Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from June 2003

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from June 2003

Vivius Inc. scores $5 million in venture-capital deal.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Vivius Inc. was set to close on a new financing round on Monday, raising slightly more than $5 million to fuel the St. Louis Park-based health-care benefits provider's expansion into new markets over the next 18 months....

2nd Swing Inc. tees up again for IPO.
June 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Price 2nd Swing Inc. wants a second chance at the public markets. After taking a mulligan with its first shot at an initial public offering, the Minnetonka-based retail chain dusted off its prospectus this week and is...

Conceal carry law raises questions for construction industry.
June 4, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson To post or not to post? That's what many business owners are asking themselves in response to Minnesota's new conceal and carry gun law. But what effect will the law have on the construction industry and property...

Banks get creative in drive to expand.
June 5, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson When U.S. Bank and Bremer Bank celebrated new Twin Cities offices this week, they gave notice that they don't intend to neglect their home market, despite the wave of small-bank startups that have won so much...

Twin Cities quietly becoming a haven for hedge fund managers.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Minneapolis-based Dougherty & Co. launched a new hedge fund last month, joining an ever-widening group of asset managers from the region organizing investment pools exclusively targeted to institutional investors and...

Wollan joins Winland Electronics in business development.
June 6, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff David J. Wollan has joined Winland Electronics as business development manager. Prior to joining Winland, Wollan worked for 20 years as an account manager with Arrow Electronics, a global distributor of electronic...

New loan team adds 'firepower' to Peoples Bank.
June 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson Three is usually regarded as a number with some special qualities. Peoples Bank of Commerce's latest move indicates that it believes sales success may be one of them. The Cambridge-based retail and small-business...

State banking group names new CEO.
June 7, 2003... Byline: Dave Price The Minnesota Bankers Association has promoted from within, naming Joe Witt as the trade group's new CEO on Friday. Witt joined the association staff seven years ago and has been its general counsel since 1999. He...

HUD's Homeownership Express celebrating in St. Paul.
June 10, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Homeownership Express will stop in St. Paul to celebrate National Homeownership Month. Fannie Mae, the City of St. Paul, Dayton's Bluff Neighborhood Services,...

Otter Tail adds to health-care unit with Long Lake deal.
June 10, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Otter Tail Corp. continues to expand its health-care operations, closing a deal late last week to acquire a Long Lake, Minn.-based reseller of cardiac monitors and other diagnostic devices. DMS Health Group -- a...

Construction industry gives mixed reviews to session.
June 10, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson As the 2003 Minnesota Legislature struggled to erase a $4.2 billion budget deficit without raising taxes, lawmakers also dealt with home warranties, transportation funding, project labor agreements and other big...

Orphan Medical sells drug treatment for $29.5 million.
June 11, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Minnetonka-based Orphan Medical Inc. has sold Busulfex -- a drug that is used to treat patients before cell transplants -- for $29.5 million in cash to ESP Pharma Inc. of Flanders, N.J. Orphan Medical said it will use...

Commentary: Minnesota offers lessons in business cycles and growth.
June 11, 2003... Byline: Terry Fitzgerald Business cycles have long captured the interest of economists. But over the last 15 years, many economists have turned their attention away from short-term cycles and focused instead on long-term growth trends....

Blaine contractor takes remodeling world by storm.
June 12, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson For Jeff Hausmann and Frank Mannella, opportunity came knocking when a series of merciless hailstorms swept through the Twin Cities in 1998. After the storms, Mannella and Hausmann did some knocking of their own. ...

Construction Bulletin employee joins AGC-Minnesota.
June 13, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff The Associated General Contractors of Minnesota has hired a long-time employee of Construction Bulletin magazine to be its director of member services. Jane Sanem, who started with AGC-Minnesota in May, will be...

Community banks ponder effects of another rate cut.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson There's good news and uneasy news about community bank balance sheets, which were released by regulators this month. The first quarter reports compiled for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the banking...

Wells Fargo shelves entertainment unit.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Jim Martyka For years, the entertainment industry in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country has cried out for a bank that understands the business. Besides dealing with large amounts of money, movie studios, television...

Single family construction outpaces multifamily in May.
June 14, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Single family construction appears to be making a comeback in the Twin Cities, according to building permit information released Friday by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. For the first time this year, new...

Dunn Bros Coffee pursuing aggressive growth strategy.
June 14, 2003... Byline: Neil Orman Dunn Bros Coffee is expanding beyond the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Twin Cities franchiser plans to open its first store outside Minnesota this August in Madison, Wis., and has begun canvassing for franchisees to open...

Defunct Minnetonka-based software firm re-invents itself, joins casino business in CA.
June 17, 2003... Byline: Dave Price It's perhaps no small irony that a company with Lightning Rod in its name finds itself in a simmering controversy over plans to build a new casino in northern California. Minnetonka-based Lightning Rod Software went...

Maple Grove-based NeuroVasX strikes deal to fund stroke treatment.
June 17, 2003... Byline: Dave Price A decision by NeuroVasX two years ago to stray from its original path just got a $2 million vote of confidence from investors. NeuroVasX -- a small medical-technology company in Maple Grove that is working on a...

