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After 41 years total on air… 35 in STG… 22 years on the open mic and nearly 5 years as our in studio co-host and guest, The great Mike McGary signs off on his final show! Today we ask him about the highlights (and low lights ) of thousands of shows, 4 AM wake ups, and being nagged by the public about their favorite city or county complaints! It’s been a great ride, cheers to you and your career and to your next phase! 🥂🙏🏼👊🏼

Jeremy: … of the morning, and what we are going to do Jesse is we are actually going to want to back that up because we want to capture Mike. I did not let you know that. Yeah, we are going to want to back that up.
Jesse: I was trying to, but he would not turn around.
Jeremy: It is okay. It is okay.
Mike: I told him to back my (indiscernible)
Jeremy: Just back it up. Well, I know, well you know what, there were words inserted there, that was very nice by the way. So the back of you is your best asset. I know, I get it. I hope your wife is listening this morning. Jeremy Larkin, host of the St. George Real Estate Morning Drive. Do you want to hear what I put on Facebook Live?
Mike: I do not know. Do I? Okay sure.
Jeremy: I got some information from Bart Taylor. Now, I hope I did not get it wrong. After 41 total years on the air, yeah?
Mike: Yeah.
Jeremy: 35 in St. George, 22 years on the open program, and nearly five years as our co-host.
Mike: That is right. We are probably four.
Jeremy: Yeah. The great Mike McGary signs off on his final show. Today we ask him about the highlights and lowlights, and I am sure there have been plenty of lowlights, of thousands of shows, 4am wakeups, and being nagged by the public about their favorite city or county complaints.
Mike: That has happened, yeah.
Jeremy: Because they are hoping you can get the pothole fixed out there in front of their home.
Mike: Well, I have connections.
Jeremy: I know you do.
Mike: I know the people.
Jeremy: The mayor is coming in. So who will be on with you for the last Open Mike?
Mike: My family actually.
Jeremy: Are they really coming in?
Mike: My wife is coming in.
Jeremy: That is so good.
Mike: I have three sons who are in town. My daughter will be on the phone, and my brother is here. So it is all good.
Jeremy: This is so good.
Mike: It is going to be good.
Jeremy: This is so good. So guys, I am Jeremy Larkin. I am the host of the St. George Real Estate Morning Drive, and we are going to talk, this is fun today for me. This is such a great break from just real estate talk. So we are going to have two minutes of real estate talk. I want to remind our friends and clients that our, we call it the Dollar Menu, the Dollar Menu expires today. So we did this program for a month where if you are buying a home in St. George and you hire us to represent you, you can qualify to sell your home for a buck. A dollar. How many clients did we have? Five? Five this month? Something like that. Something.
Jesse: Five, yeah.
Jeremy: Something like that.
Jesse: I think so.
Jeremy: So the funny part is people go what is the catch? Well, the catch is you need to buy another home in St. George. That is fine.
Jesse: Right.
Jeremy: That is the catch. There is no other catch. It is a dollar. So we will see settlement statements at the title company that say listing brokerage commission $1, and it expires today. We said we would do it only for January. We committed we would do it only for January, and we are doing it only for January.
Jesse: Right.
Jeremy: Okay, so we will be shooting an email out to our database this morning, but if you have questions about that, pick up the phone and call us after the show. Or you can call us right now if you want. Someone will answer probably.
Jesse: Yeah, probably.
Jeremy: 275-1690. 275-1690 or google The Larkin Group, and just, gosh, contact us. So that is number one. The $1 listing program does end today, and if you do not qualify for the $1 program, you will qualify for our, we had two things going. We had what we called Christmas in January, which is our up to $10,000 savings program and you will qualify. So get in on it. If you thought about selling your home, as a matter of fact, if you are planning to sell your home in February, and this is what tips you over, then let it tip you over. You do not have to list your home today. You could not list your home today. We could not –
Jesse: You could not get it all done and do it right.
Jeremy: We could not fill out the paperwork and photograph your home and bring our staging consultant through and all that stuff. Okay. So thank you, Robert MacFarlane for the, I look sharp, brother, or are you talking to Jesse? I guess you were talking to me. Secondarily, the Best of Southern Utah. So St. George News is running the Best of Southern Utah, and I want to just prep all of our listeners that we are, we will be vying for the title of Best Real Estate Team in southern Utah. So be aware. I think we are ten or maybe even fourteen days out from voting, but we have been nominated and we want this. Kevin Chavez, we know this town. Yes, we do. Yes, we do, my friend.
