Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from April 2009

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from April 2009

New $31 million Port of Entry near Warroad will have 400-plus feet geothermal heating system.
April 1, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Construction crews are digging deep to find green building points for the $31 million U.S. Port of Entry border crossing under construction near Warroad. The project for the federal government is a candidate for LEED...

Cosmic construction.
April 1, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson After a yearlong delay, construction of a physics lab that will have significance for researchers throughout the world is back on track in northern Minnesota with help from a $40.1 million federal stimulus grant. The...

Robber Barons redux.
April 1, 2009... DEARBORN, Mich. -- The better the villain, Alfred Hitchcock said, the better the movie. And in the epic production that is the United States of America, we have followed that advice since the earliest settlers landed. For every hero the...

Lawyers at work: Stimulus spending will lead to a boom in business down the road for some.
April 1, 2009... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With economic-stimulus-funded infrastructure projects on the drawing board statewide, construction law practitioners are rolling up their sleeves and preparing to dig in to a truckload of legal work about to come...

Minnesota's HCMC starts site work for new clinic at vacant industrial site.
April 1, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is preparing to do surgery on a vacant, graffiti-splattered meatpacking plant in south Minneapolis. The site has been sitting vacant for three years, but this month HCMC will...

Bloomington, Minn.-based Marcus & Millichap closes deals, offers Mankato apartments for $10.1M.
April 2, 2009... Byline: Erin Suess The Bloomington-based office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the closing of two recent sales: * The $6.57 million sale of Maverick Court, a student housing complex in Mankato * The $2.15...

Minnesota Department of Commerce suspends license of Cloquet insurance broker.
April 2, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger The Minnesota Department of Commerce has suspended the license of a Cloquet insurance broker who is accused of taking clients' premiums and not forwarding them to insurance companies. The suspension, announced...

G-20 leaders are meeting on political death row.
April 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Lynn The stage couldn't be more ominous. While the Group of 20 leaders gather in London, angry protesters are preparing their verbal assault.Their words will fall on deaf ears.Many of the presidents and prime ministers at...

Failed 1933 London conference a warning for G20.
April 2, 2009... Byline: DAVID McHUGH LONDON -- On June 12, 1933, more than a thousand of the world's top finance and government officials squeezed into London's stuffy Geological Museum to hear a speech from Britain's King George V -- broadcast live by...

Outstate Minnesota airports get stimulus dollars.
April 2, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced that nine smaller airports in Greater Minnesota are slated to receive $20 million in federal stimulus dollars as part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment...

Paul Lotzer is a perfect fit for Minnetonka-based Stonehill Financial.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson With 40 years under his belt as a real estate developer, banker and loan workout specialist, Paul Lotzer has seen just about every way a deal can hit paydirt -- or collapse. In other words, he's a perfect fit to...

3M selected to Build Louisville Health Information Exchange.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Louisville Health Information Exchange has selected 3M Health Information Systems to provide an electronic health record banking system to enable health information exchange in Louisville, Ky....

Michael T. Davies joins Private Capital Management as principal.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Michael T. Davies has joined Private Capital Management, Inc., an Eagan-based private investment firm, as one of its principals. Davis spent five years as a public accountant with NJK Holding...

Minnesota credit unions join foreclosure counseling network.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minnesota Credit Union Network has joined the Minnesota Home Ownership Center and its network of certified foreclosure counselors, who will now be available to advise credit union members in...

Barron's Magazine tabulates top Minnesota advisers.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Twenty Minnesota advisers are among Barron's Magazine annual listing of the nation's Top 1,000 Advisers. Topping the list in terms of total assets were Peter Eckerline and Christina Boyd, both...

U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes Richard B. Beeson Jr. for small business service.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The U.S. Small Business Administration named Park Midway Bank President Richard B. Beeson, Jr., its Minnesota Financial Services Champion of the Year. The award is given each year to people who...

Statistics show tough first quarter numbers for commercial real estate in Minneapolis.
April 3, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard A fresh look at local commercial real estate confirms a poorly-kept secret: the first quarter was bleak for nearly every corner of the business. A new report from the Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin...

