Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from January 2009

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from January 2009

Minnesota Real Estate: Iron Range town + Big Box retailer = perfect match?
January 2, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The north Minnesota town of Mountain Iron, population 3,000, bills itself as the Taconite Capital of the World. The local tourist spots listed on the city's web site includes the statue of Leonidas Merritt, who is...

Commercial real estate bleak in '08, but a lucky few continue to expand.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Few people in the commercial real estate business will have fond memories of 2008. Overall, the industry is in the midst of the worst slump it's seen since the bleak days of the early 1990s. Development has slowed...

New laws for Minnesotans take effect Thursday.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist A horrifying accident in which a 5-year-old Minnesota girl was disemboweled while sitting on a wading pool drain has led to a new state law requiring greater scrutiny of public pools. The law, which legislators...

Health care providers anticipate challenges as scrutiny increases.
January 3, 2009... Byline: Dan Emerson The growing push for universal health coverage, provider cost-cutting and increased regulatory scrutiny has health care providers and insurers -- and their attorneys -- anticipating challenges on a number of fronts...

Commentary: 2008: The year in finance.
January 3, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson It was the story of 2008. The collapse of financial markets had all the stuff of a great novel: hubris, tragedy, incompetence, even some moments that were laughable - for those who can laugh through gritted teeth....

Commentary: An attractive option for simple, savvy retirement savings.
January 3, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson They're called target-date funds, and for Americans seeking an easy, low-maintenance way of saving for retirement, they're the closest thing around to a panacea. But in 2008, it became clear that the target date,...

Minnesota Legislative session 2009: The big hole.
January 3, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw State legislators return to St. Paul on Tuesday to convene the 2009 legislative session. But with a record $4.8 billion general fund deficit projected for the 2010-2011 biennium, lawmakers have already been busy in...

The 2009 Minnesota Legislature: A look beyond the deficit.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist News flash: The 2009 Minnesota Legislature will be discussing matters besides the budget deficit. Shocking, yes, but true: In the session beginning today, legislators will be asked to consider everything from...

Tech security: Most big companies in Minnesota unprepared for IT risks, survey finds.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar Last July, a disgruntled San Francisco municipal employee afraid of being fired hijacked the city's entire computer network, creating a password that granted him exclusive access and effectively locking out...

Fridley-based Medtronic's 'InFuse' faces more scrutiny.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar Fridley-based Medtronic's marketing of its InFuse product, the subject of a class-action lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation, may trigger a separate court action. A Texas attorney, whose lawsuit was...

District Court of Minnesota dismisses consolidated suit against Medtronic.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar A Minnesota district court judge has dismissed a consolidated lawsuit brought by individuals and insurance companies against Medtronic Inc. involving a now-recalled product, the Fridley company announced Tuesday....

Builders in Twin Cities hoping for low interest rates, tax credits, foreclosure prevention.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson A lethargic December brought an end to a forgettable year for Twin Cities homebuilders. In December, cities in the 13-county metro area issued 158 permits for 223 new housing units, down from 275 permits for 577...

Minn. Gov. Pawlenty seeks advice on public sector management at 'reform summit'.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist Seeking solutions for Minnesota's gargantuan budget crisis, Gov. Tim Pawlenty this week hosted a government reform summit in St. Paul, asking 35 hand-picked experts what can be done to fix the problem. The state...

Does Minnesota legislation ban Great River Energy from importing coal power?
January 7, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger The Minnesota Legislature's passage of clean energy legislation in 2007 could create difficulties for Maple Grove-based Great River Energy, which fires up its third North Dakota coal-fired power plant in 2010. At...

Winter construction: Chilled to the bone but Minn. crews still working.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson When Big Sky Country turned to Deep Freeze County last month, Andy Becker was there to see it. Becker, a project superintendent for Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction, is overseeing the construction of...

Minnesota employee gets LEED accreditation.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff WSB & Associates, an engineering firm with offices Minneapolis and St. Cloud, announced that employee Steve Gurney has become a LEED-certified professional. The LEED principles relating to site design...