Jesse: That is going to be pretty cool. How do we go vote? Who votes?
Jeremy: There will be a link. The public can vote, and the public can vote every single day, and we will have a link that will be produced that will be something like the Best of Southern Utah dot com the Larkin Group. I do not know what it is. They will provide it for us.
Jesse: Cool.
Jeremy: That is the deal. Real estate sales, by the way, in southern Utah are strong, folks. Strong. If you have not been on our YouTube channel, we put some great content out there talking about the market being really great, just not quite as great as some people want.
Jesse: Well, and not as great as it has been.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Jesse: It is starting to stabilize.
Jeremy: But not as great as it has been for who?
Jesse: For sellers.
Jeremy: For sellers.
Jesse: For buyers, this is great.
Jeremy: See buying and selling is like a marriage. And if only one person is happy that is usually a recipe for disaster. Right?
Jesse: I never thought about it that way.
Jeremy: Yeah, so sellers were really happy last summer –
Jesse: Yeah.
Jeremy: — because they could do whatever they wanted. They could like run over the, they could pull up their car on to the front lawn and kick stuff over and just kind of be reckless teenagers —
Jesse: Right.
Jeremy: — and say I want what I want. But that is not a healthy real estate market. So, the market is better than it really virtually been in a decade, yet we have some sellers who are saying well, maybe I just will not sell my home because I cannot get what I want. And if you go to our YouTube channel, YouTube dot com slash Go St. George TV, couple of videos you are going to want to watch where I talk about the fact that people will look back on this time and they will say I did not want to sell because of what? Because I could not get what?
Jesse: I could not get what I wanted. I could not get the right price.
Jeremy: Yeah, and if I sell, then I will have to buy what?
Jesse: At the high price.
Jeremy: Yeah. What they did not take into account is what they cannot control, which is interest rates.
Jesse: Interest rates. I have that conversation all the time because people think well, man, I just cannot do that. I cannot, unless you went through that whole scenario really strategizing with a mortgage guy and –
Jeremy: And a good agent.
Jesse: — and a good agent, you really do not know what you can or what you are costing yourself if you do not.
Jeremy: Yeah, yeah, I promise you whatever you read on Zillow or whatever, it was not enough for you to actually run through all of your options.
Jesse: If you are thinking about a three, $400,000 investment, it is probably pretty important to really go down the whole road of investigation.
Jeremy: What are all of my options? Right?
Jesse: Well, yeah right. What are they?
Jeremy: Because –
Jesse: You could stay, you could sell, you could refinance, you could rent that one out and buy another one. There are all kinds of stuff you could do.
Jeremy: Because if you want to move, let’s pretend that interest rates pop up to 6% in two years. You will look back and it will be a regretful moment –
Jesse: Yeah.
Jeremy: — because now your mortgage payment will be two or three hundred dollars higher and you do not have any control over that. All right. So again, call us, 275-1690 to take advantage of our Christmas in July, July, January slash dollar menu. Or just to talk about your situation and have us strategize. Okay, Mike. Here we go. Let’s do this.
Mike: Yes.
Jesse: Here is the man.
Jeremy: So 41 years, 35 years in St. George.
Mike: In St. George, yeah.
Jeremy: Okay, so give us the best and the worst. What are a couple of highlights from being on the air this long?
Mike: Well, that I had a job and paycheck for all that time. I guess would be pretty good. My career is, I think, has been too fast and at number one that is on the air. It is the news. It is the morning show. The other half has been the sports, and I have been involved in sports for nearly that same length of time. I am going to go there first because it is easy.
Jeremy: Calling games for who?
Mike: For, I did it for Dixie College slash Dixie State University now. Traveled with the team for twenty years. In fact, yesterday on the show I had former coaches, great coaches on the air with me. I had Dave Rose, now the head coach at BYU.
Jeremy: Correct.
Mike: And the head BYU baseball coach, Mike Littlewood, who was also here.
