Agents & Auctioneers

Hi,

My wife and I, Deb have been married for 35 plus years, have two grown children and 2 grandchildren all living in the area. Being a grandparent is a wonderful feeling!

I have farmed for over 40 years with my cousin Leon and son Andrew.

I have been an Auctioneer and Realtor with Mages Land Co & Auction Service for over 20 years. I am also involved with the Lafayette Area Lions Club and the New Ulm Farm City Hub Club.

Being involved in agriculture and community, I feel, are my biggest assets! Whether its equipment, land, personal property, or homes, I specialize in it all!

I believe in giving 110% to all my clients, being honest and straight forward. I look forward to working with you and making your next business transaction a pleasant one!

Deb Fischer will go to work for you! Deb is a knowledgeable realtor representing buyers and sellers. Fischer earned her national GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) designation education classes included in continuing education of professional standards, legal issues, sales and marketing, finance and risk reduction, technology and social media. She joins other top Realtors
in the residential real estate industry from cross the nation who hold this designation.

She brings to the profession numerous years’ experience in many sales and marketing fields, strong knowledge and skills to navigate the always changing market. She can guide you through the steps for a successful purchase or sale doing business in an ethical, confidential, and professional manner. She will guide you & handle the details needed for her clients.

Deb actively volunteers in the community singing in the church choir, plays bass guitar and sings in country western band- The Black Diamonds, board member of the Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce, & co-chairs Food for Kidz packing events.  She has also collaborated on other boards/committees: St, Mary’s Church CCW, Bridging Brown County, NRCS Earth Team Volunteer, the 9/11 Commemoration, & Am Dairy Assn including Brown Co Dairy Princess
Coordinator.

Deb and her husband, Larry, and son operate a large beef farm and grow corn and soybeans. Give Deb a call today to schedule a free professional seller/ buyers consultation or a free market analysis on your home, business, rural property or land sales.

Ed Mages is an expert, specializing in land management, home inspections, building, and sales. Ed has been in construction for over 25 years and has been a building contractor for 17 years. He can help you find what you are looking for. Ed is focused on the quality of land, home construction and outbuilding structures. You can depend on Ed to point out features that can help you understand the worth of the property you are looking at for rental or purchase.

Ed grew up on a farm northwest of Lafayette and now resides in Courtland with his wife and three children. Ed is a volunteer and supports many charitable organizations including; the local Lions Club, NUACS, the local pop-warner football association, and has been a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for over 16 years.

Real Estate agent Lynn Lodes is our newest agent to Mages Land Co.  Joining us in 2019.  That doesn’t mean though, that she is new to Real Estate.  Lynn and her husband have been investing and renovating real estate for many years.  Lynn loves real estate and thoroughly enjoys finding properties for buyers and finding buyers for sellers. 

Lynn has also been an insurance agent for Farm Bureau Financial Services in Lake Crystal, MN for 19 years.  She enjoys working with farms and understands what all happens in their worlds.  Lynn and her husband Ron own a farm south of New Ulm where they have beef cows and grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa. 

In Lynn’s spare time she enjoys going to rodeos, traveling, reading, playing games and spending time with her kids, grandkids and friends. 

Give Lynn a call if you are looking to purchase any type of real estate or you are looking to sell.

Joe Wersal has been in and around the auction business his entire life and became an auctioneer in 1984. In 1995 Joe purchased half interest in the famous Sleepy Eye Auction Market and has a thriving business there every Wednesday. Joe is an excellent auctioneer and is regarded by his peers as one of the premier ringmen in the state of Minnesota. Joe has a nose for finding treasures in seemingly ordinary boxes of personal property. He’s one of the best in the business at knowing values whether it’s an antique, a piece of machinery, or a full herd of cattle.

Joe lives on his farm just outside of Winthrop. He is involved in his church and area organizations, such as the Winthrop Lion’s Club. Joe is very laid back, easy to get to know and to be relaxed around. Give Joe Wersal a call and get to know a great auctioneer professional.

The following is the letter of nomination Larry Mages sent to the Minnesota State Auctioneer’s Association when John was selected into the MSAA Hall of Fame. You can see John has wonderful credentials.

