Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from December 2007

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from December 2007

Bloomington's Welsh Cos. exec eyes real estate in India.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Jim Martyka When Gov. Tim Pawlenty led a 73-member delegation on a 10-day trade mission to India in October, the goal was to find investment opportunities and partnerships with the economically booming country. But while the focus...

Minnesota companies misclassifying workers.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw A surprising lack of coordination among three state agencies is to blame for too many Minnesota businesses getting away with misclassifying workers as independent contractors, a new Legislative Auditor's report says....

Greenhouse gas laws raise business concerns.
December 1, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Business and environmental concerns intersect when the topic is greenhouse gases. The current legal and regulatory climate means that business must factor emissions control into its strategic planning and economic...

Mankato company to provide locally mined stone/granite for new Twins stadium.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson A family-owned Mankato company is set to leave its mark on the new Twins stadium. Vetter Stone, a source of locally mined stone and granite, will provide 100,000 square feet of limestone exterior materials for the...

Materials costs ease in wake of housing collapse.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson It's hard to find a silver lining in the seemingly endless stream of bad news for residential construction, but there are signs that the downturn could lead to lower construction costs in other sectors -- provided the...

Richfield City Hall plans move forward.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Richfield's years-long effort to build new digs for its police and fire stations and city offices is gaining momentum. The current 1960s-era complex, located near 67th Street and Portland Avenue, has a long rap sheet...

New sewer pipes coming to Elko New Market in southeastern Scott County.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson The Met Council is getting ready for the second phase of a regional sewer project that aims to serve a growing area while protecting a natural resource. The new interceptor sewer will convey wastewater from Elko New...

Revitalizing a St. Paul neighborhood hit hard by foreclosures.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson A groundbreaking last week kicked off a mixed-use development that aims to revitalize a St. Paul neighborhood hit hard by foreclosures. The Winnipeg is a three-story, $12.5 million project that will offer 56 rental...

New group to take over LEED accreditation.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The U.S. Green Building Council has created a new entity that will oversee the organization's fast-growing credentialing program. Design professionals looking to gain LEED accreditation will now go through the Green...

Hotel chain to restore North St. Paul landmark.(Landmark overview)
December 4, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson It sounds like a line from one of those Chevy Chase "Vacation" movies: "Hey kids, we're only a short, three-hour drive away from the world's largest stucco snowman." Actually, it's a lot closer than that if you live...

Minnetonka-based Benson-Orth hires project manager.
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Dan Geegan has joined Benson-Orth Associates as a project manager. Geegan has 15 years of multifamily housing experience, with positions in estimating, purchasing and project management for single-family and...

Executive joins HGA Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis.
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report HGA Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis has hired David Paeper as a principal and associate vice president. Paeper will be responsible for planning HGA's pre-design services for corporate, higher education and...

Hutton named secretary/treasurer of Minnesota Public Works Association.
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Dave Hutton, vice president at WSB & Associates Inc. of Golden Valley, has been elected secretary/treasurer of the Minnesota Public Works Association (MPWA). MPWA, which is the Minnesota chapter of the American...

Plymouth engineering and planning firms merge.
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Plymouth-based Schoell Madson Inc. has formally merged with Plymouth-based McCombs Frank Roos Associates. The new company will build upon the firms' work in the areas of planning, engineering, surveying, landscape...

Seward Co-op groundbreaking slated for today in Minneapolis.
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report A groundbreaking for a new Seward Co-op at 2823 Franklin Ave. will take place this afternoon, with guests including Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. The store, which will have twice as much retail space as the old...

Two-day stormwater event planned in Minneapolis.(Conference news)
December 4, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The sixth annual Storm Water Management and Erosion Control Conference is set for Dec. 12-13 at the Four Points by Sheraton Minneapolis Hotel. This year's event focuses on "Managing Risk and Smart Construction for...

High-tech snowplows in Minnesota hit the highway.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Now that Minnesota's other currency has again covered the roads in a thick, white sheet, snowplows have resumed their seasonal rounds. But Hennepin County's plows are being deployed with some technological improvements...