Stanley tools logo replaces Dodge trucks ad at Metrodome in Minneapolis.
April 4, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger The Minnesota Twins and Stanley Works have reached a 2009 sponsorship agreement to put the tool manufacturer's logo on the Metrodome's right-field baggy home run wall - replacing the Dodge Truck logo owned by financially...

Hennepin Energy Recovery Center garbage burner to channel heating, cooling capacity.
April 4, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger NRG Energy Center Minneapolis will receive an infusion of steam energy later this month, when a 12-inch pipe packing heat from a Hennepin County-owned garbage burner is hooked up to the system. The pipeline, which...

Chemistry class: Seacole consolidates, expands in Plymouth.
April 4, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Delano-based Seacole Corp., a chemical manufacturing and distribution company, is doing what few other companies can manage today: buying a building and expanding its operations. A Seacole affiliate bought an...

High-tech conference in Minnesota to examine uncertain economy.(Conference notes)
April 7, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson The Changing Face of Business & Technology, Leadership Strategies for Today's Uncertain Economy'' is the theme of the Minnesota High Tech Association's annual spring conference. The event is scheduled from 7 a.m....

Lawyers criticize rating system created by Better Business Bureau.
April 7, 2009... Byline: Michelle Lore Shopping around for an attorney? There are the traditional methods: Asking friends and colleagues, seeking references from professional associations, running a Google search or just flipping through the Yellow Pages....

Minnesota lawmakers consider sales tax on digital downloads.
April 7, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw Minnesota may be about to join the ranks of states that tax the downloading of music and books from the Internet. The chief author of a bill in the state House, Rep. Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, wonders why the...

Job cuts in U.S. hitting high-tech firms.
April 7, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson Job cuts at U.S. technology firms are rising at a rapid rate, but the industry is still suffering less than other economic sectors. Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement firm, reported...

Minneapolis offering free Internet to nonprofits.
April 7, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard It could be one of the least competitive grant programs ever. The city of Minneapolis is seeking applications for 100 free wireless accounts to Minneapolis-based nonprofits. City staffers estimate that based on the...

St. Paul Web entrepreneurs produce new Craigslist meets Facebook on 'social classifieds' site.
April 7, 2009... Byline: Dan Haugen Want to sell your junker car or some unwanted furniture? You could try posting your stuff on eBay or Craiglist. Want to be better connected to people and events in your community? You could try a neighborhood blog...

Construction begins on Bemidji Event Center.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The city of Bemidji has broken ground on its $54.5 million Bemidji Regional Event Center. Bemidji officials expect the 193,000-square-foot center to generate millions for the local economy and keep...

Minnesota Renewable Energy Society event set for Saturday.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minnesota Renewable Energy Society is presenting a course on the latest trends in renewable energy. The event, set for Saturday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Flannery Construction, 1375 St....

Minnesota Green Roofs Council event set for April 17.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A Minnesota Green Roofs Council event will focus on two high-profile green roofs in Minneapolis. At the event, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to noon on April 17 at Minneapolis City Hall Room 319, green roof...

Minneapolis-based Architect Grundstrom joins Parker Design.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Local architect Judy Grundstrom has joined Minneapolis-based Parker Design International as marketing principal. Grundstrom co-founded design firm IOTA, which stands for Inland Office for Tomorrow's...

Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson employees get LEED accreditation.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Five Kraus-Anderson employees recently received their LEED accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council. The employees are: project managers Jamie Engelsma, Drew Simon, John Boerboon;...

Portland Cement Association report: Housing woes to continue into 2010.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Conditions for a recovery in housing starts won't be in place until the middle of 2010, according to a new report from the Portland Cement Association. Housing construction activity cannot begin until...

Painters union donates $75K for Children's Hospital upgrade in Minneapolis.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades are rolling up their sleeves - and reaching into their pockets - to help create more comfortable surroundings for critically ill infants and their...

