Couple with ties to Pierz and Harding have plenty of knowledge to win By Tina Snell, Staff Writer

Romelle and the late John Kurtz, Harding, and Ralph and the late Lolly Hoheisel, Pierz, have a grandson who, with his wife, are currently being featured on the television show “Rowhouse Showdown” on the FYI channel, a division of A&E.

The team of Katie and Dan Kurtz (the son of Lori and Steve Kurtz who grew up in Pierz) were chosen with two other two-member teams to remodel three rundown rowhouses in Cincinnati, Ohio. Each team received one house with 10 areas to work on, all within a few blocks of each other. The final winner will receive $50,000.

The show features renovation expert Carter Oosterhouse who leads the three teams as they transform each home. The final outcome strives to raise the property value of the community surrounding the homes. The winning renovation job will be featured on Dwell magazine’s website.

“The homes are in the Price Hill district, overlooking downtown Cincinnati,” said Katie. “The area has old, historic homes, built by industrial tycoons. Many have been neglected.”

The area was developed by General Rees E. Price in the mid-1800s.

The three teams worked simultaneously on different rooms or the exterior of the homes. Sometimes they were given four days to complete a renovation, sometimes more. Each team was given a set amount of money for the rooms they were working on. When the allotted renovation time was up, judges chose which room they deemed was the best job for the money.

Katie said she and Dan spent every bit of the money given to them for each area. The winner of each room received $1,000 from one of the other teams’ budget for the next room they tackled, giving the winner an edge over the rest.

The Kurtzes have remodeled homes before. Katie is a realtor in the Oak Grove area and Dan is a master plumber, working for his father’s company, Glacier Plumbing. In the past, they have purchased five homes, renovated them and sold the property for a profit.

Katie said her favorite areas that she and Dan worked on was the living room and the back yard. “The back yard turned out awesome,” she said.

The hardest part of the competition was the time lines they had to follow. Katie said there were times when she and Dan had to Workfast to meet the deadlines.

The taping of the show finished in mid-May but Katie was unable to reveal how she and Dan did in the final episode. “I can tell you that we won the first room, the living room,” she said. In the second episode, Dan and Katie took second place for the renovation of the master suite.