Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from October 2004

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from October 2004

Girls Count! set for Wednesday at College of St. Catherine.
October 1, 2004... Byline: staff Girls Count!, an annual event that helps high school girls explore careers in business and technology, will be held at the College of St. Catherine next Wednesday. The free event, which is co-sponsored by Finance and...

Jesse Ventura and president of Minneapolis-based Northwoods team up in new radio ad.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger New York-based Operation Truth - attempting to put its own spin on the war in Iraq and the presidential race - has launched a 60-second ad featuring former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura as voice talent. Minneapolis ad...

Minneapolis-based BIO-key acquires Aether Mobile Government Division.
October 2, 2004... Byline: staff Minneapolis-based BIO-key International Inc., a biometric identification provider, purchased Aether's Mobile Government Division for $10 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Aether Systems owns and manages...

MN Marketing Briefs: October 2, 2004.
October 2, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Spam Singles are being sold in four markets, including the Twin Cities, with a TV ad depicting school children closing in on a teacher who gets caught unwrapping a foil-wrapped Spam portion. Austin-based Hormel Foods...

Pentair completes sale of Tools Group for $775 million.
October 5, 2004... Byline: staff Pentair, a Minnesota-based company with a $2 billion water business and other interests, announced Monday it has completed the sale of its tools group to the Black & Decker Corp. for $775 million. Proceeds from the sale,...

G&K Services buys uniform company in Quebec.
October 5, 2004... Byline: staff Minnetonka-based G&K Services Inc. has acquired a uniform and textile service company that serves Granby and Montreal, Quebec. G&K said the purchase of Nettoyeur Shefford Inc. will add between $5 million and $6 million to...

Construction set to begin on Marshall River Run project.
October 7, 2004... Byline: bob Geiger Demolition is expected to begin within days in preparation for construction of 74 apartments and 11 townhouses in the downsized Marshall River Run development in northeast Minneapolis. Minneapolis developer Sherman...

K. Hovnanian Homes launches first Twin Cities project.
October 7, 2004... Byline: staff K. Hovnanian Homes, a national homebuilder that entered the Twin Cities market in March, has announced its first project - Twin Lakes Estates in Elk River. The community will include 147 single-family homes that range...

Ellerbe Becket offers low-cost planning for health-care projects.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Minneapolis-based design firm Ellerbe Becket is offering a new service that could be described as a Reader's Digest version of the master plan for hospitals. The service, known as "wellAHEAD," is being described...

Minneapolis Real Estate Briefs October 7, 2004.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Minneapolis-based Turnstone Group closed last Thursday on the $58 million purchase of the River West apartment complex at 401 S. First St. in Minneapolis. Turnstone has announced plans to convert the 416-unit...

Minneapolis Construction Briefs October 7, 2004.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson St. Louis Park-based Stahl Construction recently put the finishing touches on a $146 million building program for the Mounds View school district. The program, funded in part by an $85 million bond referendum...

Expert to discuss links between sprawl and health.
October 7, 2004... Byline: staff Reid Ewing, a researcher at the University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, will discuss urban sprawl during an appearance sponsored by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy....

Senior complex is latest piece in Heritage Park redevelopment.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson When Minneapolis last built public housing specifically for seniors, voters throughout the country were being bombarded with election-year promises, a president was running for re-election, and the country was at war....

New managing principal joins Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Jeff LaFavre started his new job on Monday as the new managing principal for the Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. LaFavre will be responsible for local operations, managing the brokerage, appraisal...

BOMA sponsors seminar on International Building Code.
October 7, 2004... Byline: staff The St. Paul and Minneapolis chapters of the Building Owners and Managers Association will sponsor the second part of a two-part seminar on the International Building Code on Wednesday, Oct. 27. The seminar will be held...

JLG Architects adds new partner.
October 7, 2004... Byline: staff Michelle Mongeon-Allen has been named a partner at Grand Forks, N.D., based JLG Architects. Mongeon-Allen, who heads the firm's Minneapolis office, has helped design dozens of projects at JLG, including the King's Walk...

