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New York Times op-ed pays tribute on 100th birthday of late Minnesota politician Hubert H. Humphrey

New York Times Wednesday, June 08, 2011

In a recent New York Times piece, op-ed contributor Rick Perlstein pays tribute to the late Hubert H. Humphrey on what would've been the well-known Minnesota politician's 100th birthday.

Perlstein is the author of a book titled, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

During his political career that lasted from 1948 to 1978, Humphrey served as a Minneapolis mayor, U.S. congressman and the country's 38th vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, the piece states.

Perlstein, who underscores Humphrey's accomplishments, especially in civil rights, contemplates "how much better things might have been had today's America turned out less Reaganite and more Humphreyish."

With economic circumstances and racial disparities as they are, Perlstein raises, "shouldn't we perhaps spare a thought, on Hubert Humphrey's 100th birthday, for his road not taken?"

Source: New York Times

Midtown Global Market provides inspiration for Memphis redevelopment project

Memnphis Daily News Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis is being used for inspiration in turning around a Memphis building, according to the Memphis Daily News.

The co-directors for the Sears Crosstown building in Memphis toured other cities to come up with a blueprint to make the Memphis building an urban arts village.

It reads, "While Minneapolis' Sears building is anchored by a major 400,000-square-foot health care tenant, the progress of the Phillips neighborhood and its dramatic transformation is the piece Crosstown Arts wants to bring to Memphis."

In the story, Crosstown Arts co-director Todd Richardson says, in reference to the Midtown building, "Nobody thought that was possible. It was in the worst neighborhood in Minneapolis, and in large part because of that redevelopment, it's been a catalyst."

USA Today covers study that names the Twin Cities the country's healthiest, fittest towns

USA Today Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Twin Cities have been singled out for leading the way in health and fitness nationally, according to the American Fitness Index from the American College of Sports Medicine, which publishes annually, USA Today reports.

Washington, D.C., and Boston come next, while Oklahoma City is in last place, it adds.

The story explains that the results have to do with a combination of health indicators related to smoking, obesity and exercise along with the accessibility of parks and walking paths and farmers markets.

USA Today quotes Barbara Ainsworth, president-elect of the sports medicine group and a professor in Arizona State University's exercise and wellness program in Phoenix, who says, "It takes a healthy community to produce a healthy population, and Minneapolis-St. Paul is a beautiful place to live if you're interested in a physically active lifestyle."

Local hospitals ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Five Twin CIties hospitals rank high in the nation in 25 specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2011�2012 rankings.

The University of Minnesota Medical Center led the area, with national rankings in 14 specialties. The other four are: Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center, and Gillette Children's Healthcare.

U.S. News & World Report details each hospital and their rankings among specialties, as well as many others in the area.

LA Times: Owl City a long way from first gig in Dinkytown

LA Times Wednesday, May 25, 2011

In his interview with Reuters' Mikael Wood, Owl City's Adam Young recalls first gig at the Varsity Club in Dinkytown. ""I'm standing backstage before I go on, just so terrified," the Owatonna native tells Wood in a May 24 article in the LA Times.

Little more than two years later, the butterflies are gone, and Owl City's major-label debut "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is due out June 14 on the Universal Republic label.

The band will kick off a six-week tour this summer that includes a St. Paul date--July 30 at Roy Wilkins--but no Varsity Club show.

Minnesota the "most hipster" state?

Buzzfeed Wednesday, May 18, 2011

"A hipster is just a Brooklynite who wishes they were from Minnesota because it's 'more real,' while genuine Minnesotans are exempt from the label," writes Chris Menning in Buzzfeed on "the most hipster state in the U.S."

They are strong words, stated tongue-in-cheek and a with a good amount of data behind them: Menning cites the frequency of regional searches for the term "hipster," and he backs up Minnesota's crowning with our "lumberjack look," thriving theater scene, plethora of co-ops and farmer's markets, favorite musical sons (from Dylan to Atmosphere), bike-city status, and the movie Juno.

Minnesota's low unemployment rate may be misleading

New York TImes Wednesday, May 18, 2011

While some have looked to Minnesota--and its lowest-in-the-nation unemployment numbers==as a beacon of hope in the recovery economy, those numbers may be misleading, writes Motoko Rich in a May 13 New York Times article.

While Minnesota's rate is 6.6 percent, "well below the 9 percent across the country," that number reflects "people giving up on the job hunt or retiring early, as well as an aging workforce with fewer young people competing for jobs," writes Rich.

Rich quotes local experts and officials and offers a point-by-point deconstruction of the state's employment trend currently and through the recent recession economy, including the fact that employers have added back only 27,000 of the state's 154,000 lost jobs.

New Yorker piece pays tribute to hockey player Derek Boogaard

New Yorker Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A recent piece in The New Yorker pays tribute to Derek Boogaard, the 28-year-old professional hockey player who recently died at his Minneapolis apartment.

As writer Alec Wilkinson puts it, Boogaard, a forward for the New York Rangers who previously played for the Minnesota Wild, was the "only player on the team who was the best in the world at his role."

He says Boogaard knew how to keep the peace on the ice. While other hockey players may use intimidation tactics, Boogaard had a "stately presence," and he knew how to avoid fights: "He was more Gary Cooper than Charles Bronson."

