regionalism : Buzz

The Minneapolis landscape architecture firm Coen + Partners was recently award the 16th Annual National Design Award in Landscape Architecture from the Smithsonian's Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt.

“With the reopening of the museum this past year, Cooper Hewitt is scaling new heights to educate, inspire and empower our community through design,” said Caroline Baumann, director, in a press release. “I am thrilled and honored to welcome this year’s class of National Design Award winners, all of whom represent the pinnacle of innovation in their field, with their focus on collaboration, social and environmental responsibility, and the fusion of technology and craftsmanship.”
 
First launched at the White House in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards were established to promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world. The awards are accompanied each year by National Design Week, which this year will take place Oct. 10–18 and include a variety of public education programs, panel discussions and workshops. First Lady Michelle Obama serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards.

Founded by Shane Coen in 1991, Coen + Partners works through a process of collaboration, experimentation, and questioning, to embrace the complexities of each site with quiet clarity and ecological integrity. The practice has built a distinguished body of award-winning work that is widely recognized as progressive and timeless, receiving numerous awards for landscape architecture, planning, and urban design. Coen + Partners has been recognized by the AIA, the ASLA, the GSA Design Excellence Program, and the editorial staff of such influential publications as Metropolis, Dwell, and Architectural Record. New York Times architectural critic Anne Raver has described Coen + Partners’ work as “pushing Midwestern boundaries.”

The Minneapolis-based Works Progress, comprised of Colin Kloecker and Shanai Matteson, is part of the State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AK. Just inside the museum’s lobby is Kloecker and Matteson’s project Water Bar.
 
A partnership between Works Progress and the museum, as well as scientific researchers, environmental advocates, public employees, educators and local residents, Water Bar is an interactive installation that invites visitors to sample and compare water from three local sources: Beaver Lake (Bentonville), the Illinois River (Siloam Springs), and an artesian well in Sulphur Springs.
 
Representatives from the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and local educational institutions are staffing the bar. In addition to serving water, they engage visitors in conversations about drinking water, where it comes from and how to protect it.
 
The exhibition, with Water Bar, is on view until January 19, 2015. Works Progress is also participating in a State of the Art Symposium on November 14-15 to talk about how they engage artists, designers, organizers and creative professionals to realize public art rooted in place and purpose.
 
“Works Progress uses place, design and the shared experience of drinking water to focus our attention on local water sources,” says Chad Alligood, curator, Crystal Bridges. “The collaboration with Works Progress and the Illinois River Watershed Partnership represents a convergence of art and advocacy that engages the community in conversations about an issue that affects all of us.”
 
Matteson adds that, “We hope to install a local version of the Water Bar project in 2015 that will highlight Minnesota's water resources, and are currently seeking collaborators and support.”
 

Metro Transit recently added a service for commuters on its Northstar Line, which takes people between downtown Minneapolis and Big Lake during rush hours: It debuted wi-fi access on Monday, the Star Tribune reports. 

The complimentary wi-fi will work on at least one train car for each trip, which will be labeled, according to the Star Tribune blog post. That will usually be the “cab car,” at the end of the train.

Metro Transit spokesperson Brian Lamb is quoted in the piece, saying, "Due to the longer distances traveled on commuter rail, Northstar service is a great match for wi-i.”

Besides wi-fi access, passengers can listen to Minnesota Public Radio’s “Sound Point,” which provides historical background about the areas the train traverses. 
  

Travel website and guidebook company Fodor's recently showcased the Twin Cities in its feature, "5 Reasons to Go to Minneapolis Now."
 
The author, Deb Hopewell, noted that the city is an ideal vacation spot thanks to its many parks, bicycling options, restaurant scene, proximity to St. Paul, and arts options.
 
She added that this is probably the best time of year to visit, when the summer heat starts to soften and fall is not far off (she wisely avoids mentioning winter at all).
 
Restaurants highlighted include The Bachelor Farmer, Piccolo, and Aster, and Hopewell points to the revitalized North Loop as a central hub for the robust local food scene. 

St. Paul-based public-private partnership Connect Minnesota recently released data from a series of residential technology assessments in the state, and found that approximately 2.1 million adults use the Internet on their cell phones or subscribe to a mobile wireless service for a laptop or tablet computer. That usage represents 51 percent of Minnesota's adult residents.
 
The survey was conducted to support the organization's efforts to close Minnesota's digital gap. Connect Minnesota explores the barriers to broadband adoption among various demographics as a way to boost more Internet usage.
 
Connect Minnesota State Program Manager Bill Hoffman noted that the research shows that mobile broadband plays an ever-increasing role in how Minnesotans get online. A previous study showed that only 39 percent of the state's adults used a mobile Internet service.
 
"As we look ahead, I think mobile broadband will continue to be an integral part of Minnesota's broadband landscape," Hoffman stated.

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.

Two Minneapolis authors recently won National Book Awards, a prestigious designation that highlights the rich literary culture in the state.
 
