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Minneapolis creative agency Periscope recently picked up three liquor brands, according to a recent article in AdAge, the magazine covering the creative industry.
 
UV Vodka, Prairie Organic Vodka, and Revel Stoke Spiced Whisky--all owned by local firm Phillips Distilling--came to Periscope after a review. Phillips corporate director of marketing Katie Alvino noted in a statement that Periscope offers "an in-depth approach to brand building from consumer insights to amazing creative and campaign development."
 
AdAge's article pointed out that the liquor brands join a roster of Periscope clients that include Cargill and ExxonMobile. The agency has about 410 employees, with offices in Minneapolis, Toronto, Hong Kong, and Delhi.

Technology career site Dice.com highlighted a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that put Minnesota in the top five states for fastest job growth in computer systems design and related services.
 
Dice's managing director, Alice Hill, noted that the Minnesota High Tech Association has the goal to make the state one of the country's top five in all types of technology by 2020. Also, IT hiring in Minnesota goes beyond tech firms and includes retailers, healthcare companies, consulting firms, insurance companies, and manufacturers.
 
Maryland showed the strongest growth in the nation for the computer systems design sector, followed by Massachusetts, Texas, and New York. An interesting aspect of the report, Dice pointed out, was that technology powerhouses California and Washington didn't make the list of the top 10 fastest-growing states for IT jobs.

"Think it's futile to build up a massive cycling network because of frosty winter temperatures?" asks a recent news story in Winnipeg Free Press. "[Minneapolis] has proven a bit of snow and sub-zero winds don't mean a city can't be a top cycling spot."
 
The article notes that Minneapolis is among a handful of North American cities considered leaders in building a network of paths that encourage recreational and commuter travel. About 3.5 percent of Minneapolis residents bike to work, and the city is on track to increase that number to seven percent within the next couple of years, according to the newspaper.
 
Quoting Shaun Murphy, Minneapolis bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, the story added that half of the city cyclists don't ride their bikes during the winter, but there's been growing interest in winter biking. One draw is that Minneapolis works to have all bicycle trails plowed within 24 hours of a snowfall. 

The Salty Tart in Minneapolis recently made a list of the top 10 bakeries around the globe from Departures magazine.

“Though it is a risky move to arrive in a new city and set up shop immediately, it paid off for pastry chef Michelle Gayer,” the story reads.

After working on Los Angeles and Chicago, the baker opened the Salty Tart in 2008 in the Midtown Global Market.

With everything from coconut macaroons to pastry cream-filled brioche to various kinds of seasonal tarts, “The bakery was an instant hit,” the article states.

For the second year in a row, Ecolab Inc. in St. Paul and General Mills Inc. in Golden Valley made Forbes magazine’s list of 100 of "The World's Most Innovative Companies."

Ecolab came in 31st, while General Mills was number 50.

The leading companies were Salesforce.com, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Amazon.com, according to Forbes.

To get its results, the magazine used the “Innovation Premium,” which measures “how much investors have bid up the stock price of a company above the value of its existing business based on expectations of future innovative results,” the article states.

Furthermore, companies on the list “must have $10 billion in market capitalization, spend at least 2.5% of revenue on R&D and have seven years of public data,” it reads.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport ranks third in the country in on-time arrivals, coming in just behind Salt Lake City and Charlotte, and narrowly edging out Phoenix and Las Vegas. The Twin Cities airport also came in third for on-time departures, behind Salt Lake City and Portland.
 
Commenting on the report, the Associated Press (AP) noted that travelers "still have to put up with packed planes, rising fees and unpredictable security lines," but nearly 84 percent of domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time during the first half of 2012. That's the best performance since the government started keeping track in 1988, AP noted.
 
Also in the report: U.S. airlines are doing a better job of handling bags. Lost, damaged or delayed bag claims are at a record low.

Inc. magazine released its annual list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States and seven Minnesota companies made the list.
 
Highest-ranking at no. 71 was Plymouth-based GarbageMan, a firm that franchises environmentally conscious garbage and recycling services. Also on the list is Code 42 Software (see our previous coverage here), a Minneapolis-based developer of data protection and backup software.
 
Other Minnesota companies that made the list were MetroSpec Technology, DefySupply.com, Erickson Builders & Co., Intuitive Technology Group, and aimClear.
 
Despite a tough economic environment, the magazine noted, the median three-year growth of this year's list was a remarkable 1,436 percent--the highest rate in the list's 31-year history. Topping the list was payment processor Unified Payments, which reported a three-year growth rate of nearly 25,000 percent. Other prominent brands on the list include Facebook, Yelp, and Chobani. 

The Minneapolis-based Game Informer magazine is the country’s third-highest-circulation periodical, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports.  

While so many other print publications have reported declining sales in recent years, “Game Informer's circulation grew more than any U.S. publication in the past year,” surpassing Better Homes and Gardens in growth, and trailing only two AARP publications in total circulation, according to the Business Journal, which cites Bloomberg Businessweek data.

In terms of circulation growth, he second-place national magazine is Family Circle.