Angie's List honors Twin Cities contractor.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Home Street Home Improvers, an exterior remodeling contractor with offices in Minneapolis and St. Louis Park, is among the winners of the 2008 Angie's List Super Service Award. Angie's List -- which...

Minnesota Concrete Council showcases 'self-cleaning' concrete.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff An upcoming meeting of the Minnesota Concrete Council will showcase an innovative cement technology. The meeting, set for Jan. 15, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Midland Hills Country Club, 2001 Fulham...

Two Minneapolis-based Greiner employees get LEED credentials.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce staff Grenier Construction project managers Tom Hochstaetter and Barry Stoffel have received accreditation as LEED professionals. The Minneapolis-based company says all of its project managers are in the...

Minneapolis discount realty Webdigs goes public, eyes national expansion.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Rob Buntz admits that by some measures, he could have picked a better time to launch a new residential real estate firm. But Buntz, chairman and CEO of the fledgling, Minneapolis-based Webdigs Inc., argues that a...

Minnesota 2020 blasts Pawlenty-era fee hikes.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw Looking to influence the budget debate during the 2009 legislative session, a liberal-leaning public policy group in St. Paul says Minnesota's revenue system has seen a steep increase in fees under GOP Gov. Tim...

Bartholomay guides housing agency through Minnesota's financial turmoil.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Dan Bartholomay landed in state government at a tumultuous time. He reported for duty on Nov. 10 as the state's new commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) amid a bleak national economic outlook...

Troika of executives replacing Carmichael Lynch's Colasanti in Minneapolis.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger After 15 years at Minneapolis ad agency Carmichael Lynch, John Colasanti, chief executive officer, has announced he will leave the 47-year-old firm April 1. In the wake of Colasanti's decision, which caught industry...

Macy's to close in Brookdale, 10 other locations across U.S.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Department store chain Macy's Inc. has announced plans to close 11 locations across the country, including the store at the Brookdale shopping center in Brooklyn Center. The store opened as Dayton's in 1966. ...

Carl Pohlad - 1915-2009, owner of Minnesota Twins was a banker first and foremost.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson Carl Pohlad has been celebrated frequently during the past several days as the frugal but steadfast owner of the beloved Minnesota Twins, and as one of the state's most prominent dealmakers and entrepreneurs. But...

Danger: Construction layoffs ahead.
January 10, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Another dire year for the construction industry is on the horizon if federal lawmakers don't act on an economic stimulus package that would put more shovels in the ground, according to a new forecast from the...

Minneapolis Rotary Club hears oil-energy pitch from pro-drilling, ex-Texas U.S. Rep. Stenholm.
January 10, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger When he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, Charlie Stenholm had a big D in his title. Don't mistake him for a liberal on energy policy, though. A native of blood-red Texas, Stenholm is part of that...

AGC: Infrastructure spending would provide huge job boost.
January 10, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson New spending on public works projects is just what the struggling economy needs, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors of America. The report, based on AGC's research and federal economic...

Experts agree on bleak outlook for Minnesota economy.
January 10, 2009... Byline: April Capochino Traumatic as it is, the current economic downturn is a necessary evil, says Art Rolnick, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. If you look at economies that have had no business...

Minnesota tech companies appear at CES, Macworld.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar Muslims have their Hajj - an annual trip to the holy city of Mecca. The movie industry gathers in Hollywood each year for the annual Oscars event. And tech companies have their own pilgrimage to make - the annual...

Report: Amid economic uncertainty, many tenants in Twin Cities seeking short-term renewal deals.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Anecdotally, everyone knows that the commercial real estate market is in tough shape. The new fourth-quarter and year-end market report from Colliers Turley Martin Tucker offers some fresh numbers to quantify the...

Fridley-based Medtronic Inc. acquires California company for $225M.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar Fridley-based Medtronic Inc. announced Monday it is acquiring a California company that is developing products to treat atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeat in the upper chambers of the heart. Medtronic...

New LEED for old project in St. Louis Park.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson The Excelsior and Grand redevelopment in St. Louis Park has long been completed, but it's still getting attention in green building circles. The project, along with the Library Green mixed-use development in...