When I was a boy, I went with my Dad to lots of auctions. Many things on our farm were bought at auctions, from farm machinery to livestock. After you go to enough auctions, you begin to know the auctioneers. I remember John Goelz auctioneering at the Walnut Grove auction barn and the Belle Plaine auction barn. The year was 1962. When I really got to know John was when he joined Myron Nelson in about 1968. Nelson and Goelz literally had nearly every auction for many years in our area. It seemed if you were going to an auction, they were the auctioneers. I asked John about 5 years ago how many auctions he thought he has done in his life. At that time he figured with the auction barns and him and Nelson, and then when I joined him when Myron Nelson retired in 1994, he had done approximately 3000-3500 auctions in his life. Well, I can tell you John is still going strong. We celebrated his 40th year in the auction business last year. He’s still a very strong auctioneer and is certainly one of the best at working his crowd into a frenzy of quick bidding and getting people to pay more for an item than they were planning on. I consider John as one of the premier auctioneers of Minnesota and the nation for that matter. There are only a handful of auctioneers in the state, now or ever with the experience and auctions under their belt that John Goelz has. If you work with John you better be willing to donate your time to benefit auctions. John does about 15 benefit auctions per year for churches, schools, county fair 4-H auctions and anybody with a cause. Not only is John an excellent auctioneer, but he’s also a wonderful caring person. Sometimes I just gotta shake my head and smile. Here is a man that will wear an everyday coat until there are holes in both sleeves and couple more somewhere else to boot, but when there is someone in need, I’ve seen John give huge dollars to help them out. John and his wife Alice have an especially huge heart for anyone that has a special needs child, and are always ready to help. Their daughter Louise is mentally handicapped and can be a real hand full, but I’ve never once ever heard John or Alice complain about the cross they bear. As a matter of fact, they feel they are blessed to have such a beautiful child. They have also had the heartbreak of losing a child at the age of 12 of a heart problem. And of course they’re very proud of their son Larry, who is a veterinarian and part owner of the Pipestone Vet Clinic. John and Alice have farmed their whole lives. They also have a Limosine cattle operation, as well as hogs and sheep. The Goelz’s have sold breeding stock for decades from all three of their livestock operations. I’ve watched John at many livestock auctions and 4-H auctions, and I don’t know of anyone that knows livestock and pedigrees better. I am proud to nominate a very qualified and deserving John Goelz for The Minnesota State Auctioneers Association Hall Of Fame.

I have enjoyed being an auctioneer with Mages Land Company & Auction Service, for the last nine years. Ryan has a A.A.S in Farm Business Management. Working directly with families and farmers in the area is my passion. I have been a part of listing a variety of auctions in the area, from farm machinery to antiques and classic cars.

I have also worked full-time as a Correctional Officer for Brown County for the past 20 years. I’ve been a volunteer on the Winthrop Fire Department for over 27 yrs, Winthrop Ambulance, seed dealer and also farm. I am also on the Sibley Co Fair board and the Bavarian Blast board.

I live in Winthrop with my wife and daughter. We enjoy camping, vacationing together. I also enjoy hunting, the outdoors, and watching sports.

If you need help with an auction, whether it be personal property, a farm or farmland, we have the resources to provide you the best outcome. Give me a call and we can talk through any questions you may have.

Jill remembers very well Matt walking in and asking her if she’d be interested in working in his office. Obviously, that didn’t take long to answer.  Working with the Mages family has just been awesome according to Jill!  There has definitely been a positive learning curve working with real estate and planning auctions. Jill said she truly found out it takes many steps in order to have a successful sale run smoothly.  We call auction days “fun day!” It really is enjoyable visiting with our dedicated followers and we appreciate the smiles.  We also look forward to seeing new faces. We do our best to accommodate and serve our customers.

In her spare time Jill enjoys going to Wisconsin to visit her grandchildren, sewing, yardwork and flowers.  Jill is a native of Fairfax and has two grown sons.  “Family is important, I enjoy time with my sisters, going to events in the metro area, estate sales or just hanging out.  You’d think I’d stay away from auctions but, sometimes it just fun to be in the crowd and be able to be a bidder once. I went to auctions with my father so I’m pretty sure that’s where this auction love comes from!”

Tom Polich has been with Mages Land Co & Auction Service, LLC  since 2017 as the Marketing Manager. He has an A.A.S in both Marketing & Business Management and was heavily involved with Collegiate DECA at South Central College.

In his spare time Tom enjoys motorcycling, cooking, and playing cards (especially Sheepshead). He is an avid fan of many different forms of motorsports. Tom lives in Lafayette with his wife and their two children. He is also a proud member of The New Ulm Optimist Club and is currently on the City Council of Lafayette.

Hunter Borth has been with Mages Land Co & Auction Service, LLC since 2019 as the Maintenance & Shipping Manager. Along with general maintenance around the shop, he has been heavily involved with many large projects around Mages including the complete remodel of the 229 Main St West building in downtown Sleepy Eye. You have probably seen him around our auctions as well helping out in many areas.

Hunter lives in his hometown of Fairfax, he grew up doing many projects with his father around the home and gained a lot of experience with his previous jobs before coming to Mages. In his spare time he enjoys taking his car to various car shows in Minnesota, traveling, road trips, and drag racing at Brainerd International Raceway.

Maria Miller just joined Mages Land Co & Auction Service, LLC in 2022 as the team’s Auction and Real Estate Manager. Just 2 days after graduating from South Central College with her A.A.S. degree in Accounting, Matt reached out to her about an open position. A few days later and she was on board! While in school, Maria was a member in multiple different clubs including Business Professionals of America and Phi Theta Kappa, South Central’s Honor Society.

Maria enjoys going to the gym in the morning, spending time at home with her boyfriend and 3 cats, and hanging out with her HUGE family in New Ulm.