Jeremy: Oh, that is cool.
Mike: So I had them on the air.
Jeremy: By the way, where is Croshaw now?
Mike: He is semi-retired, kind of helping out here and there.
Jeremy: He is still here.
Mike: He is still in the town. Oh yeah, he lives here.
Jeremy: Okay. I knew he was involved with –
Mike: So anyway, got the opportunity of calling four national championships on the junior college level, two of which Dixie won.
Jeremy: Were you at the, do you go back as far as ’85 or no?
Mike: No.
Jeremy: That was pre-you.
Mike: I actually came here in ’84, but the great man Larry Jewell was still the voice.
Jeremy: It was Larry Jewell. Okay. That is, I was ten years old and I was at the game in Wichita, Kansas. We stayed, this was so great. I was ten years old and we stayed at the Holiday Inn Holodome, and the Holodome in the 80s was a thing because it has a miniature golf course and an arcade and a pool inside.
Mike: Right. Right.
Jeremy: And I was like –
Mike: Wow. You have reached the top, huh?
Jeremy: We really arrived. We drove all the way to Wichita. So Larry Jewell.
Mike: Larry Jewell. I actually, my claim to fame –
Jeremy: That takes me back.
Mike: — I ran the board here in St. George.
Jeremy: There you go.
Mike: So I heard that, but I got to do the national championship in 2001, Andy? Andy did it with me by the way. Andy Griffin over in the corner there.
Jeremy: So good.
Mike: So I got to call a national basketball championship, which Dixie won. I got to call in 2004 the national championship baseball which Dixie won. The only downer was that the Dixie football team twice played in a national championship for junior colleges, both here in town, both at the Rotary Bowl, and they lost both to the same team.
Jeremy: Yes.
Mike: Kind of rough one. (Indiscernible)
Jeremy: You know that stinks. Amen, and I remember that well. And the Rotary Bowl always ends up being freezing because by about two o’clock the sun is past the stadium –
Mike: Going down.
Jeremy: Right and then you are on the concrete. So yeah, you were involved in some really cool stuff.
Mike: Really cool stuff, and I could go on and on obviously, and I have been at, I really do not know. I have been very fortunate, a number of state championships. Thank you, Region 9.
Jeremy: Yeah, tons. Tons.
Mike: They have been super. Baseball, basketball, football. Region 9 teams have won them all multiple times. So I have been able to be there and call those games as well.
Jeremy: Do you have any idea how many games? Could you guestimate how many games that you have done live color commentary for?
Mike: Andy and I were actually trying to figure this out. And we, our best estimate, over 3,000.
Jeremy: Over, over 3000 games, and what is baffling to me is when I listen to you or anyone else calling a game. Hey it is Smith to Stout and Stout to McFarthen. I am looking at (indiscernible)
Mike: Right.
Jeremy: And it is Jesse. Jesse Poll, he is really great junior out of Wichita, Kansas. He has been doing a great job. Oh, hey we have got a fumble. It is like you really get good at that, right?
Mike: I do not want to give away all of my secrets. No, you kind of get into a flow of things and there is no doubt. I had all kinds of notes. I did not make the pro-level where they have a little insert in your ear and there is some guy in your ear going it is Bob Smith with the tackle. I never had that. I may have had Andy going Bob Smith and he would punch me in the side.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Mike: You get a feel. You get to learn from it. So many games over the years. It has been incredible.
Jeremy: 3000 games. Oh and I have heard Mike for so long, so long. I used to listen to all the Dixie State University games when they were on the road.
Mike: Twenty years I traveled with Dixie.
Jeremy: Twenty years. Yeah, that is incredible. So 4am is typical wake up time?
Mike: Probably 4:30, I guess. I have to be in studio by no later than 5:30. Well, until this week, and I sleep in a little bit. But anyway, to get here and get things set up and get ready to go. There is lots of prep prior to, so sometimes I do it the day before so I can –
Jeremy: The key is Mike has figured out, I figured out something that I learned from Mike. He did not realize I learned it from him. Mike lives literally two minutes –
Mike: Yes.
Jeremy: It is exactly two minutes is what I would estimate over the hill. Like he just drives up the street and comes down and parks. Then I decided, of course, a year ago to move two minutes from my office.