Keeping tabs on Minnesota towns.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist Minnesota's 1,788 towns remained in decent financial shape in 2007, according to a new analysis by the state auditor's office. That's despite the fact that revenues, in constant dollars, are down when compared...

What's a township in Minnesota?
January 14, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist About 18 percent of Minnesota's population lives in towns or townships -- civic districts with populations that are generally smaller than those of cities, but with their own elected officials. Twenty states,...

Local smokers' lawyers fired up for 'light' cigarette fraud claims.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Michelle Lore Michael Dahl has smoked two packs of Camel Lights every day for more than 20 years. David Scott Huber has smoked nearly a pack of Camel Lights, Winston Select or Winston Lights every day for the past 10 years. The two...

'Light' cigarette claims are heating up.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Michelle Lore Last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Altria Group Inc. v. Good, allowing plaintiffs to proceed with their claims over the marketing of light cigarettes, has revived lawsuits all over the country -- and may...

Minnesota's Deficit: Lawmakers urged to reorder fiscal-management policies.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw With the state facing a gargantuan (and growing) $4.8 billion deficit for 2010-2011, the chairwoman of the House Taxes Committee thinks the current crisis is an ideal moment to reorder the state's fiscal-management...

Minnesota Realtors: Residential activity up, but prices still down.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The pace of residential real estate sales is beginning to pick up again - but prices keep going down. Four local Realtor associations jointly reported Wednesday that pending sales for 2008 were up 1.2 percent over...

Minnetonka office property trades for $9.6 million.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based NorthMarq Investment Services announced that it represented ADAJE Development in the sale of 12301 Whitewater Drive in Minnetonka for $9.6 million. The 69,799-square-foot building is...

Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis promotes Wasserman, Przytarski.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis announced the promotions of Brian Wasserman to first vice president and Jeff Przytarski to senior associate. Wasserman focuses primarily on office leasing...

Edina-based Coldwell Banker Burnet debuts cell phone service.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Edina-based Coldwell Banker Burnet announced the launch of three new phases of a mobile information service that allows home buyers to access information via their cell phones. Using CellSigns' Mobile...

Wayzata-based TCF extends leases in downtown Minneapolis.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Wayzata-based TCF Financial Corp. has inked a deal with Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US that ensures a significant presence for the bank in downtown Minneapolis through the end of 2015. The...

St. Cloud apartments sell for $11.6 million.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Marcus & Millichap Investment Real Estate Services announced that it brokered the sale of Park Place Estates, a 175-unit apartment complex in St. Cloud, for $11.6 million. The sale works out to more than...

Minnesota Pension Funds: Plans have lost about 30 percent of value during 2008.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Pension fund managers for a large group of Minnesota's public employees delivered middle-of-the-pack performance for their clients in 2007, posting slight gains as they headed into last year's market...

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis tracks the recession online.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has developed a webpage that compares the current recession with the 10 recessions the United States has gone through since World War II. Fed staff will...

Minneapolis-based RedBrick Health expands Northeast pilot.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based RedBrick Health has expanded its consumer-owned health pilot program with Hannaford Bros., a supermarket operator headquartered in Scarborough, Maine. The pilot offers a suite of...

Academic health leader to join UnitedHealth board.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer staff Dr. Kenneth I. Shine will join the UnitedHealth Group's board of directors at its first quarter meeting this year. Shine is executive vice chancellor for Health Affairs for the University of Texas System,...

Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial adds clients, execs.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced new assignments and new appointments during the past week. OppenheimerFunds, Inc. chose Wolters Kluwers' GainsKeeper tax lot accounting...

Minneapolis YWCA names chief advancement officer.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Mary S. Jones has accepted a newly created position at the YWCA of Minneapolis as its chief advancement officer. Jones will lead the YWCA's development, marketing, communications and public policy...

Minnetonka-based Opus cuts 200 jobs, 65 in Minnetonka.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Minnetonka-based Opus Group real estate development firm is cutting approximately 200 jobs at its operations across the country. About one-third of those cuts are in the Twin Cities: Opus Group spokeswoman...

