Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from April 2006

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from April 2006

Minnesota Marketing Briefs:April 1, 2006.
April 1, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Minnetonka-based John Ryan Performance has laid off three people in its creative department, blaming shrinking client profit margins.Ryan Performance has specialized in designing bank lobbies and marketing materials for...

MN Dept. of Employment and Economic Development commissionerleaving to join Now Care Medical Centers.(Interview)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Charley Shaw Last week, Matt Kramer wrapped up his tenure as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Kramer was originally appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to head the Minnesota...

Minneapolis-based Master Development makes green commitment.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Mike Tobin has been credited with helping to write the book on LEED certification, the U.S. Green Building Council's standard for sustainable and environmentally friendly building design. In that case, his next...

Minnesota Associated Builders and Contractors , Minnesota OSHA form partnership.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson While college basketball fans were gearing up for the Final Four last week, the Minnesota Associated Builders and Contractors and Minnesota OSHA formalized an agreement that targets the four leading causes of...

Commentary: The dos and don'ts of getting news coverage.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The Twin Cities chapter of the Society for Marketing and Professional Services recently asked me to participate as an "expert" panelist at a lunch event sponsored by the group. By no means do I consider myself a...

Landscapers are educating their clients on feasible design.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Ken Levy (This article originally ran in the Idaho Business Review, Boise, Idaho, another Dolan Media publication.) From the simple to the sophisticated, landscaping design helps provide a sense of place, whether in a...

Concepts of green building taking root within religious gathering spaces.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Alison Ryan (This story originally appeared in the Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, Ore., another Dolan Media publication.) The green-building movement in the Northwest is catching on among churches, temples and other...

Feng Shui: Environmental balance or good design?
April 4, 2006... Byline: Amy Gillentine (This story originally appeared in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, another Dolan Media publication.) From the halls of major hospitals to the board rooms of large corporations to small family-owned...

Bloomington-based BOR-SON Construction announces two promotions.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff BOR-SON Construction announced that Gary Krocak has been promoted to vice president and Ron Nolan to general manager. Krocak, a member of BOR-SON's board of directors, has been with the company since 1976,...

Architect David Willer joins HGA Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Architect David Willer has joined HGA Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis as an associate vice president and medical planner.Willer has more than 30 years of experience in health-care programming,...

University of MN's Carlson School building to be named Hanson Hall.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff University of Minnesota officials announced last week that a proposed new Carlson School of Management building will be named Hanson Hall in honor of alumnus Herb Hanson and his wife, Barbara. The...

Marvin Windows president to speak at St. Thomas Alumni Association luncheon.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Marvin Windows President Susan Marvin will speak at the St. Thomas Alumni Association's First Friday Luncheon Series on Friday at the Depot, 225 Third Ave. S. in Minneapolis. The event begins at noon....

Plumbers in Twin Cities area offer services during Water's Off Project.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Professional union plumbers in the Twin Cities, Mankato, St. Cloud and Rochester will make free minor plumbing repairs and provide safety inspections to 230 low-income and disabled homeowners on...

Electrical engineer joins TSP's Minneapolis office.
April 4, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff TSP Inc. has hired electrical engineer Nicholas Achnia to work in the company's Minneapolis office. Achnia has extensive experience in the design of retail, industrial, educational, health care,...

Developers set to begin next wave of office construction in Twin Cities.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Duke Realty Corp. plans to begin construction on its 322,000-square-foot Norman Pointe II Office Tower in Bloomington on Monday, followed by a formal groundbreaking ceremony on April 19.The move makes Duke the first in...

New ad campaign for Minneapolis condo development promotes workshop and potting shed.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Homeowners who fear that moving downtown may take time from gardening and woodworking may want to take a look at a new ad campaign for Minneapolis condo development Phoenix on the River.New print ads for the 80-unit...

McGuire park proposal gets approval of Minneapolis City Council.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Dr. William McGuire, chairman and CEO of UnitedHealth Group, made his first-ever appearance at Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. The topic was not health care or executive compensation, but green space along...