Minnetonka-based United Health, other insurers expect less Medicare money.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson UnitedHealth Group Inc. and other insurers offering private Medicare plans to the elderly and disabled will see their baseline reimbursement rates from the federal government effectively cut in 2010 as a result of...

State lawmakers in Minnesota making progress on bonding bills.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson State lawmakers are making progress on bills that would borrow money for road, bridge and building projects throughout Minnesota. By a 93-to-40 vote, the House this week approved a $200 million bonding package...

Hennepin County unveils new solar array.
April 8, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Hennepin County has officially added solar power to its renewable energy portfolio, with last week's startup of a $900,000, 528-module photo-voltaic array at the county's public works facility in Medina....

Minn. Gov. Pawlenty, MnDOT unveil highway and bridge projects.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Construction crews, flanked by orange cones and detour signs, will be out in force this summer as the Minnesota Department of Transportation embarks on an ambitious state highway and bridge construction season. ...

Complete list of Minnesota's 2009 Construction Program.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce staff Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation 1 Highway 7 - at Aquila Avenue South in St. Louis Park Grade, resurface, drainage, signal modification Sept. 8-Oct. 15 2 Highway 7 - from...

The ABCs of new business: Branching out on your own?
April 9, 2009... Byline: Scott Russell Angelique Dukes sat a table at the St. Paul-based Business Planning Center mulling over her options for starting a tax preparation business. Should she set up as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) or Subchapter S?...

Commentary: Keeping the job engine running.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Raymond Keating The jobs story in the United States has been ugly since late 2007. That in turn means the story for entrepreneurship and small business has been pretty ugly as well. After all, small businesses truly are the engines...

Survey: Most Americans have considered their own business.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff If you've ever found yourself saying: I should start my own business, you're not alone. Most Americans say they have at least considered starting their own business, or have actually done so at least once...

Wellington going ahead with St. Paul row houses.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Shadow Falls project in St. Paul is an anomaly in today's troubled real estate market: a brand-new residential development, under construction and nearing completion. But the project is a far cry from the...

Twin Cities-based book publishing consultants schedule workshop Saturday.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson Book Architects, a new Twin Cities-based book publishing consulting firm, has scheduled its first workshop for aspiring authors from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Marianne's Gift Shop, 3900 Stinson Boulevard, Columbia...

Minnesota Power halves rate increase.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger In June 2008, Duluth-based Minnesota Power announced an estimated rate increase for 2008 of $40 million; now, the utility is lowering that projection by half. That's because the state regulatory agency governing such...

Metropolitan Council and Minnesota Public Radio agree on noise-mitigation deal.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson The have agreed on a plan to reduce the impacts of light rail noise on MPR's Cedar Street studio in downtown St. Paul. The plan, announced by the Met Council and MPR on Wednesday, calls for installation of a...

Pier 1 retailer closing down Excelsior & Grand location in St. Louis Park.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Fort Worth, Texas-based home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports is closing the doors of its St. Louis Park location at Excelsior & Grand -- an iconic development that, for many, has stood as a symbol of mixed-use...

Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies taps Finn as capital markets director.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US, Inc., announced that it has hired Andrew Finn as its director of capital markets. Finn, a Minnesota native, is returning after six years in the New York City real...

Minnesota Multi Housing Association announces new chair, board members.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce S The Bloomington-based Minnesota Multi Housing Association (MHA) has tapped Nancy Pogue as the 43rd chair of the association. Pogue is vice president of property management for Oaks Properties LLC. Pogue...

Nordstrom Rack to open Maple Grove store.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce S Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc., announced that it has signed a deal for a 34,000 square foot Nordstrom Rack location in Maple Grove. The store, slated for a former Linens 'N Things location, will open this...

NorthMarq arranges financing for Minneapolis industrial properties.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based NorthMarq Capital announced that it had arranged $3.1 million in financing for a collection of industrial buildings in northeast Minneapolis. James Hoopes, senior vice president and...