Louise Erdrich won for her novel "The Round House" and William Alexander won for his debut young adult novel, "Goblin Secrets." As noted in The New York Times, Erdrich's book centers around a teenage boy's effort to investigate an attack on his mother on a North Dakota reservation.
 
Speaking to the newspaper, Erdrich said the novel is about a huge case of injustice, and focuses on the violence that can happen on reservations. The Times adds that in her acceptance speech, the author noted: “If this prize means anything, it is that small stories in so-called hidden places matter because they implicate and complicate what we consider to be the larger story, which is the story of people who do have political and economic powers.”

Grand View Lodge is among the top resorts in the Midwest, according to a recent round of Readers' Choice Awards from Condé Nast Traveler.
 
Located in the Brainerd Lakes area, the resort came in at No. 4, and was the only Minnesota resort on the list. Topping the list was the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which beat out Grand View Lodge by only about two percentage points.
 
The lodge, opened in 1916, sits on Gull Lake and features cottages, cabins, and a spacious main lodge, all with a log-cabin, Northwoods feel. The lodge also features a spa, championship golf course, and several restaurants.

Businessweek released a list of "America's 50 Best Cities," and St. Paul and Minneapolis came in at no. 10 and no. 12 respectively.
 
"St. Paul may be the smaller of the Twin Cities, but the state capital is also cleaner and safer, if slightly behind Minneapolis in median household income," the business publication notes.
 
Minneapolis, meanwhile, is recognized for its parks and lakes, as well as the University of Minnesota's numerous national championships in ice hockey. The article states, "Downtown Minneapolis beats the cold with a unique network of connected buildings, with the City Center mall at its core."
 
As for the best cities in the rest of the country, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. took the top three spots.
 
To get the results, Businessweek teamed up with Bloomberg Rankings to evaluate data on 100 of the country's largest cities, and looked at leisure attributes, educational attributes, economic factors, crime, and air quality.

Renowned urban expert Charles Landry recently spent time in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and shared numerous thoughts on how citizens and developers could make the area into a world-class region.
 
As noted in a recent article in MinnPost, Landry spoke with more than 1,000 people during his seven-day visit, and gave advice on how to increase appreciation for diversity, view community projects in a broader context, and rally behind small-scale efforts.
 
Writing about Landry in MinnPost, Erik Takeshita noted that the Twin Cities show up on many national "Top 10" lists, but that we shouldn't get complacent. "So, as we bask in the glory of national kudos for best this and best that, let's rededicate ourselves to making sure Minneapolis-St. Paul continues to have a place high on those lists for many years to come," he wrote.
 
For more on Landry's visit to the metro and his insights on our urban landscape, check out Camille LeFevre's recent article in The Line.

A new study puts Minneapolis-St. Paul into a list of the five top cities for women residents.
 
The research was done as part of a project, "Measure of America," from the Social Science Research Council. The study compared factors such as differences in women's education levels, marital status, life expectancy, and earnings.
 
Washington, D.C., earned the highest ranking, with San Francisco, Boston, and New York City rounding out the top five.

Minneapolis and St. Paul residents are adept at staying young, according to a ranking by the Real Age website.
 
The site lists the Twin Cities at number four on its list, noting that we're best at eating whole grains, defeating stress, and getting adequate sleep and vitamin D.
 
Top cities were determined using a number of factors, including lifestyle choices, exercise, and diet. San Francisco topped the list, coming in first for its significant fruit and vegetable consumption, low smoking rates, and high exercise statistics.

Among more than 400 metro areas, the Twin Cities ranks 37th for average annual worker pay. The analysis comes via the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which noted that workers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area earn an average of  $49,140 annually.
 
The San Jose metro area ranked first for worker pay, at an average of $67,850, followed by the San Francisco-San Mateo area, where salaries average $63,290.
 
The rankings were reported in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, which noted that within Minnesota, Rochester ranked second, followed by Duluth, St. Cloud, and Mankato.

Business website 24/7 Wall St. issued its annual report on how well America's 50 states are run, and Minnesota came in fourth, just behind Wyoming, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
 
The site reviewed data on financial health, standard of living, and government services to determine how well each state is managed. Based on that information, 24/7 ranked the states from best to worst.
 
Minnesota moved up one place in this year's rankings due to improvement in several categories, including violent crime rate and health insurance coverage.
 
Admitting that the comparison was a challenge because of the unique characteristics of each state, the site did note that, even given the differences, states can do a great deal to control their fate. The editors write, "Well-run states have a great deal in common with well-run corporations. Books are kept balanced. Investment is prudent. Debt is sustainable. Innovation is prized."

According to the 2012 Minnesota Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News, the state lost less than one percent of manufacturing jobs from October 2010 to October 2011.
 
Publisher Tom Dubin noted that the economic recovery is gaining momentum in Minnesota, and added that the state's educated workforce and solid infrastructure have been a draw for a variety of enterprises.
 
Bright spots in the past year have include the opening of a tractor plant in Jackson, the expansion of an ethanol plant in Welcome, and the expansion of a pet litter production facility in Detroit Lakes.