So I would feel fairly comfortable investing in the twin cities market all the way up to Duluth.

Yes, this has come up in the forums before, so I've looked into it, but I have no personal experience with this company.If my kids were considering this, I would advise against this. 

Rents will go up and your biggest mistake was to buy a nice house in a desirable neighborhood.The real threat is buying in the hood, leveraged up to the gills, maybe even with hard money, tenants are bleeding you dry, while you are writing checks to attorneys and contractors.Milwaukee is getting a lot of attention lately: cash flow is still better than most places and appreciation is stable at 5-8%.

Also picked up co-hosting units.

minus closing costs of lets call it 6K but could be higher. 

7-Eleven's parent company, Seven & I Holdings, is set to close 444 underperforming stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico due to economic pressures on lower- and middle-income consumers.

The old property management company said they needed 45 days to close out my account.

It sounds like you have made up your mind so forge ahead!

(downpayment, closing costs, HOA fees, renovation, furniture...etc?)

Your chances of winning are close to zero.