Minneapolis-based Ryan adds four tenants at Two MarketPointe.
April 9, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US, Inc., announced that it has signed four new tenants at its Two MarketPointe office building in Bloomington. The new leases total roughly 25,000 square feet of space in...

Minneapolis-based Target renews City Center lease through 2023.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Target Corp. announced late Thursday afternoon that it has renewed its lease for nearly 1 million square feet at 33 South Sixth Street/City Center in downtown Minneapolis. Target has had a...

Minnesota chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth panel examines financing options April 14.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minnesota chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth will host a panel discussion on April 14 exploring alternative sources and structures of capital in today's environment. Robin Engelson,...

Bloomington-based HealthPartners wellness program wins top award.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based HealthPartners received the top recognition in a national survey of successful consumer-focused health care management. URAC, a Washington D.C.-based accrediting organization for...

Hamburger joins Park Midway board in St. Paul.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff John Hamburger, founder and president of Franchise Times Corp., has joined the board of directors of Park Midway Bank. Hamburger has almost 30 years of experience in finance and has served as a...

St. Cloud-based eBureau and Comtech partners on new products.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff St. Cloud-based eBureau and Comtech Systems Inc. will partner to create new predictive scoring and skip tracing information products for Comtech's 700 customers in the collection and credit industries in...

New firm in Minneapolis focuses on securities, capital markets.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis lawyers John B. Orenstein and Jeff Ross have formed a new law practice, Ross & Orenstein, LLC, specializing in securities litigation and consultation. The partners aim to help clients...

Minneapolis-based RedBrick raises $15M, adds sales leader.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based RedBrick Health has secured $15 million in Series C financing in a new financing round led by new investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Current investors Highland Capital Partners,...

Rodriguez named Minnesota Minority Small Business Champion.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Edgardo Rodriguez as its Minnesota Minority Small Business Champion of the Year. Rodriguez is a business consultant at the Metropolitan Economic...

Thrivent hosts events on family saving, sharing in Twin Cities.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has created Teach Your Kids to Share Day, an event that can help parents teach their children about responsibly sharing, saving and spending. The event is part of...

Capitol debate: Partisans battle over funding of program for vets in Minnesota.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw Passing the relatively small agriculture and veterans affairs budget bill is typically a routine, politically lackluster affair. Not this year. Not when the historic, $4.6 billion budget deficit is triggering...

Loans in Minnesota still available, but additional costs and conditions apply.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson There's a mantra that local bankers have been repeating in the wake of last fall's credit market collapse: We're open for business - ready to keep credit flowing and the economy puttering along. That claim is...

Ojibwe-operated Woodlands National lends hand to south Minneapolis.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson Woodlands National, Minneapolis' newest bank, opened its doors last March with a mission: To be a genuine people's bank, dedicated to the financial needs of the residents in its south Minneapolis community. ...

Twin Cities home sales up in March, prices down.
April 10, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson Buoyed by historically low interest rates and bargain hunters snapping up foreclosed properties, Twin Cities' pending home sales rose 21.3 percent in March compared with the same month last year, the Minneapolis Area...

Minnesota environmentalists tracking tax revenues dedicated to outdoor, cultural projects.
April 11, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw Environmental and conservation groups are so far generally pleased with ongoing negotiations at the Capitol to spend new dedicated sales-tax dollars on habitat and clean-water projects. But Steve Morse, executive...

News of Target's lease renewal welcomed by Minneapolis boosters.
April 11, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard No company is more closely watched in downtown Minneapolis than Target Corp. The health of the company is often seen as a bellwether for the overall well-being of downtown. Thus, the Fortune 500 retailer's Thursday...

Cap and trade: Rep. Bachmann's energy 'tax' claim wildly exaggerated, professor says.
April 11, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger Is it a tax that will swallow up huge chunks of the average American family's income? Or a relatively cheap way to reduce carbon emissions and save the planet? The cap-and-trade system proposed by President Barack...

Minnesota-Canada cross-border bioscience projects beginning to bear fruit.
April 14, 2009... Byline: Dan Haugen Reggie Bowerman is a Midwestern kind of guy. So when his employer of nearly a decade, MGI Pharma, packed up and moved to New Jersey last year, Bowerman was one of several local employees who chose not to make the...

