Buzz

The novel “Crossbones,” from Somali author Nuruddin Farah, who lives part of the year in Minneapolis, is featured in a recent issue of the New York Times Sunday Book Review.

“Some in the media may paint Somali pirates as womanizers with lavish tastes and an eye for Nairobi real estate, but Nuruddin Farah exposes the shallowness of such depictions in his 11th novel,” the review states.

One of the book’s central characters is a New York-based war correspondent who is part Somali and part Malaysian. With the help of his father-in-law, he embarks on an international journey to track down his teenage nephew who has left Minnesota to join the militant Islamic group al-Shabab.

Warfare and poverty in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu are also part of the story, which reviewer Hirsh Sawhney describes as “politically courageous and often gripping.”

Sawhney writes that the Farah “takes great pains to illuminate the roots of Somalia’s turmoil in a nuanced manner.”

All in all, the book is a “sophisticated introduction to present-day Somalia, and to the circle of poverty and violence that continues to blight the country,” Sawhney concludes.

Minnesota's hotel sector showed strong gains in the first half of 2011, according to a report by Northmarq, a local commercial real estate firm.
 
As noted in the StarTribune, room rates and per-room revenue showed progress when compared to the depressed first half of 2010. Major deals abounded as well, including renovations and purchases.
 
It's likely that 2012 will continue the upward trend, the report predicted, and some new construction could come as a result.
 
The hotel bounceback is in line with gains across the commercial real estate sector in the state. In a Northmarq report released in July, the firm found that all real estate segments are showing signs of rebound, although a full recovery should take another three to four years.
 

Eight Minnesota companies have landed on America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, a list put together by Inc. Magazine.
 
Among the top performers highlighted are MetroSpec Technologies in Mendota Heights, Jobs2web in Minnetonka, iBuyOfficeSupply.com in Plymouth, and BulkReefSupply.com in Golden Valley.
 
The companies were listed according to a three-year growth rate. For example, BulkReefSupply.com, an online retailer of saltwater and reef aquarium supplies, reported a growth rate of 1,248% from 2007 to 2010.
 
Other Minnesota companies on the list were ShopJimmy.com, Renters Warehouse,  Erickson Builders & Co.,and Modern Automotive Performance.

The Telegraph, a newspaper in the United Kingdom, highlighted research done at the University of Minnesota on bisin, a substance that shows promise as a food preservative.
 
The story noted that microbiologists at the U of M discovered bisin by accident when studying organisms that populate the human gut. Bisin is able to kill bacteria that trigger decomposition in the fresh proteins found in meat, dairy, eggs, and fish—although it doesn’t work on fresh vegetables or fruit.
 
It can also prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria like E.coli, salmonella, and listeria.
 
If the substance lives up to its promise, it could be the "Holy Grail” of the food industry, The Telegraph posited, although skeptics--like Rose Prince, the columnist doing the reporting--may need a bit more convincing.

Minneapolis was named the 6th best U.S. city in several key areas by the Scientific American, according to a recent City Pages article. 

The Scientific American’s “Cities” issue sifted through all kinds of different lists to look at environmental factors, health, and technology, according to City Pages. 

"For health, SA turned to the May rankings from the American Fitness Index, which gave the top spot for overall health to Minneapolis-St. Paul," City Pages states.

Minneapolis followed New York City but came in ahead of Denver, Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago. San Francisco topped the list.

“Science! See, we knew we were great, and now science has confirmed it,” says City Pages.

In a recent posting, the BTA Blog lists some lessons from Minneapolis for biking in Portland.

The author, who recently spent time in Minneapolis, says that while he won’t go into which city is better for biking, “I saw a lot of things in the Twin Cities that I'd like to see in Portland.”

Among them: an expansive rail trail network, physical separation of biking and walking paths, a bike center, and bike sharing.

Keeping pedestrians and bicyclists apart is important, he says.

“Minneapolis' trails are better than Portland's in one very particular way: they separate people on bikes from people on foot whenever possible. At the very least, there is usually a solid painted line separating bicyclists from pedestrians and, wherever possible, they're completely separate paths with a strip of grass in between," he says.

Reporting on a recent study of volunteerism, USA Today noted that Minneapolis and St. Paul had the highest rate of volunteering in the country in 2010 among large metro areas.

BrighterEnergy.org, a site that focuses on alternative and renewable energy sources, reported on Great River Energy's search for community-based renewable energy proposals.

A recent Twin Cities Business story highlights several local companies that were featured in a national list of the 50 “best places to work” from Outside magazine.  

Minneapolis ad agency Colle+McVoy, which got 10th place, has “the soul of a start-up despite having been around for more than 75 years,” the magazine re-states from Outside.