Haberhill Cos.' search for value produces a small, diverse portfolio of properties.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Douglas Greene says Haberhill Cos.' acquisition of the downtown Minneapolis Hilton Hotel last month is just another example of his firm's search for "value-added opportunities" in the hotel sector.Greene is managing...

Expertise gives Minneapolis-based Brighton Development Corp. edge in project financing.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Minneapolis-based Brighton Development Corp. has been developing housing for 25 years, much of it in the center cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.The fruits of all that experience can offer many advantages, including...

Opponents see new problems with eminent domain reform bill in Minnesota Senate.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Last week, the Minnesota Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to limit the eminent domain powers of cities. The lopsided vote was 64-2 on March 27. The only two state senators to vote against the bill were Wes Skoglund...

Meaning of 'urban' gets increasingly fuzzy in condo ads.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Advertising for condominium and townhome developments is rife with references to urban lifestyle.But, increasingly, the true meaning of the word "urban" as in urban amenities, nightlife and location is becoming...

Florida-based Regency Ceners buys third retail property in Twin Cities.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Regency Centers, a Florida-based retail property REIT, announced Tuesday that it has acquired its third Twin Cities property in the last 10 months, a grocery-anchored center in Apple Valley. Regency's new buy is Apple...

Welsh Cos. announces two new leases at International Centre in downtown Minneapolis.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Welsh Cos. has officially announced two new leases totaling 141,000 square feet at International Centre nearly a quarter of the space in the downtown Minneapolis building's two towers. Redwood Shores, Calif.-based...

Green building maintenance subject of Minneapolis' Building Owners & Managers Assn. class.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Joe Armitage of St. Paul-based Ecolab Inc. will be the featured speaker as a class entitled "Green Products Environmentally Responsible Building Maintenance." The 90-minute session, sponsored by the...

Marketing push accompanies opening of Summit on 7 condo project in Hopkins.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Two new cars will be given away to encourage people to attend the grand opening of the Summit on 7 condominium project in Hopkins this weekend.A car will be given away on each day of the grand opening, set...

Bloomington-based Welsh Cos. names three new vice presidents.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Three commercial real estate brokers have been promoted to vice presidents at Bloomington-based Welsh Cos. They are Craig Lien, David Stokes and Eric Rapp.Lien, who has more than 22 years of commercial...

Rasmussen College completes lease deal with First Industrial Realty Trust of Chicago.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Rasmussen College has signed an eight-year lease for 21,742 square feet of space at an office/showroom facility at 7905 Golden Triangle Drive in Eden Prairie.The building is owned by First Industrial...

Trout Run Preserve planned in Savage.
April 6, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Savage officials have approved plans for Trout Run Preserve at McColl Drive and Highway 13.The project will contain four distinct neighborhoods. The Overlook neighborhood will offer detached villa...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs:April 8, 2006.
April 8, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Donna Wiederkehr, senior vice president of new business development for Minneapolis ad agency Campbell Mithun, is flying into the heart of Africa on Sunday to help a group that plans to start as many as four...

Critic of transit-oriented development says light rail systems in U.S. have been costly flops.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Randal O'Toole, an outspoken critic of transit-oriented development, describes himself -- ironically -- as a "rail nut." "My hero is James J. Hill," O'Toole said, during a recent presentation to a House...

Deteriorating Minnesota State Capitol needs more funding, planning board says.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Restoration needs at the Minnesota State Capitol will continue to grow if the Legislature doesn't allocate more money toward the projects, according to officials from the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board...

MN lawmakers seek legislative fix for 'opportunity-to-repair' bill.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson State lawmakers are considering a slimmed-down version of previous legislation that would require homeowners and builders to try to settle residential construction defect claims out of court. The new bill, less than...

