Strong Local Economy : Buzz

Efforts in St. Paul schools to serve nutritious lunches are getting props on a national level, according to the Pioneer Press.

On March 26, an official delegation comprising state and federal representatives dropped by Crossroads Elementary to see it in action.

The delegation wanted “to learn more about the district's all-out health-food kick and its bid to get a head start on stricter federal school lunch rules, announced earlier this year,” the story states.

New USDA guidelines require schools receiving federal funding to cut down on sodium and boost whole grains, an area where St. Paul schools are ahead of the curve, according to the story.

Brand consulting firm Interbrand recently released its annual list of "Best Retail Brands" in the nation, and Minnesota-based Target and Best Buy both found a spot.
 
Target was second on the list, just behind Walmart. The retailer's sales and revenue grew last year, and store remodels helped to freshen some locations. Also, the first City Targets opened in three cities, and many retail analysts praised the move as a new approach that could impact Target's future operations.
 
Best Buy ranked at number 13 on the list, and showed a steep decline in "brand value" as defined by Interbrand. In the past five years of the Interbrand list, Best Buy has usually made the top 10, and this is the first time it's dropped below that higher ranking.
 
Other companies in the top 10 include The Home Depot, Amazon.com, CVS, Coach, Walgreens, Sam's Club, eBay, and Nordstrom.

Business magazine Forbes released its ranking of "America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies" and three Minnesota companies made the list: Hawkins, Apogee Enterprises, and Patterson Companies.
 
The magazine rated U.S. companies using AGR scores, a statistical method that links accounting reports with financial statements and governance to detect any fraudulent activity. Companies on the list also show positive forecasts for equity returns, and don't have any SEC enforcement actions pending. The analyst firm that provided the rankings, GMI Ratings, noted that 60 different governance and forensic accounting measures were used.
 
The companies on the list have "consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management," Forbes noted. "They do not play games with revenue and expense recognition, or with asset valuation."

Last week, the James Beard Foundation released the names of the nominees in its various chef and restaurant award categories, in Charleston, S.C., Vita.MN reports.
 
Jack Riebel, the chef and co-owner of Butcher and the Boar in downtown Minneapolis, is up for best chef at these “Oscars of the food world,” according to Vita.MN.

Riebel used to work at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant in Minneapolis and La Belle Vie in Stillwater, the story states.
 
Michelle Gayer, the chef and owner of the Salty Tart, who’s been nominated for outstanding pastry chef before, is a candidate for regional best chef.
 


 

The Current blog has a recent post about Minnesotans in the running for a couple of Independent Music Awards, in which individual songs are judged by a group of well-known artists.

Sleep Study, a pop quartet, is up for an award in the Indie/Alt. Rock category for “Flower Song,” which the post describes as “a lo-fi, driving ’70s pop cut off their debut full-length, 2012′s Nothing Can Destroy.”

Secondly, Minnesota Remembers Vic Chesnutt, a compilation, is a nominee in the Tribute Album category. Luke Redfield, a Duluth songwriter, led the project, which nonprofit Rock the Cause released. It features covers of Chesnutt songs by local performers, including Dan Wilson, Haley Bonar, Dave Simonett, and Charlie Parr.

The results of the contest will be tallied up later this summer.

Business magazine Forbes recently released its annual list of the world's billionaires, and five Minnesotans landed on the roster again, with no real surprises since they've been on the list in the past and are all prominent in the state's business scene.
 
Tying at number 316 (out of nearly 1,500 billionaires) are Barbara Carlson Gage and her sister, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, each with a net worth of $4.1 billion. The two own Carlson jointly, and saw their fortunes rise significantly over last year, when they each had a net worth of $2.5 billion.
 
Coming in at 395th on the list is Whitney MacMillan, one of the owners of Cargill, considered the largest private company in the United States. He has a slight increase in net worth over last year, from $3.3 billion in 2012 to $3.4 billion today.
 
Stanley Hubbard, chairman and CEO of Hubbard Broadcasting, is 704 on the list with $2.1 billion in net worth, while the fifth Minnesotan is Glen Taylor, majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and founder of Taylor Corporation. Number 719 on the list, Taylor has a net worth of $1.7 billion.
 
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze also appeared on the list as he did last year, but he isn't identified as a Minnesotan this year, since a city of residence isn't listed for him. Twin Cities Business spoke with Schulze's daughter, who told the magazine that her father's primary residence is in Florida.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is becoming a top state for telecommuting, as more employees work from home.
 
The StarTribune reports that the Twin Cities posted the fifth-biggest increase among metro areas in workers who are based at home at least part time. According to the agency's estimates, about 82,500 people in the state telecommute part-time or full-time.
 
Among the states containing the top 10 metro areas in the country, Minnesota is the only state with two additional large telecommuting job areas, Mankato and St. Cloud. According to the StarTribune, the exceptionally high work-at-home numbers in those two cities may be an extension of the same phenomenon as in the Twin Cities--tech-savvy employers and, in the words of a Mankato city official, "a culture in this state where people have a good work ethic and can be trusted to work at home.”

