The Johnson family in front of their home in Blue Earth. In the back is Noel holding Oaks, and in the front, left to right, are Sydney, Anchor, Quincey and Renee Johnson.

Is the ugliest house in America located in Blue Earth, Minnesota?

That question will be answered next week.

Noel and Renee Johnson live in a house that was a former funeral home on Sixth Street in Blue Earth. It is one of 12 homes across the country that is vying for the title of the ugliest house in America.

In fact, that is the name of a new television show on HGTV, called “The Ugliest House in America.”

“It is a five-night event,” explains Noel Johnson. “Three houses are featured each night from Monday through Thursday. Then, on Friday, they announce which house is the ugliest. The winner gets a $150,000 renovation designed by Allison Victoria, an HGTV designer.”

The Johnsons’ home is going to be one of the three midwestern houses featured on Monday night, Jan. 3, at 9 p.m. Central Time on HGTV. The other two are in St. Cloud and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The crew of the show, along with the host, Retta, were in Blue Earth back in July. They filmed an interview with the Johnsons and a tour of their home.

Retta, whose real name is Marietta Sangai Sirleaf, is a stand-up comedian and actress, best known for her role as Donna Meagle on NBC’s “Park and Recreation” show.

“Back when we bought this home we knew we needed to make a lot of renovations to it,” Johnson says. “Renee thought we needed to film any renovation and she looked up programs on HGTV that might be interested in doing it.”

Renee Johnson submitted entries to several shows including “The Ugliest House in America” in October of 2020, soon after they purchased it. Then in the spring of 2021 they heard back and were asked to apply online, telling about themselves, the house, why they thought it was ugly, and much more.

“Then in the last week of June we heard back that we were one of the 12 finalists,” Noel Johnson says. “We only had about two weeks to get ready before they came to film.”

They learned some of the production crew were from Waco, Texas, and had done the filming for the last couple of seasons of “Fixer Upper” with Chip and Johanna Gaines. Other crew members came from around the country.

“It was interesting when the crew showed up,” Noel Johnson says. They had a malfunction with host Retta’s makeup trailer, so they set up a place in the Johnson’s basement.

“The basement is not that nice,” Johnson says. “It was used for storing all the caskets. But it worked for them to use as a makeup room.”

It also was interesting to see the way the crew filmed the whole production. It included the house, funeral home, as well as some other filming done around Blue Earth.

“They don’t tell Retta anything about the house, so it is a big surprise to her,” Johnson says. “They brought her in the door to the funeral home, not the door to the house. At first she asked if we lived in a church, after she looked around. I said, ‘Not exactly,’ and then told her it was a former funeral home.”

The Johnsons bought the house and funeral home not knowing what they would do with it exactly. Noel Johnson says it took Renee a little longer to get on board with the idea than it did for him.

“She said the first thing that has to be done before we move in is that I had to get rid of the embalming room,” Noel says. “All the equipment, surgical lights, embalming table, big stainless steel tub, was all still there.”

The former embalming room is slated to become the family’s laundry room.

The family, which includes the couple’s four children, use all the space in the four bedroom, 3,600 square foot home.

The former funeral home’s large space for holding funerals and visitations is now the kids gigantic playroom.

So, just how ugly is this house? The TV show’s host had this to say.

“I am certain these were 12 of the ugliest houses in America,” Retta was quoted as saying in a news release about the show. “Trust me. I had to walk through them all. There were so many stunningly bad design choices.”

So, do the Johnsons know whether their home is the one selected in the Friday episode for the renovation?

“Nobody knows, it has been kept pretty secretive,” Noel Johnson says. “It will be revealed on Friday, Jan. 7. I think they will review all 12 candidates on that show, then announce the winner.”

For now, we just have to wait until Monday night.