Wisconsin's right-to-repair bill signed into law.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle (This story originally appeared in the Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, another Dolan Media publication.) Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill last week designed to limit litigation between homeowners and contractors...

Architect predicts green building boom for Wisconsin.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan (This story originally appeared in the Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, another Dolan Media publication.) The prediction is becoming more common in Wisconsin: In the future, all buildings will be green...

Four executives named at Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. of Minneapolis has named four executives.Curt Kluznik joined the firm as project manager. He has more than 16 years of construction experience, including grocery stores,...

Griffith promoted to operations director at M.A. Mortenson of Golden Valley, MN.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff M. A. Mortenson Co. of Golden Valley promoted Kendall Griffith to director of operations for the Minneapolis Operating Group. He will be responsible for all Mortenson projects in Minnesota and surrounding...

Twin Cities' residential building permits down in March.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The local homebuilding market showed signs of slowing last month, according to the latest building permit figures from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. In March, cities in the 13-county metro...

Associated General Contractors-Minnesota presents Capitol tour.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A legislative tour and get-together at the state Capitol is set for April 20. Tim Worke, highway and transportation director for the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, will lead the tour. The...

International Barrier Technology reports record shipments for quarter.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff International Barrier Technology, a manufacturer of fire-resistant building materials, reported record shipments for the quarter ending in March. The company says it shipped 2.16 million square feet of its...

Speaker at meeting of Minnesota Construction Association to present industry outlook.(Industry overview)
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The April breakfast meeting of the Minnesota Construction Association will feature Cliff Brewis, who is responsible for news gathering in the western half of the United States for McGraw-Hill...

Moorhead school wins AIA Minnesota architectural award.
April 11, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Horizon Middle School in Moorhead was recognized by the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects.The school, which was designed by Rozenboom Miller Architects and built by...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs:April 15, 2006.
April 15, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Venerable New York-based cosmetics manufacturer Revlon Inc. has hired Minneapolis agency Martin/Williams Advertising to give a new look to its hair care product advertising.Revlon is expected to spend between $5 million...

New Minnesota Twins stadium could have green certification if senator's amendment is approved.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson A new Minnesota Twins stadium could have green certification as well as green grass if state Sen. Linda Higgins has her way.Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis, successfully offered a green building amendment to a Twins stadium...

Literary plumber celebrates life in a small Minnesota town.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Rodney Hanson knows how to tell a story. That's good, because the 80-year-old retired plumbing contractor/writer/all-around-good-guy has a lot of stories to tell. Like the one about his father, Henry Hanson. In 1933,...

Construction forecast for 2006: mostly sunny.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Cliff Brewis' construction forecast for the coming year is much like an April day in Minnesota -- mostly sunny, but watch out for the storm clouds. Brewis, senior director of Editorial Operations West for McGraw-Hill...

'Climate neutral' bonding bill faces hurdles in Minnesota House.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson An effort to toughen sustainable building guidelines for state-funded construction projects has hit a roadblock in the House but remains alive in the Senate. The legislation would amend the state's sustainable...

WI executive order requiring "green" government buildings largely applauded by construction industry.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder (This story originally appeared in the Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication.) Ready or not, the construction industry was told to start seeing green last week.Gov. Jim Doyle issued an...

Factory-built homes offer quick fix for New Orleans residents.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Deon Roberts (This story originally appeared in CityBusiness, New Orleans, another Dolan Media publication.) Michael Brown's company has been building homes slower lately.It can take up to six months to build a home, roughly...

Two engineers promoted to management posts at Braun Intertec Corp. of Bloomington.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Braun Intertec Corp. of Bloomington has promoted two project engineers.Gregory Bauer was named operations manager in the company's Lakeville office, while Matthew Ruble will manage the construction field...

Funding deal reached on Scott County highway project.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Prior Lake, Scott County and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) have reached a cost-sharing agreement that will allow the County Road 82 reconstruction project to proceed as planned this...

Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson ranks 13th for health-care construction.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Kraus-Anderson Companies Inc. of Minneapolis was named one of the nation's top health-care construction management companies by Modern Healthcare magazine.The magazine ranked Kraus-Anderson 13th based on...

Shingobee Builders Inc. of Loretto set to begin St. Michael project.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Shingobee Builders Inc. of Loretto is breaking ground Wednesday for the Cornerstone project in downtown St. Michael.The first phase will include development of the entire 2-acre site and construction of a...

Village Creek gets grants from Met Council and Hennepin County.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Brooklyn Park's Village Creek redevelopment project is getting help from the Met Council and Hennepin County. Last week, the Met Council awarded a $74,000 grant to the project from its 2005 Tax Base...

Minneapolis-based Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. projects recognized.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) received two Grand Awards from the Minnesota chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies.The council presents the awards annually for...

Kohlenberger joins St. Louis Park-based Watson-Forsberg.
April 18, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Don Kohlenberger has joined St. Louis Park-based general contractor Watson-Forsberg Co. as vice president. Kohlenberger has a background in operations, client development, subcontractor relations,...

Borders closes book on Calhoun Square site in Minneapolis.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc. plans to close its bookstore in Calhoun Square in Minneapolis at the end of May. The store, which opened in 1991, was the first Borders location in the Twin Cities. A...

Pension funds are powering a brisk market.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Investment in Twin Cities office and industrial markets will continue steaming along at nearly the pace of 2005, but the nation's pension funds will provide most of the push on the throttle this year.That was the...

St. Paul city workers locating, replacing granite monuments with cast-iron monuments.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements A crew of St. Paul city workers blocked off part of the University and Snelling intersection at 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 1 -- because of a nail in the road.No, it wasn't an April Fools' Day joke.The crew, from the...

Minnesota territory mapped more than 150 years ago.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements The federal government oversaw the surveying, mapping and parceling of Minnesota in the early to mid-1800s when it was still an unsettled territory.An act of Congress in 1786 created the General Land Office, which,...

GFI Premium Foods site owners ponder empty building.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Burt Gilyard Last summer, a trio of investors bought the home of GFI Premium Foods, a longtime meat processing business in south Minneapolis. The group paid $3.3 million for the site, which takes up a full city block at 2815...

Minneapolis kicks off planning process for Uptown.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard New development projects in the Uptown area of Minneapolis have been pitting developers against some neighborhood residents in fractious battles over building heights, neighborhood density and city planning. In an...

Commentary: Sam Goody closing at City Center.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard I work in downtown Minneapolis. Over the lunch hour last Friday, I saw an unusual sight: The Sam Goody music store at City Center was packed with people. I'd never seen anything like it. Naturally, there was a simple...

Welsh Cos. seeking tenants willing to pay to post name on Bloominton's Southgate Office Plaza.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Commercial real estate brokerage and management firm Welsh Cos. is seeking new tenants willing to pay extra to have their corporate names posted on the Southgate Office Plaza in Bloomington.One tenant, Centennial...

Pictometry International adds Hennepin County to client list.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Rochester, N.Y.-based Pictometry International Corp. is taking high-resolution photos of Hennepin and Ramsey counties in a move that is designed to help law enforcement agencies and SWAT units.The photos will be used in...

St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association elects officers.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff James Scannell of St. Paul Travelers was elected chair of the Greater Saint Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) during the group's annual meeting earlier this month.Richard Zehring of MSP...

Foundation to handle fund management for Lowertown group.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Lowertown Redevelopment Corp. announced this week that the Saint Paul Foundation will now manage funds for revitalizing St. Paul's historic warehouse district.The introduction of the new donor-advised...

Public meetings on Twin Cities light rail set for May.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Central Corridor Coordinating Committee -- a group of elected officials and other interested parties exploring a new light-rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul -- will host three meetings next...