KKE Architects employee promoted to associate.
October 7, 2004... Byline: staff Minneapolis-based KKE Architects Inc. has promoted graphic designer Mike Beery to associate. Beery, who has been with KKE for three years, provides graphic design and marketing services for the firm's three offices and...

Tax credits becoming popular tool in affordable housing projects.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson Housing developers have relied increasingly on tax credits in the last several years to build badly needed - though generally unprofitable - affordable housing projects. But developing those projects is getting a...

Developer Chuck Leer touts a project with 'great bones'.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Developer Chuck Leer has a map of the metropolitan area filled with orange dots. Each dot represents the current home of buyers in Leer's latest project, the $35 million Tower Lofts project at 700 Washington Ave. N. in...

Questions linger on Ivy Tower proposal.
October 7, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Banners went up last week on the long-vacant Ivy Tower in downtown Minneapolis, touting the site's proposed makeover into the Ivy Hotel and Residence. Design-savvy mailings including chocolates were sent out to the...

Saks Fifth Avenue closing downtown Minneapolis store.
October 8, 2004... Byline: Staff Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises, a segment of retailer Saks Inc., announced it will close its 84,000 square foot Saks Fifth Avenue store on Nicollet Mall in January 2005. SFAE also operates a 27,000 square foot Off 5th store in...

Taco John's ad wins Best of Show honors in Advertising Federation of Minn. contest.
October 8, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger A 30-second Taco John's ad featuring Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey riding a border collie rode away with Best of Show on Thursday as an estimated 700 local advertising executives gathered for the annual creative advertising...

Wayzata-based TCF Financial recognized for innovative debit card program.
October 8, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson It's been an eventful third and fourth quarter for TCF Financial, the Twin Cities second-largest hometown banking company. The Wayzata-based bank's most recent headline featured its chairman and CEO Bill Cooper,...

Opus Northwest breaking ground for office building.
October 9, 2004... Byline: staff Minnetonka-based Opus Northwest announced ground-breaking on a 114,000-square-foot, three-story office building for Northrup Grumman Space and Mission Systems in the Daniell Crossing Business Park in Bellevue, Neb. The...

MN Marketing Briefs October 9, 2004.
October 9, 2004... Byline: bob Geiger Minneapolis ad agency Carmichael Lynch landed a $10 million advertising account to help promote the boating lifestyle. The Grow Boating initiative stems from a task force comprising a trio of boating industry trade...

Green Tree purchasing manufactured housing business.
October 9, 2004... Byline: staff St. Paul-based Green Tree announced it will purchase the manufactured housing business of North Fork Bancorporation Inc. The business, known as GreenPoint Credit, includes a portfolio of $8.6 billion in manufactured...

Federal technology grant boosts economic development.
October 9, 2004... Byline: staff The University of Minnesota received a $600,000 grant in partnership with the Labor Market Information Office of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department...

Himle Horner adds three new hires for legislative session.
October 9, 2004... Byline: staff Bloomington public relations and public affairs firm Himle Horner Inc. hired three employees as part of an effort to gird for the budget-setting 2005 Minnesota legislative session when state lawmakers determine a budget for...

Bloomington-based Compendium acquires Intranet U.
October 12, 2004... Byline: staff Compendium Corp., a Bloomington-based human resources company, announced Monday that it has acquired Applied Technology Consultants and its Intranet U brand. Terms were not disclosed. With the acquisition of Applied...

KKE architects plan presentation on internship program.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Two employees from Minneapolis-based KKE Architects will discuss the firm's award-winning internship program during a session at the 70th annual American Institute of Architects, Minnesota convention and exposition next...

Minneapolis Real Estate Briefs October 14, 2004.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard United Properties announced that it has been selected to lease and manage the 725,000-square-foot Campbell Mithun Tower in downtown Minneapolis. The Bloomington-based firm took over responsibilities at the 41-story...

