The popular ABC-TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming to Freeborn County to build a home within the next month. In fact, producers have been in Albert Lea talking it over with local movers and shakers.

Host Ty Pennington and his design team will knock on the door of the selected family on Sept. 30. From there, the show will work with Larson Contracting, Jim & Dude’s Plumbing & Heating, Albert Lea Electric and local builders and volunteers to construct the family a new home in seven days. Actually, because of the time it takes to get the family’s belongings out of the house and set up a TV crew, the home will go up in 106 hours — a little less than 4 1/2 days.

Larson Contracting

Albert Lea Electric

Jim & Dude’s Plumbing & Heating

Winnebago Industries

Butler Manufacturing

Home Solutions Midwest

Zenk, Reed & Trygstad & Associates Inc.

Pella Corp.

RWP Building Materials

Green Mill

Alliant Energy

Kingland Systems

Albert Lea Tribune

City of Albert Lea

Freeborn County

Albert Lea Convention & Visitors Bureau

4 Seasons Advertising

Farmers State Bank

Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen

Ole’s Shell

Diamond Jo Casino

Patty Jo Sanderson Photography

Matt Leverson Productions

Albert Lea Select Foods

Granicrete Minnesota

United Building Centers

Thein Well

Woodmaster’s Foundation

Edge Builders

Lumber Specialties

Root River Hardwoods

Sherwin-Williams

Performance Landscape

WoodHarbor Doors

Ulland Brothers Inc.

Jensen Excavating

Sorenson TV & Appliance

Reimer Construction

Wangen Excavating

Lembke Construction

Brekken Construction

Dras Cases

Mason City Recycling

Thermall

Palleton Pallets

Viking Electric Supply

Timber Mill Homes

Stetson Building Products

Home Depot

P&M Truss

Albert Lea Overhead Door Co.

Med-City Tile

Freeborn County Co-op

Price Is Right Construction

Glenbrook Lumber

Skrabeck Construction

North Iowa Drywall

Skaar Paint & Drywall

Kenison Construction

Northwest Drywall

Christianson Interiors

Floor to Ceiling Mankato

Monsen Painting

Paint Ball

Sorenson Brothers Inc.

Garden Diva Design

Jake’s Pizza

Hy-Vee

Piggy Blues Bar-B-Q

Kathy’s Catering

Everything from Larson Contracting and other companies is donated — the labor, the materials, the documents, the logistical planning. Today begins the effort to raise two volunteer workforces. One will be labor skilled in the building trades, such as carpentry and plumbing. The other will be a general volunteer workforce. Anyone willing to pitch in can volunteer.

“It was an honor to have been called by ‘Extreme Makeover’ to participate in the show,” said Al Larson, owner of Larson Contracting, which is based in Lake Mills, Iowa, and has a branch in Albert Lea.

Larson Contracting generally does commercial construction. Why build a house?

“I retired a couple of months ago. It’s boring. I wanted to do something. I wanted to give back to the community,” said Larson, 59.

The next big step comes in one week. Conrad Ricketts, executive producer of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” will lead a pep rally at 8 a.m. next Tuesday at Crossroads Church. The Emmy Award-winning show is in its sixth year. This season’s theme is “Heroes in the Community.” The series airs at 7 p.m. Sundays.

Five families presently are under consideration but only one will be selected, Larson said. Only the show’s producers know the name of the selected family. For the element of surprise, it won’t be revealed until the doorknock on Sept. 30.

Larson said the show’s producers first contacted city and county officials to recommend local building contractors. They next called Larson and explained that ABC hosts and shoots the show but Larson Contracting would build the home.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “Everything is free and donated, but I signed the papers.”

So Larson then had to get a number of other players on board — electrician, plumber, window maker, mortgage, utilities, restaurant, stuff like that. He even asked Albert Lea Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer to be the media coordinator. In six seasons, no newspaper had ever handled the media coordination for the show. This is a first.

More companies are joining the effort. The list that accompanies this story is only the start.

To volunteer, people can visit the official site: AlbertLeaTribune.com/larsoncontractingextreme/. Or they can fill out a form that will be printed in the Tribune on Wednesday.

Larson Contracting was founded in Emmons by Al and Linda Larson in 1977 with eight employees. In 1979, the company became a distributor for Kansas City, Mo.-based Butler Manufacturing, a producer of steel building systems. Its division Butler Roofing is a donor for the Freeborn County “Extreme Makeover” project.

The company moved to Lake Mills, Iowa, in 1982, and it maintains a branch office in Albert Lea. Larson Contracting now employs 120 people and has more than $30 million in annual sales.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” won Emmy awards for Outstanding Reality Program in 2005 and 2006. It is produced by Endemol USA.