At the end of the piece Wilkinson writes, "I know I am not the only one who had been looking forward to the Rangers home opener, and hearing the announcer say, "Number Ninety-four, Derek Boooooooooooogaaaaard," and watching him step onto the ice, a battleship among the swifter, more diminutive members of the fleet."

Local stencil artists paint Mexico mural

Secrets of the City Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Secrets of the City website has posted a mini-documentary about a large-scale international work from a couple of Minneapolis stencil artists who go by the name Broken Crow.

The artist duo recently left their mark in Mexico City, with a mural at the Antique Toy Museum. In the short video from Brooklyn Street Art, which local blogger Eyeteeth shared with Secrets of the City, viewers get to see the artists in their element: The pair is shown scaling scaffolding, wearing gas masks and spray-painting their original stencil designs on a huge wall.

Also, viewers get to watch the final image come together, and hear from the artists.

Minnesota Cup still adding sponsors, $35,000 in prize money

Star Tribune Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Minnesota Cup has added $35,000 to its 2011 pool of prize money, reports Wendy Lee in a May 9 StarTribune article. That's 42 percent higher than last year's total prize money, she writes.

The increase is the result of the competition adding sponsors, a Cup spokesperson tells Lee. Carlson Companies was already a new sponsor at the time of the competition's launch last month, and General Mills is the most recent addition as a new General Division Lead Sponsor, according to a press release from General Mills.

Seattle or Minneapolis? A recipe for a successful startup scene

TechCrunch Wednesday, May 11, 2011

On May 6, Best Buy CTO and Geek Squad Founder Robert Stephens posted to his blog an article titled A Few Key People in Minneapolis/St. Paul Can Make a Huge Difference.

The long post is a call to entrepreneurs that includes a ten-point "recipe" for the Twin Cities startup community.

It was an interesting rhetorical move, as the text is a repost of an almost identical post by Mark Suster on TechCrunch � about Seattle.

Inspired, Stephens asked permission to post the copy, swapping out the names of the cities, universities, companies, and startups for local Twin Cities ones.

"His thoughts really apply to most cities in the US, if not the world," writes Stephens of Suster's post in his introduction.

New York Times features local bakeries

New York Times Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Patisserie 46, a neighborhood bakery in Minneapolis opened less than a year ago, yet it already has a loyal following, a recent story in the New York Times states. Its French-style croissants "are crisp and light as air," while the macaroons evaporate in the mouth, the story says.

Patisserie owner John Kraus trained in Europe before teaching at the French Pastry School in Chicago, where he worked for over a decade. He opened up Patisserie last summer. In the story he observes, "Minneapolis is becoming a phenomenal baking town."

Other local bakeries that are given a shout-out in the story include Sweets Bakeshop, which has locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Salty Tart Bakery in Minneapolis, and St. Paul's Bars Bakery.

Minneapolis chef recognized as 'best in the Midwest'

Star Tribune Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A local chef and restaurateur was chosen by the James Beard Foundation as the best chef in the Midwest at a New York awards ceremony this week, the Star Tribune reports.

Props went to Isaac Becker, who is a chef and co-owner of a couple popular spots, including the 112 Eatery and Bar La Grassa in Minneapolis.

The Star Tribune notes that Becker is the third Minneapolitan in a row to receive the honor, which is considered by many people to be the "Oscars of the food world," it states.

Another Minneapolis 'who's who' among foodies, Sameh Wadi, the chef and co-owner of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, cooked for the event's 2,000-plus crowd, the story adds.

The story quotes Shay Goetzman, the general manager for the 112 Eatery: "We had people watching for us and texting us," adding,"Isaac called, too, and said to put the champagne on ice. We'll celebrate later. It's crazy busy here."

Federal funding for Central Corridor makes national news

Bloomberg Businessweek, KSTP Eyewitness News Wednesday, May 04, 2011

News of the finalization of the federal Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Central Corridor light-rail transit line made business pages nationally, with Bloomberg Businessweek and other news outlets running Associated Press stories on the topic.

The AP report what we probably know: that the feds have committed $478 million, half of the cost of the 11-mile line, expected to be completed in 2014. The AP reports that the project has created 570 jobs, just a fraction of the 3,400 construction, management, engineering and operations jobs the Met Council claims will be created.

In a related local story, KSTP Eyewitness News reported on scuttled plans to build a temporary sidewalk in Downtown St. Paul for a public celebration of the funding agreement. The 2,000 square feet of concrete would have been pulled out days later and cost taxpayers "tens of thousands of dollars," reports KSTP's Jay Kolls.

Local, state and federal officials did join to sign a six-foot section of light rail in celebration.

Biothera's research featured in the journal Nature

Biothera Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Local biotech company Biothera has been featured in the cover story of the journal Nature for their work with beta glucans, "immunomodulating compounds [that] prime the innate immune system to protect the body," according to language in a press release about the publication.

The full text of the article is available for $32, but the article--titled Activation of the innate immune receptor Dectin-1 upon formation of a 'phagocytic synapse'--is not light reading.

Eagan-based Biothera is a pioneer in beta glucans research. Its Pharmaceutical Group is developing an immunomodulating drug that mobilizes the innate immune system to fight most types of cancer, states the release, and its Healthcare Group is a leading provider of natural immune health ingredients for nutrition markets.