Vicki Bangia joins Bloomington-based United Properties unit.
April 20, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Vik Bangia has been named managing director of strategic services within the Corporate Real Estate Services unit at Bloomington-based United Properties.Prior to joining United Properties, Bangia spent five...

MSP expansion delayed until 2008.
April 20, 2006... Proposed megamall expansion would appeal to older shoppersBLOOMINGTON (AP) -- A proposed $1 billion expansion of the Mall of America is designed to appeal to older, more urbane shoppers.The owners of the megamall plan to build a 6,000-seat...

Carmichael Lynch among three advertising agency finalists for B.F. Goodrich.
April 22, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis advertising agency Carmichael Lynch hopes the third time's the charm in its bid to win a major tire account.Carmichael Lynch is one of three finalists for a $15 million to $20 million advertising account with...

Minnesota lawmaker seeks tax-free milk, water in vending machines.
April 22, 2006... Byline: Charley Shaw The Minnesota Legislature's only active dairy farmer is promoting new ways of getting milk into the daily diets of Minnesotans.Rep. Greg Blaine, R-Little Falls, is hoping legislators will eliminate a sales tax on milk...

Architect with DLR Group's Eden Prairie office broadens world view with foreign work experiences.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Architect Thomas Young has left his mark on a wide variety of design projects, ranging from a proposed new high school in Farmington (one of his current efforts) to a massive 300-acre sports campus in China.His design...

University of MN hopes to select an architect for proposed football stadium project by June.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The University of Minnesota hopes to select an architect for the proposed Gophers football stadium project by June, according to university project coordinator Brian Swanson. Late last week, the university put out a...

Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota members still hoping for prevailing wage reform.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota has a lengthy to-do list at the Capitol that boils down to two related issues: prevailing wage reform and apprenticeship training.While other ABC initiatives have...

MN-based Apple Valley Medical Center begins major expansion.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A groundbreaking was held Monday for the $8.6 million expansion of the Apple Valley Medical Center at 14655 Galaxie Ave.The one-year project will add 200,000 square feet -- 50 percent more space -- at the...

AGC-Minnesota to award asphalt technology scholarship.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minnesota students with an interest in asphalt technology are eligible for a $2,000 undergraduate scholarship from the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota. AGC-Minnesota, on behalf of the...

M.A. Mortenson Co. of Golden Valley names business development manager.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff M.A. Mortenson Co. of Golden Valley has hired Julie Eigenfeld as business development manager for the construction company's Minneapolis operating group. Eigenfeld graduated from the University of...

Open house set for MN Dept. of Transportation's 'Unweave the Weave' project.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The public can learn about construction plans and activities related to the "Unweave the Weave" project that is under way on the Interstate 35E/694 corridor.An open house will be held Thursday from 3 to 7...

Proposed $70M power plant in Minneapolis would burn wood waste.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Kandiyohi Development, a Minneapolis-based renewable energy and sustainable development firm, has signed an agreement with the Green Institute to take over development of a biomass heat and power facility...

Minnesota Senate backs home warranty measure.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article previously appeared in the St. Paul Legal Ledger, another Dolan Media publication.)The Minnesota Senate passed a bill last Thursday that addresses a conflict in state law that was proving expensive for...

TV shows fuel remodeling craze for homeowners.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Joan Johnson (This story originally appeared in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Springs, Colo., another Dolan Media publication.) The proliferation of television remodeling shows is creating better informed...

Green building pioneers see industry come of age.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan (This story previously appeared in the Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, another Dolan Media publication.) Three buddies from Amherst, Wis., decided to start a green home-building company in 1987. It wasn't a financial...

Evolving construction-lending market remains strong.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Lenders are predicting a good financing environment for their construction and development borrowers for the remainder of the year -- just a little more complicated than during the last two years of easy money and...

Federal credits for commercial builders and developers can encourage conservation spending.
April 25, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson Climbing energy costs since Hurricane Katrina have contributed to a steady increase in commercial property owners and developers who are going "green." To encourage those types of projects, the U.S. government is...