Wetland plan appeals to landowners, watershed district.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson A new wetland conservation plan in the north metro area is getting high marks for balancing two oftentimes-conflicting goals: preserving wetlands while maximizing developable land in the district. The plan,...

Downtown St. Paul office market goes from bad to worse.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Greater St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) formally unveiled its 2004 Market Report on Monday at BOMA's monthly luncheon. The numbers are sobering, but not particularly surprising to anyone who...

Minneapolis Construction Briefs October 14, 2004.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Facilities managers have been on a wild ride in recent years. In the late 1990s, driven by strong profits and a robust economy, managers tried to attract and retain workers with private offices and luxurious...

Costco taking the no-frills approach to marketing new stores.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger No-frills retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. is scheduled to open an Eden Prairie store - its third location in the Twin Cities - on Nov. 18, without one cent of paid advertising that usually accompanies the debut of a new...

Frank's Nursery sites are generating local buzz.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard There will be no spring planting for Frank's Nursery & Crafts. In early September, the Troy, Mich.-based Frank's Nursery & Crafts Inc. filed for liquidation bankruptcy. Frank's, the largest garden store chain in the...

Sears sees opportunity on once dormant Lake St. store.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson Sears, Roebuck and Co. will be returning to one of its profitable old markets at the end of next year when it moves into the Kmart store at Nicollet Avenue and Lake Street, one property in a 58-store acquisition Sears...

Even after reform, TIF a popular funding tool for new development.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard A new report from the Citizens League finds that local cities continue to be enamored with tax increment financing (TIF) as a development subsidy, even as TIF revenues are declining in the wake of property tax reforms....

Caribou Coffee opens new corporate headquarters.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. has moved to a new headquarters and warehouse in Brooklyn Center. The company held a grand opening on Wednesday afternoon in the 130,000-square-foot building at 3900 Lakebreeze Ave. The new...

Chartwell Financial moving offices to Rand Tower.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Chartwell Financial Advisory, a financial consulting firm based in Shoreview, is relocating to downtown Minneapolis. The firm announced that its offices will be headquartered on the 17th floor of the Rand Tower, 527...

Braun Intertec hires geologist, finance director.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Bloomington-based Braun Intertec Corp. has added two employees, hiring Matthew Erickson as a project scientist and Carmen Borgeson as finance director. Erickson will conduct environmental site assessments, including...

Senior associate named at KKE Architects.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Rob Grundstrom has been named senior associate at Minneapolis-based KKE Architects. Grundstrom, who has been with the firm for five years, has an interest in designing community and educational projects, including the...

Apogee Enterprises adds glass industry executive to board.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Mark Burke, 56, has been elected to the nine-member board of directors of Apogee Enterprises Inc. of Bloomington, replacing Robert Edwards, who resigned. Burke is the former president and CEO of Vitro America Inc., a...

Harmon Inc. names training manager.
October 14, 2004... Byline: Staff Marsh Lindell has been promoted to training manager at specialty glazing contractor Harmon Inc. of Minneapolis. Lindell will lead programs designed to help Harmon workers achieve their career and leadership objectives and...

Sun Country Airlines names Minneapolis-based Hunt Adkins as its agency of record.
October 15, 2004... Byline: Staff Mendota Heights-based Sun Country Airlines has named Minneapolis agency Hunt Adkins as its agency of record following a hush-hush review for the vacation and leisure airline's ad account. The review, which included Edina...

Glendale, Calif.-based Public Storage makes property acquisitions in Minnesota.
October 16, 2004... Byline: Staff John Reyes, senior vice president and CFO of Public Storage Inc., announced the company acquired 32 facilities for $121.5 million. The facilities are in Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin and contain 2.06 million square feet of...

Famous Dave's purchases six restaurants in California.
October 16, 2004... Byline: Staff Tacaza II Inc. has purchased the right to franchise six Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que restaurants in Oakland, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "We are very excited about the growing franchisee...

MN Marketing Briefs: October 16, 2004.
October 16, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Two Twin Cities agencies have been selected to handle separate advertising accounts for two lines of frozen foods sold by Schwan Food Co. Inc. of Marshall. Minneapolis ad agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt will manage the...