Mike: And it works.
Jeremy: It is incredible because I leave for leadership meetings at 7:28 that start at 7:30. That kind of stuff. Or I will show up in my, I shot a live video on Facebook yesterday from my bike trainer, and I got off at 7:25, and then I went into the office to a meeting. Because I could just run home and shower. It is no big deal. So, this is amazing. 3000 games. All these years on the air with the Open Mike Show. Who do you remember, is there anyone that you remember specifically that came in the studio beside the people that you like locally? You love interviewing the mayors –
Mike: And there have been a lot of good ones locally. It has been fun over the years. But –
Jeremy: What stands out in your mind?
Mike: I think a couple of politicians who have come down. I mentioned this the other day. I have interviewed all, the last six governors of the state of Utah –
Jeremy: Wow.
Mike: — going back to, wow, now I cannot think of his name. My mind just went blank right there.
Jeremy: I am thinking back to Norm Bangerter.
Mike: Right prior to Norm Bangerter. Norm Bangerter ws the second one. Anyway, right up until our current mayor here. Or governor, excuse me. That has been a lot of fun. I have been able to interview some well-known athletes here on the this one, and one of the fun ones I did was Joe Namath.
Jeremy: Oh wow.
Mike; Now, it was not during his, during the heyday of his career mind you. He was a little bit older, but he was fun. That was probably one of the funner ones.
Jeremy: And he was cool and respectful.
Mike: He was very good. Very respectful, very neat to have around. I think some of the highlights have just been sometimes you would not think this, they would come in and we would get talking and we would get into the best of discussions. And I have discussed all kinds of political things, all kinds of local events, and I have really enjoyed it.
Jeremy: By the way –
Mike: Yes.
Jeremy: Scott Matheson.
Mike: Scott Matheson, thank you.
Jeremy: I looked. Do you know, who was the first governor of the state of Utah? People, this is a funny one. I would not even have thought of this.
Mike: I was from Idaho, so I did not know this.
Jeremy: I would not have even thought of this. Brigham Young.
Mike: Okay.
Jeremy: Thank you, Wikipedia.
Mike: There you go.
Jeremy: Isn’t that interesting? Brigham Young was the first governor of the state of Utah. So these guys come in, I do not know who will ever hear this. Is there anyone you remember that was like a pain? And obviously if it is someone local, you cannot name it. Is there anyone that you have spoken with that you said, okay, that guy or gal, that was a problem?
Mike: Yea, I have had interviews when they, it just did not go well. And this is going to sound really sexist, and I know this, but I am sorry. But years ago, they brought in the winners of the local queen pageant. And here is what I ask, and I do not think I am going to be able to remember this, so I can say it again. I just, well, it is good to have you in, first of all. And your name is so-and-so. I just want to get a feel. Which part of the area do you live in? And she looked at me and she said, I do not understand the question.
Jeremy: This is so good.
Mike: Let me just tell you the 20-minute interview became seven minutes and we were out of there. Sometimes people are so nervous. They do not know what to say.
Jeremy: I do not think it is sexist. It is just what happens.
Mike: It is just what happens. That was a tough one. I have done a lot of politicians and that has been fun because of the local races. We tried to bring all the candidates and interview them. They range from being really good. The thing is, whether they are good on the air or not does not mean they are a good or not a good candidate. So I hope people realize that.
Jeremy: Hey, Jesse, which, here we go. Which area are you in? Hurricane, just say Hurricane.
Jesse: I think I am in Hurricane. Is it Hurrican or Hurricane?
Jeremy: Did that come over the air? I did not mean my whisper. That is incredible. Which area are you from? I do not understand the question. That does remind me of some snafus of the like I do not, is it the Miss Universe. There have been some funny –
Mike: There has been some big time.
Jesse: We have had some on this because Jeremy never tells me what he is going to be talking about. And I get asked these questions and I am like –
Jeremy: He has pulled up lame a couple times, but I love him. I love him. Man, I love the guy. What would you, that is so incredible, so what do you feel like, what is the biggest challenge of doing what you have done? What is the hardest part? There has to be hardest part.
