Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from September 2003

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from September 2003

Minneapolis architectural firm tackles a tall order.
September 3, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A Minneapolis architectural firm is reaching for the sky with its latest project in South Korea. Parker Durrant International, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based The Leonard Parker Associates, recently completed the...

St. Paul teenagers start skateboard shop.
September 3, 2003... Byline: Neil Orman Hanging out at skateboard parks isn't all fun and games for four St. Paul teenagers. For the youthful cofounders of a new skateboard shop called Expression, it's also a golden marketing opportunity."I stick a bunch of...

U.S. Bank to open 163 branch locations with Safeway.
September 3, 2003... Byline: Staff U.S. Bancorp's national bank subsidiary, U.S. Bank, has agreed to expand its relationship with the supermarket retailer Safeway Inc. and its division, Vons, by opening 163 full-service in-store banking locations during the...

Minneapolis Grain Exchange sets record in options volume.
September 4, 2003... Byline: staff The Minneapolis Grain Exchange said that records were established in total options trading volume and hard red spring wheat options volume for its fiscal year that ended Aug. 31.MGEX options volume totaled 58,620 contracts...

Builders Assn. of the Twin Cities executive receives lifetime achievement award.
September 4, 2003... Byline: staff Robert L. Hanson, executive vice president of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, recently received the Seldon Hale Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Home Builders. The award, one of the...

NVE Corp. shares up on promise of its MRAM technology.
September 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Price If investors are suddenly clamoring for a piece of NVE Corp., can investment bankers be far behind?Shares of the computer-memory company in Eden Prairie have been on a tear this summer, nearly tripling in price over the...

Area bankers prepare for new terrorism standards.
September 5, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson The USA Patriot Act's campaign to keep terrorists out of the banking system reaches its next regulatory stage at the end of the month, and Twin Cities bankers say they're ready. That readiness is due in part to the...

Students battle mortgage bankers and city planners in popular computer game.
September 5, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Computer game enthusiasts have zapped aliens from outer space, gone toe to toe with heavyweight prizefighters, and crossed swords with swashbucklers. Now, a CD ROM game from the National Association of Home Builders...

Rally planned for West River Commons neighbors.
September 5, 2003... Byline: staff Plans to rebuild the West River Commons mixed-use development will be discussed during a Sept. 9 rally at the project site near East Lake Street and West River Parkway. The free event, scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., is...

Xcel Energy says NRG settlement remains on schedule.
September 5, 2003... Byline: staff Xcel Energy on Thursday said it could still walk away from a tentative deal to unload its bankrupt NRG Energy subsidiary unless a restructuring plan is approved by creditors and a bankruptcy judge by the end of the year.The...

Allete unhooks more of water-and-sewer network.
September 5, 2003... Byline: staff Duluth-based Allete Inc. has unloaded another piece of its water-and-sewer network in Florida, selling its operations in Hillborough County, Fla., to the local county government for about $15 million.With the sale, Allete now...

Investor group pumps new life into Hypertension Diagnostics.
September 6, 2003... Byline: Dave Price New management and a few million dollars may be enough to get the blood pumping at Hypertension Diagnostics.After months on life support, the small, publicly traded medical-device company in Eagan recently closed on a...

Midwest Wireless purchases Internet from United Farmers.
September 6, 2003... Byline: staff Customers who got their Internet service from United Farmers Co-op have a new provider-Midwest Wireless.In purchasing the wireless Internet interests of UFC, Midwest Wireless owns the company's wireless Internet network in 13...

U.S. Bank Secure Money Transfer available at branches.
September 9, 2003... Byline: staff U.S. Bank Secure Money Transfer, an ATM card-based international money transfer service designed to send money to Mexico, is available at all U.S. Bank branches in 24 states.The launch follows a successful pilot in three...

Northstar corridor supporters launch petition campaign.
September 10, 2003... Byline: staff The Northstar Corridor Development Authority, a coalition of 30 counties, cities, townships and regional railroad authorities along the corridor, on Tuesday began a petition campaign to urge Gov. Pawlenty and state...

USG Inc. helps companies prepare for unthinkable.
September 10, 2003... Byline: Jessica Griffith Robert Huber develops business continuity plans for companies and government agencies to reference when disaster strikes. The details are then bound into heavy books that are 1 to 2 inches thick. But when Huber is...