The company offers such perks as annual and instant bonuses to employees, free fitness activities, and an awards program, the story states. The office’s rooftop deck is also “perfect for morning yoga, company-provided Friday breakfasts, and parties." 

Outside also praised the agency for its support of various charitable organizations and green initiatives.

The same goes for the Minneapolis-based advertising and public relations firm, Carmichael Lynch, which ranked 39th, while Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington came in 49th.

Michael Roberts, who is Outside’s executive editor, is quoted saying: “These 50 companies are successful precisely because they support a proper work-life balance."

 

In the Intelligent Travel section of the National Geographic website, Gary Arndt writes about the sights in Minneapolis as a part of a Q&A piece titled, “I Heart My City.”

Arndt is a seasoned world traveler with a popular blog called, “Everything is Everywhere.”  

But his roots are in Minneapolis, the piece states.

He’s a fan of such spots as Uptown, Market BBQ, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the local lakes.

For photo opportunities, he recommends Minnehaha Park and the top of the IDS Building.

He also names pop icon Prince, Target Field and the Minnesota Orchestra, among many other bits of local flavor.  

 

Maybe it's da wind chill, doncha know? For whatever reason, Minnesota has a rich history in comedy, as noted in a recent story in the Miami Herald.

The newspaper noted, as evidence, our election of former professional comedian Al Franken to the U.S. senate, as well as the popularity of A Prairie Home Companion, the public radio show that mixes Midwest humor with Americana-type music.

Another comedy mainstay is the Brave New Workshop, a theater troupe founded by Dudley Riggs, credited by many with the invention of improv and sketch comedy.

Why are the Twin Cities so lively when it comes to humor? They don't quite know in Miami, but one theory posited in the story is that with severe winters and mosquito-filled summers, our laughter somehow balances out the forces of nature. 

Travel + Leisure magazine's international editor Mark Orwoll wrote about Minneapolis's fun summertime activities in a recent blog posting.

"Am I really the last person to "discover" Minneapolis?" he starts out by saying.

The city's bike-friendliness struck him. "With 84 miles of off-street bike trails and 46 miles of dedicated bike lanes on city streets, Minneapolis makes it easy to venture out on a velocipede," he says.   

Also, kayaking above the falls offers a chance to spot all kinds of wildlife within view of the city's dramatic skyline while waterfront Segway trips are  another way to go.

"You'll hear a little city history and meet lots of locals on the way, but mostly you'll just have fun going up hills, inching along footbridges, and racing along a parkway at speeds up to 12 mph (faster than it sounds!)."

He also enjoyed "Nordeast," and cites its high-end condos, a brick-lined Main Street, outdoor cafes, and unique spots such as Nye's Polonaise Room (which, as local's know, is actually just inside Southeast Minneapolis) and Kramarczuk's.

According to walking advocacy site Walk Score, Minneapolis is in the top ten of most walkable cities in the country.

Coming in ninth place, the city was bested by highly dense urban areas like New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Minneapolis came out ahead of other large cities, though, like Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, and Atlanta.

The Walk Score site is often used by real estate agents and house hunters to determine the walkability of a specific neighborhood. Site users can simply type in an address and get a score that indicates how easy it might be to do daily errands by foot.

The site touts the benefits of more walkable neighborhoods, noting that increased walking can benefit the environment, community involvement, and personal health.

Target's new ad campaign for Missoni, a fashion line of more than 400 products, is distinctive for its nod toward Italian films of the 1960s, notes a recent story in the New York Times.

In its advertising column, the paper reports that representatives from Target traveled to Milan to collaborate with the Missoni family, in order to strengthen the brand and give the campaign an authentically Italian feel.

In the campaign, which includes TV ads and Web spots, swinging 1960s music accompanies images of a dining room decked out in Missoni products, and models wearing the brightly hued clothing line.

The ads were done in collaboration with Minneapolis-based Olson, a creative firm known for high-profile work for clients like General Mills, Amtrak, and Converse.

The Fox is Black, a national art and design blog, recently featured the Minneapolis-based Studio on Fire.

In the writeup, blogger Bobby Solomon says that the local studio is producing some of the strongest letterpress work that he's found in a long time.

He's such a fan that he'd like to get some business cards done in a style like that of Studio on Fire. "I've toyed with the idea of getting some letterpress business cards, a simple white card with a big black fox embossed into it; it would be great, and this makes me want to do it even more," he says.

He adds that the studio's portfolio "is filled with a wide variety of projects--[their] Godspeed bike print is pretty rad, especially the fact they used the pattern of the bike seat itself."