The show saw 71 vendors participate in the show with multiple seminars on health and business activities.

Steven Forstner with UCare gave a presentation on Medicare basics. Forstner has a home office in New Ulm and gives similar presentation for UCare throughout the year. He said his goal with each presentation was for everyone to take away a few key pieces of information on Medicare to better help them make decisions.

Forstner gave an overview about the four parts of Medicare: parts A, B, C and D. He said parts A and B were the original parts of Medicare and provides basic coverage. Part A covers hospital insurance, but can also provide coverage for skilled nursing facility care. Forstner said the skilled nursing care cover under part A is only allowed if the care is necessary. Part B covers medical insurance, which includes doctor visits, outpatient surgery and other procedures. He said most people pay a $185 per month premium for Part B coverage.

Forstner explained that Parts A and B Medicare coverage does have several holes in it. It does not cover routine check ups or specialty visits for eye screenings or dental. This is where Part C coverage comes in.

John Vorwerk, owner of the Pinball Place had several of his pinball machines on display during the Home Show. He said the bright lights of the machine drew a lot of interest.

Part C coverage is sometimes called Medicare Advantage coverage. This includes all the benefits of Part A and B, but includes extra coverage for dental and vision.

Forstner recommended that once a person enrolls in Medicare after turning 65, they begin looking for a Part C plan. The Part C plans can vary from county to county. Forstner recommends shopping around to find an advantage plan that fits a person needs. He also warned that there is an enrollment window for joining a Part C plan. The window opens once a person turns 65, but anyone wanting to make a change must do so in the fall of the year.

Part D coverage is for outpatient prescription drug coverage. This coverage is available as a Medicare advantage plan or a standalone prescription drug plan.

Forstner said shopping around for Part D coverage was also important because not every plan covers every prescription drug. He said it is important to check to make sure the plan covers a the specific need.

Forstner also discussed Medicare supplement plans. Supplement plans are like Part C advantage plans, in that they add coverage to original medicare. One of the benefits of a supplement plan is it can move with the contract holder. Part C coverage often does not transfer if a person moves to another state or county, but Supplement plans can move. The Supplement plan also has guaranteed renewable benefits that won’t change from year to year. It allows a user to see any provide that accepts Medicare.

GSM staff Dan Backer (left) and Dan Gag (right) serve up pork samples during the Home Show to promote their Green Egg grills.

Forstner closed the seminar advising people with further questions on Medicare contact representatives like himself.

He said testimonials from friends and family who are already on Medicare are valuable, but their technical advice might be inaccurate or not apply to everyone.

Forstner addressed current uncertainties surrounding Medicare. He said due to political changes and efforts to cut federal employees, there is some concern Medicare coverage could be lost. Forstner said in his work at UCare, he has not heard of any plan to reduce or change Medicare at this time.

This was the second year in a row the Home show included recreation and fitness. A section of the back wall of the vendor show featured numerous pinball machines from the Pinball Place.

Pinball Place owner John Vorwerk said all the bright lights and graphics on the pinball machines grab a lot of attention. He said many of the people stopping at his booth were surprised there were still pinball machines being made.

Randy Horejsi, owner of Fuel Graphics mans a both at the Home Show Saturday. In addition to having vendor booth at the show, Horejsi served as seminar presenter on the importance of branding.

Vorwerk said around the year 2000, it looked like pinball machines might go away as there were not many manufacturers of the games. However, the popularity of pinball came back around with pockets of pinball enthusiasts popping up around the county.

“There are pinball players who travel all around looking at the new machines,” Vorwerk said.

The most popular machines are based around specific themes; including films and franchises.

Vorwerk said the latests machines even have self diagnostic equipment that will email reports to the owner in case of a malfunction. It makes it easier to run a business with a several pinball machines.

In the booth next door to Pinball Place was Gag Sheet Metal (GSM). The booth featured several appliances in addition to HVAC and plumbing equipment, but the most popular draw were the companies grills. GSM has sold Big Green Egg grills for several years. As part of a demonstration, employees were handing out samples of pulled pork.

New Ulm Chamber Business Service Manager Mae Geidel runs the Chamber’s booth at the Home Show Saturday. This is Geidel’s first Home Show with the Chamber. She said the turnout was impressive. The first day of the show had a line of people waiting to get in and Saturday saw another surge in guests waiting to explore the exhibits.

Dan Gag said they went through about 56 pounds of pork shoulder during the show.

Fuel Graphics owner Randy Horejsi drew a lot of attention for his graphic design booth, complete with a vinyl wrapped van. Fuel Graphics has specialized in vinyl wrapped vehicles. Many of the visitors wanted to know how long it took to fully wrap a vehicle.

Horejsi said it depended on the size of the vehicle and how much was covered. A full vehicle coverage could take 12 hours with one person working.

Horejsi also hosted a seminar on branding during the show. He said his goal with the seminar was for people to understand why branding matters.

“Branding helps build your reputation and trust,” he said. “You want people to be thinking of your business when they need service.”