New York investor snaps up shares in Net Perceptions.
September 10, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Sal Muoio thinks there's still some value to squeeze out of Net Perceptions.In the week since the Eden Prairie-based software company distributed most of its remaining cash to shareholders, investors have been busy...

Plato Learning to buy rival company in California.
September 10, 2003... Byline: staff Edina-based Plato Learning said on Tuesday it was acquiring another educational-software company in San Diego in a stock-swap worth about $52 million.According to the companies, the acquired Lightspan Inc. generated revenues...

St. Anthony Park Bank appoints new senior VP for lending.
September 11, 2003... Byline: staff The St. Anthony Park Bank board of directors has appointed Terri Dooher Fleming as senior vice president for lending.Fleming has been working at St. Anthony Park Bank since 1996, most recently at vice president for commercial...

Mortgage delinquencies inching higher in Minnesota.
September 11, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Nearly 20,000 Minnesotans were behind on their mortgages at the end of June, although the number of homes in foreclosure throughout the state improved slightly from the previous quarter, according to a national survey by...

Village Park apartments hold grand opening next week.
September 11, 2003... Byline: staff After a multi-million dollar facelift inside and out, resort-class amenities and bold new design, Village Park apartments is holding a grand opening event. Formerly the Shelard Manor apartments of St. Louis Park, the new...

Vivius gets $3M of Series B funding from Mellon Ventures.
September 11, 2003... Byline: staff Vivius Inc. announced that Mellon Ventures Inc. invested $3 million of its Series B funding in the company.The investment is Mellon Ventures' first in consumer-directed health care. "When Mellon first approached us, we were...

Apogee Enterprises focuses on construction market.
September 12, 2003... Byline: Dave Price Looking down the road, Apogee Enterprises sees more of a future in buildings than in cars.The Bloomington-based glass manufacturer - whose windows are a part of thousands of structures, including the American Express...

Twin Cities residential construction up in August.
September 12, 2003... Byline: staff August was another solid month for residential construction in the metro area, according to building permit data released Thursday by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. Metro area municipalities last month issued...

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. plans initial public offering.
September 12, 2003... Byline: staff Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. announced plans Thursday for an initial public offering - its second attempt in five years to become a publicly traded company.Officials said in documents filed with the Securities...

State plan aims to soften the blow of college sticker shock.
September 12, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson The tuition shock that the state's undergrads - and their parents - face this fall as they return to school provides an apt backdrop for Minnesota's first College Savings Month, kicked off by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on...

Plymouth-based Medamicus announces move to Nasdaq national market.
September 13, 2003... Byline: staff Medamicus Inc. said that it has received approval for its common stock to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Monday. Medamicus' transition to Nasdaq meets one of the conditions to the closing of Medamicus' purchase of the...

Minneapolis school gets an 'A' for acoustical design.
September 13, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A room full of grade school students is hardly the quietest place in the world - especially when jet noise and loud mechanical systems contribute to the din. But at least one Minneapolis elementary school should be...

2nd Swing shelves latest IPO plan.
September 16, 2003... Byline: Dave Price A second try at a public offering has landed in the rough again for 2nd Swing Inc.The Minnetonka seller of used and new golf equipment has withdrawn registration documents for an initial public offering of stock, less...

MN minority small-biz person of the year named.
September 17, 2003... Byline: Staff Martha Burns, owner of Hopkins-based Martha Burns Swimming School, has been named Minnesota minority small-business person of the year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.Burns used her lifelong passion for swimming to...

Breaking the checkbook habit.
September 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson In a move that counters industry speculation, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp is planning a major push into the signature-based debit-card business - the same sector that will generate lower earnings per transaction as...

With payment due, MedicalCV hangs on.
September 17, 2003... Byline: Dave Price MedicalCV Inc. looks like it's going to dodge yet another bullet. The Inver Grove Heights-based manufacturer of mechanical heart valves was facing a deadline of today to repay nearly $1 million to its largest individual...

Finance and Commerce names 2003 Top Women in Finance winners.
September 17, 2003... Byline: Staff A dozen Twin Cities financial professionals have been selected for the third annual Top Women in Finance awards sponsored by Finance and Commerce.The women will be honored during a luncheon on Oct. 28 at the St. Paul Hotel in...

Carlson Hotels Worldwide acquires Park Plaza and Park Inn.
September 18, 2003... Byline: staff Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide said that the company has acquired full ownership of Park Inn and Park Plaza from its joint venture partner, Olympus Hospitality Group. The acquisition consolidates Carlson's global...