Lawyers embrace offbeat office designs.
April 14, 2009... Byline: Michelle Lore Computer: $800 File cabinet: $200 Copy machine: $900 A large terrace with a lake view attached to your law office: priceless. At least that's true for Eden Prairie family law attorney Linda Olup. To...

Minneapolis Met Council must resolve numerous issues before light rail construction begins.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson The $914 million Central Corridor light rail project cleared a major hurdle last week when the Met Council reached a noise-mitigation agreement with Minnesota Public Radio, but planners say keeping the project on...

St. Paul-based American Engineering Testing employee gets LEED accreditation.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Angie Myrechuck, a senior engineering technician with St. Paul-based American Engineering Testing, has earned her LEED accreditation. Myrechuck performs geotechnical observations and soil testing for...

Mortenson Construction's Minneapolis office adds to list of LEED-accredited employees.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Twenty-three members of Mortenson Construction's Minneapolis office have earned LEED accreditation since January. The list includes seven project managers (Chad Brady, Heidi Brown, Dave Burke, Kevin...

Braun Intertec adds project architect in Minneapolis office.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Marcia Stemwedel has joined Braun Intertec as a project architect in the firm's building sciences practice. Stemwedel will focus on forensic investigations and building envelope problems, including...

County Road 101 upgrades under way in Plymouth.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A series of improvements for County Road 101 in Plymouth will begin this week, according to Hennepin County transportation officials. Planned improvements include stormwater runoff and treatment...

Historic-building tax credit bill set for hearing in Minnesota.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A bill that would offer state tax credits for rehabs of historic properties is going before the Senate Tax Committee this week. Under the bill, property owners and developers could receive a state tax...

St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson buys Rushforth Construction.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction has acquired Tacoma, Wash.-based Rushforth Construction. Terms weren't disclosed. A&P officials say the deal establishes the company as a...

Pawlenty to Minnesota businesses: Be good.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson When Gov. Tim Pawlenty spoke to a group of the state's business leaders Tuesday morning, his message was a simple one: You sustain values by practicing them. We all have gifts and talents. The question is: How do...

Attorney general's office settles suit with Minneapolis-based Allina.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Scott Carlson Allina Hospitals & Clinics has settled a lawsuit, brought by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, which accused the Minneapolis-based health care provider of breaking state law by charging patients usurious...

Investment incentives approved for 3,000-mile 'Green Power Express' transmission project.
April 15, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger All the talk about wind energy's increasing importance in the Upper Midwest is more than just hot air. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this week approved a request by a cartel of energy companies, led...

Bloomington-based BOR-SON Properties announces leases.
April 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff BOR-SON Investment Properties, a division of Bloomington-based BOR-SON Construction, Inc., announced three new leases at BLN Office Park I and II in Bloomington. The deals bring occupancy in the office...

Denali Energy leases downtown St. Paul space.
April 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff St. Paul-based Chief Real Estate Company, LLC, announced that it leased about 3,000 square feet of boutique office space to Denali Energy, Inc., at 500 Jackson Street in downtown St. Paul. The property is...

Wayzata-based Cargill, Opus honored for Excelsior Crossings.
April 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce staffFinance and Commerce Sta In a ceremony on Tuesday, Minnetonka-based Opus Northwest and Wayzata-based Cargill were honored for safety and environmental milestones at the Excelsior Crossings office campus in...

First Scribe signs office lease in Minnetonka.
April 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Coldwell Banker Commercial Griffin Companies of Minneapolis announced that Cory Miller represented First Scribe in a lease of 3,106 square feet of office space at Carlson Center East, 110 Cheshire Lane in...

Bloomington-based NorthMarq announces deals for office team.
April 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based NorthMarq announced three deals completed in March by the office brokerage team of Bob Revoir, Greg McMillan and Avery Ticer. The team represented JNR Adjustment Company which inked...