrote a 12-page story about the crimes, for family posterity. As more information poured in, his focus ballooned into a book, which he co-wrote with Mindy, a retired teacher. In research, he telephoned friends to tap recollections. He read newspaper clippings and tracked down investigators. He lodged a request for Illinois State Police files. He followed a paper trail to document Stauffer's other crimes and, finally, his death in prison facts neither Morrison nor many in town knew.

Decoy in a blonde wig

A key investigator Morrison turned to for background was Jung. In 1969, when Jung was 25 years old, his duties with the state police were mainly as a traffic cop. The day after prom, when the couple hadnt come home, Jung heard a deputy quip: "Dont worry about it, theyre out shacked up someplace."

Once the couples abandoned car turned up, "the town was terrified," Jung said. The police chief asked Jung and Jungs patrol partner, Trooper Charlie Graul, to search every farmhouse, ditch and culvert near the strip mine.

Mike Morrison and Debbie Means.

Two days after prom, an airman in a plane spotted Mikes white shirt. Jung and Graul were the first officers on the ground to reach the bodies.

On the theory that the killer confronted the couple in a car, Jung and Graul acted as decoys. Jung wore a blonde wig from the city clerk. The police chief was a clown in the Shriners, so Jung borrowed his bra and the rubber bazoombas, as Jung jokingly called them. He tucked his gun into a purse.The couple parked at night for a week. They were spooked a few times when cars pulled up, but no one ever approached.

David Jung dressed undercover as a woman as part of a murder investigation in 1969. Handout photo.

It turns out, the killer had left town and put a letter in the mail addressed to Means mother, containing the contents of Mike's wallet. Jungs next task: Find where the letter had been mailed. Only a single k in the postmark was clear. Jung consulted a road map and drove to towns with K in the name. That didnt materialize either.

In all, Jung logged 331.5 hours over 23 days working on the case.

After this was all over with, Jung said, we were back on the road doing traffic.

David Jung at his home in Mascoutah, Illinois, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Jung was an Illinois state trooper who was the first on scene to find the bodies of Mike Morrison, 18, and Debbie Means, 15, high-schoolers who were murdered on their prom night in May 1969. Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, cfletes@post-dispatch.com.

Morrison always believed his brother was killed first, but decided it is more likely that Means was the first to die. He wishes the states attorney were still alive so he could get an explanation for the plea deal. He wrote to the prosecutors son but never heard back.

Ed and Mindy Morrison have two sons. As a parent, Eds nerves were on edge whenever a prom rolled around, Mindy said. Researching and telling the story has been cathartic for her husband, Mindy added. Ed was still stuck in the moment as a 17-year-old kid trying to make sense of what happened, she said.

After the murders, Jung added something to his patrol routine. He made it a point to stop and talk with couples parked on a lovers lane, asking the girls if they were alright and urging them to stay safe.

Mascoutah, Jung said, was forever changed.

It wasnt the nice peaceful small town anymore, Jung said, where nothing bad ever happened."

Ed Morrison, far right, toasts his deceased brother with his wife, Mindy, far left, and longtime friends Mary Kay Webb (back turned) and Bob Moll in the Holy Childhood of Jesus Cemetery in Mascoutah, Illinois, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Mike Morrison, 18, and his prom date, Debbie Means, 15, were murdered after their prom night on May 3, 1969. The two are buried next to each other in the cemetery. Ed and Mindy have written a book in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the deaths. Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, cfletes@post-dispatch.com.

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'It wasnt the nice peaceful small town anymore.' Mascoutah prom murders 50 years later still echo - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In November, the average price of a single-family home in Kamloops was pushed above the $500,000 mark.

While its a sobering figure, the president of the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association said the month is likely an outlier.

Its going to be a big headline, but a good portion of the sales were in that higher price point, which we dont always see, KADREA president Wendy Runge said.

Runge said Kamloops saw two home sales over $1 million, when typically it sees one per month at the most.

Other higher value home sales were also completed, making November a novel month.

The average price for a single-family home sold in November came out about $521,000, about 7.8 per cent higher than last month.

Typically, that figure is between $480,000 and $495,000, Runge said.

Especially being November, thats kind of the surprise. I could see something like this happening in May or June. It certainly took me by surprise. I dont think its our new norm, she told KTW.

The price surge comes as housing inventory in Kamloops, in the province and even across Canada remains low, creating more pressure on sales for higher value homes, which tend to be more available.

If we had the inventory, maybe the pressure on pricing would come down a bit, too. Its a two-handed thing, she said.

Overall, Runge said Kamloops is still an affordable city and there are still homes to buy.

In total, 202 residential housing units were sold in November, including 128 single-family homes, 58 multi-family homes (townhouses, apartments, multiplexes) and 16 mobile homes.

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Average price of Kamloops home surpasses $500000 - Kamloops This Week

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