Part of the magazine’s success has to do with its connection to the Texas-based GameStop company, the article states.

Recently, The Atlantic magazine recounted in print how Medtronic came to be the major company it is now, after beginning in a garage in Northeast Minneapolis, Fridley Patch reports.

The Atlantic writer, Monica Smith, visited local landmarks while gathering information on the Fridley-headquartered international company.

“Her research was part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibit called Places of Invention that's now in development. It focuses on seven areas of the United States, including Minnesota's 'medical alley,'” the  Patch story reads.

The story republishes this excerpt from the magazine story, below.

One of my favorite stories is about how young Earl [Bakken, Medtronic founder] ... was inspired to become an electrical engineer after seeing Boris Karloff's 1931 "Frankenstein" at the Heights Theatre on Central Avenue near his childhood home in Minneapolis. So in the pouring rain David [Rhees, executive director of The Bakken Museum] drove me by Earl's house and then on to the now-renovated theatre to take photos. He told me about how fun it was to help Earl celebrate his 85th birthday with a special screening of the 1931 movie there. Our next stop was at Medtronic's world headquarters where Earl still maintains an office even though he is nominally retired and lives in Hawaii. I got a kick out of seeing two Frankenstein figures on his desk.

In a recent piece, Midwest Living features Minneapolis as an ideal destination town for a two-day getaway.
 
“No matter what your mood, Minneapolis offers something to suit: beautiful lakes nestled among hip art communities, tree-lined trails behind modern museums, vibrant nightlife blocks from high-class cultural attractions,” the story reads.
 
For starters, the extensive art collections housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts make the museum worth a trip. “The Department of Contemporary Art shows works by living artists, and the institute’s collection of paintings spans more than five centuries,” it states.  
 
Also, Nicollet Mall’s pedestrian-level shops, restaurants, and farmers market, and scenic Lake Calhoun are just some of the city’s many attractions, the article adds.  
 

 

 

PedalMn.com has a short video that shows off the state’s extensive bike trails.  

It goes through a number of bike paths both in urban areas and in greater Minnesota. In Minneapolis, bicyclists are followed as they careen past the scenic Chain of Lakes, the St. Anthony Main historic area, and Nicollet Mall.  

Bike-friendly infrastructure, such as bike racks on buses, helps flesh out some of the reasons why the state has gotten so many props lately in this area.

The video will “will remind you why you love to get out and pedal in Minnesota,” the website states.  

The number of farmers markets is growing across the country, which makes singling out just a few of them a challenging task. But the Mother Nature Network (MNN) was willing to take on the job, highlighting nine markets across the country, including the Minneapolis Farmers Market.
 
"Some of the produce and goods sold here are seldom seen in smaller markets (or in any other markets in the Upper Midwest, for that matter), a product of Minneapolis' diverse population," the article notes.
 
True food aficionados need to visit the market, MNN advises, along with other markets in Portland, Santa Fe, Madison, Hilo, HI, New Orleans, and Chicago.

Business publication Fast Company recently featured an article about how cities can foster a thriving creative class, and highlighted local nonprofit real estate developer Artspace as an ideal example.
 
The organization's flagship project, the Northern Warehouse in the Lowertown district of St. Paul, has been housing artists for more than 20 years, in a neighborhood that's undergone vast transformation.
 
This is significant, the article's writer believes: "Today, as widespread civic enthusiasm for 'creative' projects has begun to spawn skepticism, the Northern Warehouse may be one of the clearest case studies of the role of artists in rejuvenating decayed neighborhoods--and sticking around afterward."
 
Artspace doesn't prove that artists can power the economy of whole cities, the article notes, but it does seem to be providing an effective model for other urban centers that want to maintain a stable, thriving artistic culture.

Marketing firm Haberman made the list of best places to work in the country, as determined by Outside magazine. The publication singled out companies that "allow people to pursue ambitious careers but also spend time with their families, give back to their communities, and fulfill their passion for adventure."
 
Minneapolis-based Haberman was singled out for its location in the Warehouse District, as well as its distinctive employer-sponsored garden. The article noted that Haberman employees also benefit from a "wellness inferno" competition, where teams can earn weekly prizes for completing various wellness tasks like hosting a walking meeting along the Mississippi riverfront. Also noted were flexible hours and a company-endorsed "fun committee."
 
Outside's list of 100 best places to work includes companies of all sizes, and others that garnered the title include well-known enterprises like Patagonia, SmartWool, Trek Bicycle Corporation, and New Belgium Brewing.
 

Golden Valley-based General Mills recently took a step into the arena of "branded content," assisted by popular news site Huffington Post, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
 
The site, LiveBetterAmerica, is aimed at giving visitors information on healthy living, with a focus on eating more nutritious foods, and it's built on the Huffington Post technology platform. Although the site isn't directly linked to the news source, articles from Huffington's writers will appear on LiveBetterAmerica.
 
The move is part of a growing shift in online content that pairs publishers like Huffington with advertisers like General Mills, creating journalistic-style articles that tie to brand awareness and online advertising.