Woodstock-based Juhl Wind enlists Gen. Wesley Clark as board chair.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger Juhl Wind Inc.'s next board of directors meeting might start with a salute, after the Woodstock-based community wind farm developer named retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark as its board chairman. The appointment of...

New Edina firm offers advice: Stock options boost income - for those who know the rules.(Company overview)
January 16, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson For Dan Langworthy, the rationale for his new venture - Executive Capital, LLC - can be summed up in the story of one very successful, very unlucky entrepreneur. This was a gentleman who founded a small spinoff...

Wind, solar energy trade groups in Minnesota seek new tax-credit policies.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger President-elect Barack Obama's administration is being urged to support a new tax-incentive policy for the wind- and solar-energy industries - a policy that supporters believe would jump-start renewable-energy plant...

St. Paul, Baltimore launch new initiative in foreclosure crisis.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Mark A. Cohen St. Paul and Baltimore have announced a partnership - and the first of what may be many such partnerships nationwide - to address the ongoing foreclosure crisis. In announcing the program earlier this week, St....

Minnesota hails success of $400 million bond sale.
January 17, 2009... Byline: Mark Anderson Minnesota's bond sale earlier this week left a smile on the face of the state's finance pros, who moved $400 million in bonds at a much better price than anticipated when an earlier sale was canceled in October. ...

Experts: Debt limit just one factor behind Minnesota's AAA credit ranking.
January 17, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson To exceed or not to exceed? That's the question state lawmakers are grappling with this year, as they try to balance economic stimulus with good debt-management practices. At issue is whether the state should...

Geek Squad to underwrite 'Make:' TV series created by Twin Cities Public Television.
January 17, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger As mass media ad budgets continue to shrivel, Best Buy Co.'s Geek Squad support unit is hoping to reach tech-savvy viewers by underwriting Make: the third-millennium do-it-yourself TV series created by Twin Cities Public...

Fallon Minneapolis lands Middle Eastern bank client.
January 17, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger Ad agency Fallon Minneapolis has parted with its New York Stock Exchange client, and acquired another financial-services client, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. Abu Dhabi is the second largest city to Dubai in the...

Minnesota becoming more diverse.
January 17, 2009... Byline: Betsy Sundquist Minnesota's non-white populations are growing rapidly, but the North Star State remains considerably less diverse than the national average. According to the Minnesota State Demographic Center, the state's...

Minneapolis-based advertising agency Wolfmotell checking in to vintage Pence Building.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based advertising agency Wolfmotell has inked a deal to lease 18,000 square feet at the vintage Pence Building, 800 Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. The move signals an expansion for the...

Economic agency in spotlight as Minnesota lags nation in job growth.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Charley Shaw Dan McElroy's forebears left their mark on Minnesota - literally. His grandfather, Frank D. McElroy, was the sixth president of Mankato Normal School, which is now called Minnesota State University-Mankato, and...

Eden Prairie-based ADC Telecommunications announces executive changes.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar Eden Prairie-based ADC Telecommunications announced that Richard Parran Jr. and Christopher Jurasek have been moved to new executive roles. Parran was named president of the Network Solutions Business Unit and...

Raising private capital increasingly tough, but some Minnesota firms defy the odds.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar The flow of money from venture capitalists to entrepreneurs has slowed way down in recent years - and 2009, observers say, is likely to be an outright drought. But a few Minnesota companies demonstrate that the...

University of Minnesota: Construction heats up on underground steam tunnel.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Visitors to the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus can see a fair amount of construction these days, from the new football stadium to biomedical buildings. But one of the most noteworthy projects taking...

St. Paul Pioneer Press to distribute Minneapolis Star-Tribune in east Metro.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger In a continued effort to save costs, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press have reached agreement on a deal that will see Pioneer Press carriers delivering both newspapers to readers in western...

Minn. Occupational Safety and Health Administration honors High Bridge tower demolition project.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration is honoring Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., a Chicago-based demolition firm, for its work on tearing down Xcel Energy's old High Bridge...