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi picks Kerker as agency of record.
October 19, 2004... Byline: Staff The Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi law firm selected Kerker as its agency of record. Kerker will develop a communications campaign to raise the profile of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in the firm's key markets. ...

Entrx Corp. appoints Peter Hauser as new chief executive officer.
October 19, 2004... Byline: Staff The board of directors of Minneapolis-based Entrx Corp. announced the appointment of Peter L. Hauser, 63, as president and chief executive officer, and as a member of the board of directors. Hauser's appointments were...

Retail agency Fame makes changes in management.
October 20, 2004... Byline: Staff After operating through a seven-employee management committee, Minneapolis retail agency Fame has promoted two executives to run the agency. Lynne Robertson and Renae DeBates have been promoted to president and chief...

Redevelopment awaits once-sleepy corner in South Minneapolis.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard It's been a long road to redevelopment at the site dubbed Corson's Corner in south Minneapolis. Now, if all goes according to plan, construction could begin next spring on a mixed-use development featuring an estimated...

Will industrial condos have staying power?
October 21, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson Sales of individual office units - or office condos - gave a nice boost to a flat office leasing market over the last several years, adding a new niche of buyers that kept at least some developers and brokers busy....

Saks closing complicates the downtown retail picture.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Earlier this month, Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises announced that it would be closing its downtown Minneapolis store in January. Saks took pains to assuage Minneapolis officials who might take the news personally. The...

Kraus-Anderson names business development executive.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff Jeff Kast is now vice president of business development at the St. Paul division of Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. Kast, who joined the company in 1972, previously served as vice president and project...

Wells Fargo economist featured at next NAIOP meeting.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff Sung Won Sohn, executive vice president and chief economic officer of Wells Fargo Banks, will present an economic overview at the next breakfast meeting of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Industrial and...

American Engineering Testing hires principal engineer.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff David Rettner has been named principal engineer at American Engineering Testing Inc. of St. Paul. Rettner, who worked 19 years at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, will lead the pavement and roadway design section...

CB Richard Ellis adds three industrial specialists.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff Three executives have joined the Industry Specialty Group at the Bloomington office of CB Richard Ellis. Ray Reese was named senior vice president; Bryan Van Hoof, vice president; and Jeffrey Przytarski, associate. Reese,...

Upland Real Estate Group represents seller in Taco Bell sales<P>.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group Inc. has sold three Taco Bell properties, including two in Minnesota. The firm sold a 1,974-square-foot Taco Bell net-leased investment property in St. Cloud for $822,000 and a...

Walsh Bishop Associates selects new president.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Staff David Loehr has been named president of the Walsh Bishop Associates Inc. architectural firm of Minneapolis, replacing David Walsh, who founded the firm in 1984. Walsh, who will remain chief executive officer at Walsh...

Court orders St. Louis Park billboard to be removed.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a billboard in St. Louis Park must come down 22 months earlier than was required under a five-year lease. Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. held a conditional-use permit and...

Minneapolis Construction Briefs October 21, 2004.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Minnesota gets an "F" when it comes to subcontractor-friendly policies, according to a new report from the American Subcontractors Association. But the state isn't alone - 48 other states also flunk, the report says....

Apartment vacancies slowly inching downward.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The latest numbers from Minneapolis-based GVA Marquette Advisors show apartment vacancies dropping in the area, a boon to apartment owners and investors. The just-released statistics for the third quarter put overall...

Researcher blames urban sprawl for health problems.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson It's a common lament that urban sprawl is bad for the environment. But what does it do to your waistline? Dr. Reid Ewing, a research professor with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of...

Kowalski's Markets scraps Minnetonka store after just seven months.
October 21, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Kowalski's Markets closed its store in the Glen Lake area of Minnetonka on Oct. 4 after operating the outlet for just seven months. The move leaves the 50,000-square-foot Glen Haven Center, 14400 Excelsior Blvd.,...