Lawmakers in Minnesota address budget shortfall.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw With Minnesota's $34.5 billion general fund budget newly in the red, DFL lawmakers are looking for economic stimulus in the form of a capital investment bill to pay for construction projects. Citing the nationwide...

Staff in Eden Prairie office seeking to make the best of worst-case scenarios.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson A team of eight people in an Eden Prairie office spends its days thinking about the unthinkable: the fallout from a nuclear attack, the radiation from a "dirty bomb" and even a food supply contaminated by radioactive...

Profiling the Minnesota Legislature: State Rep. Jim Davnie.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Frank Jossi High school teacher and south Minneapolis Rep. Jim Davnie (62A) does not mince words when he speaks about the lack of money for more teachers in Minneapolis. "I was on the phone today with a mom at the same school my...

Profiling the Minnesota Legislature: Sen. Dennis Frederickson.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Todd Messelt When Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, nominated Sen. Dennis Frederickson, R-New Ulm, for president pro tem at the start of the 2007 session, it was the first time in the Legislature's...

Twin Cities' Dougherty Commercial Properties takes a deliberate approach in slowing market.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson There's a popular fable that promises "slow and steady wins the race." Bob Angleson's new real estate investment venture this year is adding a little more proof to that old bromide. In fairness, Angleson isn't all...

Ten-building complex in Eagan is 91.5 percent leased.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Philadelphia-based BPG Properties Ltd. entered the Twin Cities market last year with a deal to buy Interchange Office Park in St. Louis Park, now renamed Metropoint. Last Friday, BPG closed on its second local deal:...

Keeping Minnesota businesses in Minnesota.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw Seven of the 10 largest buildings in the world contain energy-efficient glass made by Owatonna-based Viracon Inc. The company, which started in the 1970s with 30 workers, now has 1,700 employees and an $80 million...

American Indian corridor planned on Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Bill Clements Lee Antell heads a south Minneapolis nonprofit that has provided job training for the American Indian community since 1979. He has never done a development and has no interest in becoming a developer. But he's about...

Colliers Turley Martin Tucker hires junior broker at Minneapolis office.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minneapolis office of St. Louis-based Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has hired Ryan Elmer as a junior broker. Elmer is working with Colliers staffers Duane Poppe, Josh Huempfner and Jeff Pearson on...

Minneapolis-based CRF wins national award for social activism.(Awards list)
December 6, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) has won a Social Capitalist Award from New York-based Fast Company magazine. Forty-five nonprofits across the country were named winners of...

Multifamily lending up 4 percent in 2006.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association says the multifamily lending market grew by 4 percent last year, climbing from $133 billion in closed loans in 2005 to $138 billion. The group's...

Bloomington-based shopping center group elects new officers.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Bloomington-based Minnesota Shopping Center Association (MSCA) elected new officers this week at its annual meeting at the Golden Valley Country Club. The group also introduced a new logo at the meeting...

Foreclosures leveling, repossessions climbing.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The explosive rise in foreclosures may be leveling off, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. The October report showed 224,451 foreclosure...

Minneapolis real estate market not ready for prime time.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The small site in south Minneapolis was slated for a 10-unit townhouse development called 36 Grand. But two years after the owner bought the land, there's now a for-sale sign planted in the still-vacant lot. "Our...

Bloomington-based Welsh looking for '08 rebound.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson WelshInvest's goal of setting an investment record this year stumbled along with the plans of other commercial real estate players, victim to the midyear credit market collapse. But the Midwest-focused investor is...

Acadia Cafe heading to Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The corner space at 329 Cedar Ave. S. isn't big, measuring just 2,100 square feet. But the site, at the intersection of Cedar and Riverside avenues, is a Minneapolis icon and a part of the storied history of the West...