Associated General Contractors of Minnesota names officers, directors at annual meeting.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Associated General Contractors of Minnesota named its 2009 officers and directors at its Jan. 15 annual meeting. The officers are: chair Kenneth Styrlund of JE Dunn Construction North Central;...

Minneapolis skyway for sale on Craigslist.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Brian Johnson Here's a classified ad headline you don't see every day: Skyway for sale. City Desk Studio, a Minneapolis-based architectural firm, is offering a 1,380-square-foot skyway for sale on Craigslist. When it comes to...

Makeover complete, St. Paul-based Digital Angel seeks heightened visibility.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Arundhati Parmar With a makeover newly completed, Digital Angel is eager to promote its new image to institutional investors and the public at large. The South St. Paul company, which makes implantable radio frequency...

Industrial Real Estate Market: 2009 absorption was lowest in Twin Cities area since 2003.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Burl Gilyard The adjectives tell the uninspiring story of the Twin Cities industrial real estate market. The latest Compass market report from Bloomington-based NorthMarq doesn't mince words: The southeast market is frozen and...

Minnesota cuts: Health, human services lose $7.7 million.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Bob Geiger The Minnesota departments of health (MDH) and human services (DHS) expect to lose $7.7 million in administrative and operational costs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. But neither department will have to lay...

Richfield-based Best Buy taps president and COO Dunn as new CEO.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ashley M. Heher Richfield-based Best Buy Co. Inc. laid out a succession plan Wednesday, saying Brian J. Dunn, its president and chief operating officer, will take over this summer as chief executive of the nation's largest consumer...

Edina-based MNCAR, MNCAR Exchange name 2009 directors.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Edina-based Minnesota Commercial Association of Realtors (MNCAR) announced the appointment of its 2009 board of directors. MNCAR is a nonprofit member organization for commercial real estate...

Minnetonka-based Welsh Capital arranges loans for Nordic Ware affiliate.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minnetonka-based Welsh Capital announced that it had arranged two loans for Dalquist Properties, an affiliate of St. Louis Park-based Nordic Ware, the kitchenware manufacturer known for inventing the Bundt...

Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group, Inc. sells Arby's location in Red Wing.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group, Inc., announced that it closed two sales at the end of 2008. Upland brokered the sale of a triple net lease Arby's property in Red Wing for $1.57 million at a...

Bloomington-based Doran Companies promotes Braun to VP.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Doran Companies promoted Ken Braun to vice president of Doran Construction. Braun started his construction management in 1978 with the Boisclair Corporation and later worked for...

St. Paul-based Preservation Alliance of Minnesota launches 'Field Notes' blog.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The St. Paul-based Preservation Alliance of Minnesota has launched a new blog to cover historic preservation issues across the state. Erin Hanafin Berg, field representative for the nonprofit Preservation...

Bloomington office of Marcus & Millichap sells Mankato Perkins for $1.8M.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The local office of Marcus & Millichap announced that it has brokered the sale of a Perkins restaurant in Mankato for $1.785 million. The deal worked out to a sale price of $411 per square foot. Alan...

Mihalick will succeed Wentz at Minot, North Dakota-based IRET this fall.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce staff Timothy P. Mihalick will become the next president and CEO of Minot, North Dakota-based Investors Real Estate Trust later this year, according to a succession plan the company announced this week. ...

Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. launches credit union partnership.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. reached an agreement this week with the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union to provide the union's online checking customers with free FICO scores. The new...

Minnesota Bank & Trust promotes Rohde to vice president.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minnesota Bank & Trust has promoted Amanda Rohde to the post of vice president in its Business Banking Division. Rohde has six years of experience in the banking industry, and she was an assistant...

Wayzata-based TCF adds Avis, Domino's to CashRewards.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff TCF Financial Corp. announced this week that it had added Avis and Domino's Pizza to the TCF CashRewards program, a benefit available to TCF Bank check card holders. The TCF CashRewards program...

Plymouth-based Wealth Enhancement Group counsels on farm estates.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Plymouth-based Wealth Enhancement Group will collaborate with the University of Minnesota Extension Service over the next six weeks on a series of planning programs called Farm Transition & Estate...