Survey by National Association of Home Builders shows builders' confidence up in June.
June 17, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Builder confidence in new home construction was up sharply in June, according to a survey released Monday by the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB's Housing Market Index, a monthly survey in which...

Minneapolis group sets the standard in mold fight.
June 18, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Responding to growing concerns nationally about household mold, a new Minneapolis-based nonprofit group is fighting back with the industry's first inspection standard. The Indoor Environmental Standards...

Associated General Contractor of MN names new director.
June 19, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff The Associated General Contractors of Minnesota has chosen Tim Worke to direct its transportation/heavy/highway department. Worke, a longtime employee of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, will join...

Allianz Life Insurance acquires Pennsylvania company.
June 19, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Golden Valley-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. has acquired Delaware Valley Financial Services, a third-party administration services firm headquartered in Berwyn, Pa. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Mark...

Bush visit puts Micro Control founder in spotlight.
June 19, 2003... Byline: Dave Price George Bush wasn't Harold Hamilton's first pick for president in 2000 - but then, starting and managing a business may not have been his original career choice either. Hamilton - who launched Fridley-based Micro...

Independent Community Bankers of MN faces changing landscape.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson William Haddeland's new bosses at the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota are looking to him to keep his mostly small-town constituents geared up for revolutions -- in both technology and their increasingly...

Hennepin County's triple-A bond rating affirmed.
June 20, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Hennepin County has held its financial position steady with the highest rating possible from Moody's Investor Services, Standard & Poor's and Fitch. The three rating agencies reaffirmed Hennepin County's bond rating...

Nat'l Assn. of Minority Contractors conference scheduled for June 25-28.
June 21, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Dave Odden, president of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), and Thor Construction owner Richard Copeland have been selected to represent Minneapolis at the 34th national NAMC...

Dexma Inc. adds director of account management.
June 24, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Chris Kehew joins Dexma Inc. as director of account management. In this newly created position Kehew will help Dexma develop a better understanding of business needs and growth potential in Dexma's client base. ...

Anoka company hopes to be the top dog in the mold inspection business.
June 24, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Tony McFarland's star employee used to be locked up in the state of Florida. The employee's business card states that he plays tug of war, steals pizza, and enjoys hide-and-seek. And he's not too fond of squirrels....

Met Council sets application deadline for committee.
June 24, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff The Metropolitan Council has set a July 18 application deadline for membership on two advisory committees -- one that deals with land use, comprehensive planning and regional housing, and another that focuses on...

Insurance claims stay flat in state, but contractors see incresed number of suits.
June 24, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson For much of the last few years, mold appeared ready to drag insurers and much of the home building industry into pools of red ink, as giant jury awards on mold claims drained profits and made their way into headlines...

RMS McGladrey wins three national marketing awards.
June 25, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff RMS McGladrey took home three first place awards at the Association of Accounting Marketing's national conference. The firm received top honors for new logo design, Web Site design and corporate identity. The three...

Break with tradition proves therapeutic for Rochester thrift.
June 25, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson HMN Financial, parent company of Rochester, Minn.-based Home Federal Bank, is winding up a 4-year makeover this summer that's polished up key parts of its balance sheet and caught the attention of one of the nation's...

City extends proposal deadline for Nicollet Hotel block, still hopes to meet construction schedule.
June 25, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Minneapolis officials still hope to break ground by next summer on a redevelopment project for the Nicollet Hotel block, despite the city's decision to extend the deadline for submitting development proposals by one...

Plymouth company targets building industry with infrared product.
June 26, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Infrared technology that has long been used by the military is finding a promising new market in the construction industry, thanks in part to a local company. Plymouth-based Infrared Solutions, which designs...

Dolan Media Company to sell public records business to LexisNexis.
June 26, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Dolan Media Company said today it agreed to sell its nationwide public records business to LexisNexis, a unit of Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: ENL and RUK). The transaction is subject to approval by Dolan Media...

Ecolab sells minority equity investment in Comac S.p.A.
June 27, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff Ecolab Inc. announced it has sold its minority equity investment in Comac S.p.A., a floor care machine manufacturing company based in Verona, Italy, to an investment group for cash proceeds of approximately $18 million....

Fannie Mae economist still bullish on the housing market.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson New and existing home sales should continue to be strong both locally and nationally for the foreseeable future, according to the chief economist for Fannie Mae. David W. Berson, who manages the economics...

Business investment holds key to recovery.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson Business investment will be the key to a durable economic recovery, but when that investment will return is still a little hazy as the final half of 2003 begins, based on the testimony of two top local economists. ...

HickoryTech Corp. to raise 2003 earnings estimate.
June 28, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff HickoryTech Corp., a Mankato-based communications firm, announced plans Friday to raise its 2003 earnings estimate to between 66 cents and 70 cents per share. Previously, management projected full-year earnings in the...

BMC Industries to close Germany, Hungary facilities.
June 28, 2003... Byline: F&C Staff BMC Industries will immediately close facilities in Germany and Hungary that make and service aperture masks in Europe, and it will consolidate those activities in the company's existing plants in Cortland, N.Y. ...