Twin Cities' area banks seek piece of 401(k) market.
September 18, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson There's money to be made in retirement plan services - pension woes notwithstanding - and the Twin Cities' top banks are positioning themselves to build their shares in that burgeoning market. A product that will be...

Eden Prairie-based Archiver's chain offers photo preservation, organization and display.
September 19, 2003... Byline: Todd Messelt During the Sept. 3 grand opening of their Archiver's retail store in the Mall of America, owners Bruce Thomsen and Brian Olmstead watched approvingly as more than a dozen chattering customers clustered around an island...

Landlords offer concessions in lackluster commercial market.
September 23, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson/Monte Hanson As commercial vacancy rates rise to the 17 to 20 percent range in the Twin Cities area, landlords are increasingly offering deals on rent and other concessions in an effort to stop the bleeding. Overall,...

Crescendo Ventures in-house counsel named new partner of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi.
September 24, 2003... Byline: Dave Price When Kevin Spreng went looking for a new job this year, he didn't have to venture very far.After three years as the in-house counsel at Minneapolis-based Crescendo Ventures, Spreng pulled up stakes in July to become a...

St. Paul development will combine library with housing.
September 24, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson If all goes according to plan, residents at a proposed mixed-use housing development in St. Paul won't have to look far for some good reading material. In fact, an entire library will be literally under their...

Minneapolis-based Medtronic completes transaction with Palo Alto-based TransVascular.
September 25, 2003... Byline: staff Medtronic Inc. said it has completed its acquisition of the assets of privately-held TransVascular Inc. TransVascular, based in Palo Alto, Calif., developed a proprietary technology for several intravascular...

Burnsville-based New Spaces provides internships in residential remodeling for designers.
September 25, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson A local company is gaining national attention for its efforts to expose interior design students to opportunities in residential remodeling. Doug Nelson, president of Burnsville-based New Spaces Inc., has been working...

Metris cuts 65 jobs, mostly at Minnetonka headquarters.
September 26, 2003... Byline: staff Minnetonka-based Metris Cos. announced plans on Thursday to cut 65 jobs, saying the action was necessary to achieve profitability.David Wesselink, chairman and CEO, said the company is committed to completing its turnaround...

College of St. Catherine in St. Paul focuses on finance careers for women.
September 26, 2003... Byline: Liz Wolf Sarah Rand knows what it takes to be successful in financial services, having worked in the industry for more than a decade, including two years on Wall Street. Her career achievements include producing record profits...

Bergstrom hired to lead U.S. Bank Home Mortgage as senior vice pres. of business development.
September 27, 2003... Byline: staff U.S. Bank Home Mortgage said Tom Bergstrom has been hired as senior vice president to lead business development. Bergstrom will identify and fully develop new business opportunities as well as maximize results from existing...

New Hope-based Navarre Corp. breaks ground for new warehouse facility.
September 27, 2003... Byline: staff New Hope based-Navarre Corp., a distributor and publisher of home entertainment and multimedia software products, said that it will begin construction on a 115,000-square-foot warehouse.The new facility will be built to...

U.S. Bancorp, Associated Banc-Corp lead the surge in Twin Cities' bank stocks.
September 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Anderson It's been a good year for the stock market, a better year for bank stocks, and a great year if you held shares in two of the Twin Cities' leading banks - Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp and Associated Banc-Corp,...

Famous Dave's of America hires VP of human resources and training.
September 30, 2003... Byline: staff Famous Dave's of America said that Joleen Flory Lundgren has joined the company as vice president of human resources and training. In the position, Flory Lundgren will oversee performance management, benefits, management...

Home builders facing higher wood prices.
September 30, 2003... Byline: Brian Johnson Home builders nationwide continue to experience sticker shock when it comes to plywood and other wood products. Some observers expect prices to move closer to historical levels as the weather cools, but others say...

Top U.S. franchise companies listed by local magazine.
September 30, 2003... Byline: staff The top 200 franchises in the nation rang up about $325.5 billion in 2002 sales, according to the Franchise Times top 200 ranking. Roseville-based Franchise Times, a national magazine that covers the franchise market, has...

Parker Hughes Clinics expanding in Twin Cities.
September 30, 2003... Byline: staff Parker Hughes Clinics has opened a clinic in White Bear Lake and in Roseville. As part of an expansion program, aimed at meeting the needs of a growing patient population, Parker Hughes plans to open additional clinics around...