WindsorTech opening 40,000-square-foot Eagan facility.
October 22, 2004... Byline: Staff Hightstown, N.J.-based WindsorTech Inc. opened a 40,000-square-foot facility in Eagan and closed two smaller facilities. The Eagan facility supports the company's expansion of its data security and compliance division,...

The Suddath Cos. acquires Barrett Moving & Storage.
October 22, 2004... Byline: Staff The Suddath Cos. acquired Minneapolis-based Barrett Moving & Storage Co. The merger will increase Suddath revenue to $250 million, the company said. "Barrett is well established in the Midwest and Suddath in the...

CPDC changing suburban design one project at a time.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson Business is on a roll for Contractor Property Developers Co., a Brooklyn Park-based master developer that is committed to reforming suburban design. Whether you call them traditional neighborhood developments, new...

Retail often lags in mixed-use projects.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Mixed-use development is all the rage. Residential projects with retail components have become commonplace. But one virtue may come in handy for developers who were hoping that the retail space would move as fast as...

Twin Cities production facilities hurt by slumping industry.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger A slump in the advertising production industry in the Twin Cities has made it difficult to sell or find uses for once-busy sound stages where TV commercials were made. The latest facility in danger of becoming a...

National Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties meeting will examine local office market.
October 28, 2004... Byline: staff The next breakfast meeting of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) will feature an overview of the Twin Cities office market. The event, moderated by Steve Chirhart...

Architectural Alliance designer gets LEED accreditation.
October 28, 2004... Byline: staff Mamie Harvey, a project designer with Minneapolis-based Architectural Alliance, received professional accreditation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED...

Housing group starts two northeast Minneapolis projects.
October 28, 2004... Byline: staff The Central Community Housing Trust broke ground last week on two projects that are expected to be completed by next August. The $6.7 million Clare Apartments, developed by Clare Housing, will provide 32 units of housing...

St. Paul BOMA seeks contributions for fund-raising event.
October 28, 2004... Byline: staff The St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) is asking people to donate items for its 10th annual silent auction on Monday, Dec. 13, at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. Proceeds from the event will...

Lora Grgich named associate at KKE Architects.
October 28, 2004... Byline: staff Senior project architect Lora Grgich has been promoted to associate at Minneapolis-based KKE Architects Inc. Grgich works within the firm's commercial development group, specializing in urban design and multifamily...

Trying to debunk myths about green technology.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Is green building technology all that it's cracked up to be when it comes to operating performance and efficiency? Researchers from the U.S. Energy Department at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in...

Funeral home rents out new facility for various events.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson The Bradshaw Group has been in the funeral business for more than 25 years, but the Minnesota-based company prefers not to call its newest facility a funeral home. Indeed, the new Bradshaw "Celebration of Life...

Wells Fargo economist's crystal ball looking a bit hazy on real estate.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Dr. Sung Won Sohn, executive vice president and chief economic officer at Wells Fargo & Co., addressed the Minnesota chapter of NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties) on Tuesday morning. ...

J.E. Dunn acquired by Witcher Construction.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson National building contractor J.E. Dunn acquired Eden Prairie-based Witcher Construction in 1991, but the local company continued to operate under its old name until this month when Witcher officially became J.E. Dunn...

Urban Land Development sees potential in U of MN area.
October 28, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Construction is under way on a new student housing complex near the University of Minnesota campus. Minneapolis-based Urban Land Development is developing the site of a former Pizza Hut restaurant, at 1301...

Colle + McVoy president and chief creative officer also CEO.
October 30, 2004... Byline: general staff Bloomington ad agency Colle + McVoy added chief executive officer to the title of John Jarvis, who continues as the firm's president and chief creative officer. Adding CEO to Jarvis' title is the second job change...

Minneapolis Marketing Briefs: October 30, 2004.
October 30, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Ad spending on the presidential race in Minnesota exceeded $7 million in the four-week period ending Oct. 23, surpassing the Minnesota State Lottery's entire annual budget. According to CNN.com, the total includes...