New offices are perfect prescription for MinuteClinic.(Company overview)
December 6, 2007... Byline: Todd Messelt Interior designer Margret Lemkins is excited about the work she did for MinuteClinic, and who could blame her? Widely lauded as an innovator for its retail approach to health care, the burgeoning MinuteClinic is the...

Minnesota native Andy Wells brings hope and help to Minnesota's Indian reservations.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Dan Emerson With a history of economic deprivation and related social problems, the American Indian reservations in northern Minnesota have not been known as incubators for successful entrepreneurs. But Red Lake Indian Reservation...

Six vendors compete for a contract to replace Minneapolis public amenities.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger At least six vendors are competing for a contract to replace city of Minneapolis bus shelters, bus benches, bicycle racks, trash receptacles and other public amenities. The city currently contracts for that service with...

Minnesota Twins to re-evaluate its 2008 marketing campaign.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger New advertising concepts are being considered for the Minnesota Twins after the departure of centerfielder Torii Hunter, the possible trade of Cy Young-winning pitcher Johan Santana and other off-season roster changes....

Former CEO of Minneapolis ad agency goes solo.
December 8, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger The sign in John Jarvis' messy south Minneapolis office reads, "A creative mind is rarely tidy." After his home office got too messy for his wife's taste, Jarvis leased space at 3300 Hennepin Ave. S. that now houses...

Troubling outlook for Minnesota counties.
December 8, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw Cook County Commissioner Bob Fenwick's rural, northeastern Minnesota county has struggled to emerge from the financial woods since the state slashed the aid to counties in 2003. Like most of Minnesota's 87 counties,...

Minnwest exec takes aim at crowded Twin Cities market.
December 8, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson Minnwest Corp. announced in late November that it had hired Tom Longlet to be president of its expanding Twin Cities operations. The $1.3 billion holding company is campaigning to build up its five-branch franchise...

Shaft drilling continues on 35W bridge project in Minneapolis.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Frigid winter weather isn't putting a freeze on the 35W bridge reconstruction project. Shaft drilling activities continue this week, as construction crews work on the bridge foundation. Workers filled the first...

Architectural Alliance names president.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Architectural Alliance has promoted Carey Brendalen to president. Brendalen, a 1983 graduate of Iowa State University, currently directs the firm's corporate, workplace interiors and science and technology markets....

Maple Grove-based FlowSense wins EPA project.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a facility renovation contract to Maple Grove-based FlowSense. The renovation will bring environmentally friendly acoustical wall systems to EPA's facility in...

Homebuilding permits in Twin Cities area down in November.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Residential building permits were down slightly last month, but builders see signs that the downward spiral of building activity is leveling off. Last month, Twin Cities municipalities issued permits for 615...

University of Minnesota football stadium reaches milestone.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The University of Minnesota football stadium is ready to go vertical. Last Friday, the $288.5 million project reached a key milestone when crews drove the last of 2,200 pilings into the bedrock on the university's...

Growth spurt for Children's Hospital in Minneapolis.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson An ambitious $300 million growth plan for Children's Hospital announced in June took a big step toward reality this month as construction crews broke ground on the major renovation and expansion in south Minneapolis....

Children influence expansion of Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson When Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota planned its new space, the design team tapped into some of the foremost authorities on pediatric hospitals: the children themselves. The planning process included...

Building a pediatric hospital in Minneapolis wasn't child's play.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson When the Minneapolis campus of Children's Hospital's opened in 1973, it was the culmination of a long and hard-fought battle to bring a pediatric hospital to the Mill City. In the 1930s, a prominent group of 10 to 12...

Cold temps, hot asphalt as workers lay new park-and-ride lot in St. Paul.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Icicles hung from asphalt rollers as workers laid a new park-and-ride lot in St. Paul two weeks ago. With temperatures at a frigid 7 degrees Fahrenheit, construction crews had to rush before the water in the roller...

More repairs, maintenance for Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson The aerial lift bridge in Duluth, a century-plus-old span that rates as one of Minnesota's most recognized landmarks, is about to receive some long-anticipated maintenance and repairs. The city of Duluth, which owns...