Mike: I think really kind of feel like I am at least semi-prepared for whatever may come up that day. Now, I will never know everything, but I try to look, I try to get a feel, especially when it comes to the talk show portion of the day because I always, I feel like somebody is going to call up and ask a question. So I will go through the paper, well, not the paper anymore. I go through the internet, I bring it up on line, I look at things. I may only know the headline, but if someone calls and says hey did you see this? You bet. I did. Isn’t that amazing that that happened? I have no idea what the rest of the story –
Jeremy: And they will tell you what the story is.
Mike: And they will tell me. What would you think about it? And then we can get into a discussion. There are little ways of doing it.
Jeremy: Yeah, you are giving away a trade secret. I think it is interesting because I hear about Rush Limbaugh or these guys, he loves to ruffle the papers on the air.
Mike: Yes, yes.
Jeremy: But yeah, they have stacks of stuff because they are kind of going I could get into anything today.
Mike: Right.
Jeremy: Now, of course, those guys have the benefit of a call screener.
Mike: Absolutely. We tried that once here.
Jeremy: Did you really?
Mike: Yeah, it did not really work out well.
Jeremy: So you get caught, you are on the spot, you do the Open Mike program here at nine o’clock.
Mike: Yeah.
Jeremy: Is this the family?
Mike: Yep. There is, looks like my wife is out there. That is my son –
Jeremy: Oh, this is so fun.
Mike: — you can see there.
Jeremy: This is so fun. We are looking on the little –
Mike: It is a little entry video.
Jeremy: It is an entry video. That, by the way, that, that TV monitor was brought here by NASA in 1968.
Mike: That is mine. Just kidding.
Jeremy: That is incredible. He is like that is how I watch, stream Netflix.
Mike: That is right.
Jeremy: But these folks call in, let’s talk about the Open Mike program for a minute.
Mike: Sure.
Jeremy: What have people most complained to you about? What is the most typical, because it is kind of like the vent in the spectrum.
Mike: Yes, it is. It is. I will tell you honestly it is national politics, national politics. People want to talk about what the President is doing, what the Congress is doing or not doing. What is good, what is bad, and a little bit unfortunately, the split we see in the nation is right here in this area. I have tried to interject other programs involving more local. Now there are some good local issues. Water is always a great local issue. Growth is always a great local issue, but over and all, they seem to like to talk about the national, and one thing that was surprising to me. I have trouble getting on state issues. They do not want to talk about it.
Jeremy: They do not want to talk about it.
Mike: They will complain but I feel like people are going to say, they are going to sit back and wait and then they are going to complain –
Jeremy: So it is either national –
Mike: Or local.
Jeremy: — or I cannot believe these guys are developing another subdivision.
Mike: Yeah, that is big time. How about our water? And I am not saying right or wrong. I am just saying these are the hot button issues. And have been for a long time.
Jeremy: How often do you have to, Jesse, I do not know, man. Jesse is in sales, so he is on the phone a lot with angry people. How often have you had to just cut a call off? Like hey man, you had to hang up on them.
Mike: Let’s just say numerous times. No, it happens. I will be honest
Jeremy: (Indiscernible)
Mike: I have tried, very few. Very fortunately very few. I think back to my career starting up in Pocatello, Idaho. Probably on two hands, I could honestly say –
Jeremy: Here we go, mother –
Mike: Yeah, I have been called a thing or two. And probably the only, less than ten times in 40 years. So that is not too bad. Now we get into discussions, and I think that is kind of what led me in my Open Mike Show to say we are not going to get personal. You can disagree with what I say. You can disagree with the events. You can disagree with the people, but you cannot get personal about the people.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Mike: And for the most part, people have been good. And I have appreciated that because it has kind of help keep us on a little bit better level. I am not a national talk show host. I do not want to be. I do not want to go where they think they have to go. So.
Jeremy: Yeah, and I do not think, I think it is very easy to go personal. I think –
Mike: Easy to do.
Jeremy: It is so easy to go personal about the people, easy to go personal on you. Well, you know what, Mike, I have been listening to you for five years, and all you ever do –
Mike: Right. Right.
Jeremy: All you ever do is one of the great statements that we make and we love to make —
Mike: We all do it, don’t we?
Jeremy: — this to our family and our spouses, whatever we do. Right? We love to say all you ever do is, which is I am always trying to teach my kids okay, no absolutes.