City Parks Alliance, a national urban parks advocacy group, has set its sights on the Twin Cities for its 2017 International Urban Parks Conference.

In a prepared statement, Catherine Nagel, who heads the alliance, says the park systems demonstrate “some of the most innovative work happening today around urban park planning, design and programming and each clearly demonstrates the power of partnerships in creating and sustaining urban parks.”

The Twin Cities have two of the most established park systems in the country, the prepared statement reads. That has contributed to the Twin Cities’ reputation as “green cities.”  

“Anchored by the iconic Mississippi River, the Twin Cities offer more than 350 parks and open spaces for experiential learning,” the statement adds.

Three major Minnesota companies have made Fortune magazine's annual list of the world's 50 most admired companies. Target Corporation, St. Jude Medical, and 3M all won a spot, although last year's 50th place entry, General Mills, did not make the list this year.
 
Fortune judged companies based on the opinions of 3,800 executives, directors, and analysts, who were asked to rank companies based on attributes such as quality of products and services, global competitiveness, financial soundness, and social responsibility.
 
The magazine noted that 3M, at number 21 on the list, is "in the history books as one of the world's most innovative companies." Fortune pointed out that 3M is an idea-generating machine, and aims to have 30 percent of its $30 billion annual revenue come from products introduced in the last five years.
 
Target, at number 22, is "known for selling cheap products that don't feel, well, cheap," the magazine noted, before praising the retailer's decision to debut a new collection of stores that promise modern luxury.
 
For the sixth year in a row, Apple was at the top of the list, with Google coming in second place.
 

Minneapolis has the sixth largest arts economy in the country, according to city information.

A report from the Creative Index, which takes into account arts jobs, consumer spending, and revenue of arts organizations, shows that in Minneapolis, the arts scene “is an integral, thriving part of the local economy that has stayed steady even during tough economic times,” the city’s website states.

Go here to see the Minneapolis Creative Index data for 2013.

The index used some indicators “that have never been measured before in Minneapolis,” drilling down to the zip-code level.

Other cities that came out ahead of Minneapolis in the Creative Index include Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.

Minneapolis outpaced the national average creative index score by 4.8 times, according to city information.

In a recent MarketWatch section, The Wall Street Journal named the best U.S. airports for business travelers, and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport made the list of favorites.
 
Coming in at number four out of ten, the airport was singled out for its WiFi, a fitness walking patch, postal services, and FedEx availability. The newspaper also appreciated the soothing vibe of the airport, which features quiet seating areas for reading and resting, as well as meditation. Business travelers are also likely to appreciate the airport's massage chairs, shoeshine stations, and luggage delivery services.
 
The Journal's top pick for business travelers was Atlanta's airport, thanks to its "minute suites" that allow travelers to nap or watch TV during long layovers. The airport also has four Brookstone stores, a currency exchange, and a spa. Rounding out the top three were Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Six players from the Minnesota Twins made it into Baseball America's top 100 prospects list, according to a recent Pioneer Press story.

The elite list includes third baseman Miguel Sano (No. 9) and center fielder Byron Buxton (No. 10), who “were ranked with the sport's future stars,” the story reads.

Right fielder Oswaldo Arcia (41), right-handers Alex Meyer (59) and Kyle Gibson (68), and center fielder Aaron Hicks (72) also made the list.

“All except Sano and Buxton, who received a $6 million signing bonus as the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, are in big-league camp this spring. Gibson and Hicks are considered strong candidates to make the Opening Day roster,” the story states.

Major local companies Target and ReconRobotics have landed on business and technology magazine Fast Company's recent list of "Most Innovative Companies 2013."
 
Given the number of technology firms on the list, Target was a surprise pick, but Fast Company noted that it scored a place at the number 10 spot (out of 50) for its ability to "shrink the big box" with a forward-thinking, half-size store that's ideal for urban environments.
 
The smaller footprint stores were launched in Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles last year, and the magazine noted the appeal of strong signage, the use of rehabbed buildings, and free WiFi.
 
Robot maker ReconRobotics got a nod at number 44 for "building the stealthiest robot you'll never see." The article notes that the company's strong growth--with 2012 revenue nearly four times that of 2010 — makes it an innovative company worth watching.

A new map for navigating the skyways in downtown Minneapolis is out on a website called, Skyway My Way.

The website has a map plus a searchable database of businesses within the skyway system.

This map-app differs from others in that “Searching for a location in other popular mapping applications puts you on the street, not in the skyway,” it states. “Our team of skyway gremlins have meticulously combed every nook and cranny to obtain all of the necessary information.”  

The website can help people find everything from a lunch spot to a chiropractor.

The Princeton Review recently listed the University of Minnesota as a "Best Value College" for 2013, according to a prepared statement from the university.

This is the third year in a row that the university has been singled out by the publication for the distinction.  

“The University’s commitment to academic excellence, financial aid availability and the overall value of an education at the U of M’s Twin Cities campus has again merited inclusion on this year’s Best Values list,” the statement reads.

The Princeton Review uses more than 30 data points related to academics, cost, and financial aid to single out schools.

This year, the publication recognized 150 schools out of 650 total.