Increasing transit options along new Highway 212 in Chanhassen.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson As the first wave of commuters got a taste of the new Highway 212 in Chanhassen last week, construction crews were already at work on a new parking ramp and transit facility. The SouthWest Village transit station, at...

Polaris Industries facility in Wyoming, Minnesota, achieves LEED certification.
December 11, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Polaris Industries Inc. has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for new construction at its new research and development facility in Wyoming, Minn. The facility is the 11th...

Minneapolis plans largest solar array in the Midwest.
December 12, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The city of Minneapolis will use a $2 million Xcel Energy grant to fund the largest urban solar array in the Midwest. The grant, funded through the utility's Renewable Development Fund, was announced Monday and will be...

St. Paul-based Cima NanoTech wins international acclaim as a nanomaterials pioneer.
December 12, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson St. Paul-based Cima NanoTech is one of the pioneers of the fledgling industry of nanomaterials as applied to the world of electronics manufacturing. And now the four-year-old company has won international acclaim, as...

Profiling the Minnesota Legislature: State Rep. Randy Demmer.
December 12, 2007... Byline: Frank Jossi With his three sessions as a state rep and many years as an entrepreneur in rural Minnesota, Republican Randy Demmer of Hayfield figures he's the best candidate to knock off Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz next year in...

Profiling the Minnesota Legislature: Sen. Linda Higgins.
December 12, 2007... Byline: Todd Messelt For the past year, the foreclosure crisis in the housing industry has defined much of Sen. Linda Higgins' working life both in the Senate and outside of it. Higgins' District 58 includes the north Minneapolis...

Texas-based Cobalt Capital Partners enters Twin Cities market with a splash.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard A new player has landed in local industrial circles. And Irving, Texas-based Cobalt Capital Partners has entered the market with a splash. Since September, the firm has completed four local deals, quickly assembling...

Bloomington-based Timberland Partners is taking advantage of the market.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson Timberland Partners closed on a pair of apartment buys in late November, taking advantage of a market that is starting to tilt in favor of well-capitalized, tried-and-true apartment investors like the...

Tempers flare at Minnesota transportation hearing.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson A legislative committee meeting turned contentious this week when Democrat lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau traded barbs over the Interstate 35W bridge project and long-term transportation funding. At the meeting...

Tax credit market losses challenge low-income housing providers in Minnesota.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson Developers who build homes for the region's lowest-income residents are finding it steadily harder to finance those projects in light of skyrocketing construction costs, caps on rents and flat public funding. Another...

Slow's the thing at Southdale Shopping Center.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Many say the world today is moving at breakneck speed. The pace of life and business seems to be faster, faster, faster. Someone is sending you e-mail while you're asleep. But sometimes, there are reminders that not...

Milliken shifting gears at former Jaguar site in Minneapolis - again.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Developer Don Milliken has another new plan for 222 Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis: apartments instead of condos, a scaled-down Whole Foods, additional retail space and a "very speculative" second phase. When...

St. Paul Farmers' Market project not yet ready for harvest.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Developers broke ground in September on the long-anticipated Farmers' Market Flats in the Lowertown area of downtown St. Paul. The mixed-use project combines 48 condos with a permanent, indoor space for the St. Paul...

Northstar Commuter Rail project gets final fed funding approval.
December 13, 2007... The Northstar Commuter Rail received $156.8 million in federal matching funds Tuesday when Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Thomas Barrett signed a full funding grant agreement. The approval also released $97.5...

New facility for Little Six Casino to open in Prior Lake.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A new Little Six Casino will open tomorrow in Prior Lake at the site of the original Little Six Bingo, where the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) first introduced high-stakes bingo to Minnesota...

Rosemount to begin downtown revitalization.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Rosemount Port Authority agreed on Monday to pay $525,000 for the final parcel it needs to begin its long-awaited downtown redevelopment. The Authority's action ends a months-long impasse with Dr. Kurt...