Mike: Right.
Jeremy: Always, only, never. Not helpful language. Not helpful language. What are you going to do now? So as we wrap this program today, now what? Because you are going, you are going to walk out of here at ten o’clock? Eleven or will you be here for a while?
Mike: Well, probably one o’clock. There is a little get together from eleven to one today here.
Jeremy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,
Mike: Honestly, for the very near future, sleep in. Seriously, just kind of take it easy. I do have family down. Right now, I do not have a lot planned. My wife and I have a few trips that we are going to be taking. We are going to become, I am going to become a full-time grandpa, at least for the near future. And we will see where we go from there.
Jeremy: You do appreciate that.
Jesse: I do.
Mike: I love it. I am going to Portland in April or March, two little kids.
Jeremy: Do you know what is cool? And I think you will appreciate this. So Jesse has got how many grandkids?
Jesse: Four.
Jeremy: Four. And how many are in Boston?
Jesse: Two.
Jeremy: Is it two in Boston?
Jesse: Two in Boston (indiscernible)
Jeremy: He and his wife, they are breaking themselves up, down to get there at least twice a year.
Jesse: Well, four times.
Jeremy: Four times a year (indiscernible)
Jesse: We go four times.
Mike: That is really good.
Jeremy: Right. So you appreciate like and Jesse gets this.
Jesse: My wife gets it. She reminds me that the kids are only going to be little once and they will, it is going to matter.
Mike: Yep. Yep.
Jesse: Right now.
Jeremy: Yeah. Now we cannot forget. Andy, you are to remind us. When this program ends, we have to get the last in-studio photo of the three of us guys. We have to have this. Okay. You got it? Because, by the way, the contract with Cherry Creek, they cancel it if you do not remind us. Okay. So I am sorry. I hope Cherry Creek is listening right now. Mike, it has been, we have got two minutes, right?
Mike: Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy: It has been such a pleasure. Honestly, I mean it. I just mean it. You are, and it is hard. It is almost emotional. Mike is a man of character and he is a man of credibility. I worked with his son doing some real estate –
Mike: That is right. Yeah.
Jeremy: — and he is just a good man, and I think that that is being lost with the Matt Lauers and Rush Limbaughs of the world just to use a couple of public personalities who are either out of control or secretly out of control.
Mike: Right.
Jeremy: It has been such a good time. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe this is the day.
Mike: Looking back, it is always like oh my gosh, where did that 35 years go? A couple of times during it, I am going oh my crud, is this ever going to end? I am sorry. That was –
Jeremy: But I feel the same way.
Mike: Sure we do.
Jeremy: And when it is great in real estate, when our clients, when we closed Hale and Dan Balthesar’s home two weeks ago and they are elderly and they needed our help, and they needed our help moving, and they needed our help putting multiple transactions together –
Mike: Right. Right.
Jeremy: — and we took this tiny fee to get it done, we were so happy.
Mike: Sure.
Jeremy: And the next day you have a deal fall out the day before closing and you just want to quit.
Mike: Highs and lows. Every career has it.
Jeremy: I have never felt so high and I have never felt so low. Ladies and gentleman, kudos and congrats to Mike McGary on his retirement and becoming a full-time grandpa.
Jesse: That is going to be awesome. Thanks, Mike.
Mike: You bet, guys.
Jeremy: If you have got questions, there is Mayor Pike. If you have got questions about, again, to take advantage, please, today of the Dollar Menu or our kind of Christmas in January, call us at 275-1690. Mike will give you a little bit more information. And Mike, we are going to hand this over to you. This is kind of first. Favorite people. We had these custom made in Fargo, North Dakota. It is a mantle, you will see. I hope this is on your mantle.
Mike: (Indiscernible)
Jeremy: On behalf of the Larkin Group. There you go. It is cool. It is very cool.
Mike: Jeremy, thank you.
Jeremy: Thank you.
Mike: Jesse, thank you.
Jeremy: Over and out guys.
Mike: All right. That is going to wind it up for another edition of the edition. Again, this has been the St. George Real Estate Morning Drive with the voice of St. George Real Estate. As always for more information, call 275-1690. Find them online at Sold in St. George dot com.