Twin Cities mayors to get University United award.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Mayors Chris Coleman of St. Paul and R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis will receive the Metro Award this week from University United, the community group that focuses on University Avenue between St. Paul and...

Bloomington-based Timberland Partners raises over $11,000 for Make-A-Wish.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Timberland Partners, a Bloomington-based real estate investment and management company, has raised more than $11,000 so far in its 2007 charitable campaign to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The company...

Regional economic outlook from Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
December 13, 2007... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Next week, two economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis will present an economic outlook for Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: December 14, 2007.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger In a declaration rarely seen in the youth-geared advertising industry, Fallon Minneapolis has launched a "youth movement" by promoting three agency executives, none of whom are younger than 30. The promotions follow a...

Minneapolis garners 'ugly' accolade.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Dallas-based HomeVestors of America, Inc., ranks Minneapolis as the eighth-best market in the country for its franchisees to buy houses. The company is known for its memorable "We Buy Ugly Houses"...

Minnetonka SuperTarget store's 'super' experiment.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger At first glance, it appears that an Archer Farms Market has replaced the grocery section at the Minnetonka SuperTarget store. The Archer Farms signage above the grocery side doors of the 156,000-square-foot SuperTarget...

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc.'s answer is blowin' in the wind.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger In a promotional sense, wind-generated electricity is icing on the cake for Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. Literally, too. On Tuesday, a huge cake at the utility's Minneapolis headquarters became a super-sized...

Funding concerns for Minnesota's congestion-relief program.
December 15, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson More than $133 million in federal funds is available to reduce traffic congestion in the metro, but state Legislators are worried that approving $55 million in local matching funds will prove difficult in the next...

Ground breaks on Montessori Training Center in St. Paul.
December 15, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson A group of students and teachers broke ground on a new Montessori Training Center in St. Paul Thursday, an intricately designed space that will house the world's only international Montessori museum. The existing...

Highway 241 project grabs attention of University of Minnesota researchers.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson University of Minnesota researchers are keeping a close eye on the newly expanded Highway 241 in the fast-growing west metro area. Crews expanded the highway from two undivided lanes to four divided lanes with help...

State of Minnesota orders all bridge data saved.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Bracing for lawsuits related to the 35W bridge collapse, state officials have ordered anyone involved with bridges in Minnesota to preserve all documents related to all bridges in the state. Barbara Forsland, the...

No '08 growth in commercial construction, experts predict.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Nonresidential construction across the country will stall in 2008 from tightened credit standards and the ongoing housing slump, experts are predicting. Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General...

Proposed psychiatric hospital in Woodbury draws fire.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Two years ago, a mentally disturbed Eagan man killed his stepmother with a hatchet. The man, who had been under psychiatric care since he was six, was later ruled incompetent to stand trial and was committed to a...

Small-town hospital in Minnesota hopes to hit big holiday season jackpot.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson The Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital knows exactly what it wants to find under its tree this holiday season: a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. But since Santa's elves aren't in the business of making...

Fixing up University of Minnesota's Folwell Hall.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Folwell Hall has anchored the intersection of University Avenue and Pleasant Street Southeast since the Theodore Roosevelt administration. As it nears its centennial celebration, the stately red brick University of...

Minnesota Wild hockey club event nets $180,000 for Children's Hospital.
December 18, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The Minnesota Wild hockey club raised $180,000 for Children's Hospital this month as part of its "Wild About Children" event. The Dec. 3 event, also presented by St. Paul-based R.F. Moeller Jeweler, was held at...

Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. to design office project for the Hartford.
December 18, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The Hartford, one of the nation's largest financial service companies, has chosen Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. to design and build a new regional office in New Hartford, N.Y. The three-story, 130,000-square-foot...

Steve Fritz moves up at St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction.
December 18, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction has promoted Steve Fritz to vice president of field operations of its Midwest region. Fritz has worked for A&P since 2005 as quality control/quality assurance...