Buzz

CRM: six of 100 'Best Corporate Citizen' companies from Minnesota

Corporate Responsibility Magazine Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CRM) has released its 100 Best Corporate Citizens List for 2011.

Six of the 100 companies listed are from Minnesota, including number-three ranked General Mills, Inc.

The list is compiled using publicly available data in seven categories: climate change, employee relations, environment, financial, governance, human rights, and philanthropy.

The six Minnesota companies included are (ranking in parentheses):

General Mills, Inc (3)
Xcel Energy, Inc. (30)
3M Co. (32)
Hormel Foods Corp (40)
Mosaic Company (45)
Medtronic, Inc. (77)

The list includes a "yellow card" category for companies that appear on the list "despite some self-caused reputational damage," according to CRM--usually a "pending or completed administrative or official legal sanction."

Minnesota was represented in this arena as well; CRM notes a December 2010 suit filed against 3M by the State of Minnesota "for contaminating the state's waters."

PiPress: companies having hard time finding skilled workers

St. Paul Pioneer Press Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Despite a 31 percent increase in job openings in the state from the end of 2009 to the end of 2010--and nearly six jobless people for every opening--Minnesota companies are still finding it hard to hire skilled employees, writes Julie Forster in a March 5 article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Forster gives examples from the medical device, information technology, and tax law industries, and she cites a survey of manufacturing executives conducted recently by Enterprise Minnesota. Of the executives interviewed, 45 percent said it is difficult to attract qualified workers and half expected wages to increase.

Twin Cities to play Denver for local movie shooting

Star Tribune Wednesday, March 09, 2011

The Twin Cities will play Denver in some scenes of a movie called 360, which stars Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, and Rachel Weisz, a Star Tribune story notes.

"Minnesota's snowy reputation didn't let down the movie's makers," the writer states.

The story quotes Anne Healy, who helped find the movie's locations, and who says the Twin Cities area was chosen for scenes in 360 because the movie's makers wanted "a major airport under blizzard conditions."

With the help of the Internet Movie Database, it describes 360 as "a look at what happens when partners from different social backgrounds engage in physical relationships."

Source: Star Tribune

'This Old House': Prospect Park is best neighborhood for old houses

Star Tribune Wednesday, March 09, 2011

'This Old House' recently declared that Minneapolis's Prospect Park neighborhood is the best for those in the market for old houses locally, according to a Star Tribune story.

It notes that other neighborhoods that are rich in historic homes, such as Lowry Hill in Minneapolis and Summit Hill in St. Paul, were bypassed by the program.

The story quotes 'This Old House,' saying, "It's common to find a fully restored 2,000-square-foot home built around the turn of the century for less than $400,000," the magazine noted. "Bargain hunters may find deals as low as $150,000 for a 1,200-to 1,500-square-foot house in need of updates."

"50 and 50" project redesigns Minnesota, states' mottos

fastco.design Wednesday, March 02, 2011

The graphic design project "50 and 50," is an ongoing collective project of graphic designers reinterpreting the 50 mottoes of the U.S. states.

The project's "leadoff batter" on Jan. 31 was local designer and printer Erik Hamline, owner of Steady Print Shop in the Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis. (Hamline's design can be found at the bottom of this 50 and 50 page.)

Fifty and Fifty was created by Brooklyn-based designer and animator Dan Cassaro.

The Feb. 2 issue of the daily Fast Co. Design featured the project, then with just four designs of four states' mottoes.) Nearly half the states' mottoes had been completed by the end of February.

Twin Cities Business: StartupLawyers.mn are 'business lawyers for geeks'

Twin Cities Business Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Dana Severson talks with Aaron Street of StartupLawyers.mn in his Feb. 22 Start Me Up blog for Twin Cities Business.

Street and Sam Glover are the attorneys behind the St. Anthony Main-based practice--self-dubbed "business lawyers for geeks."

The firm offers to entrepreneurs legal services packages ranging from $199 to $1,999 per month, rather than at an hourly rate, Street points out in the Q&A.

They also publish the law practice blog Lawyerist.com through their company Lawyerist Media.

Minneapolis one of three cities to get �America�s Next Great Restaurant�

Pioneer Press Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Minneapolis, Hollywood and New York City will be the three locations of the winning restaurant concept to emerge from the upcoming reality TV series, "America's Next Great Restaurant," a Pioneer Press story reports.

The series, which airs on March 6 on NBC, will start out with 21 contestants who will compete for the financial support to make their ideas a reality.

Celebrity chefs Bobby Flay from "Iron Chef America," Curtis Stone from "The Biggest Loser," Steve Ells, the founder and CEO of Chipotle, and Lorena Garcia, a Miami restaurateur, will act as sponsors and mentors.

Country's fifth-largest consumer magazine, Game Informer, calls Minneapolis home

Minnpost Wednesday, March 02, 2011

It's a little-known fact that Minneapolis-based Game Informer is the country's fifth-largest consumer magazine, according to a story from Minnpost's David Brauer.

With 5 million subscribers, including many male readers in the 18-to-34-year-old age demographic, in some ways its reach surpasses People and Maxim, the story states.

Game Informer, which is available at checkout counters at GameStop retail stores nationwide, grew by 33 percent in a period when so many other magazines declined.

The magazine's writers often preview games well before they're out, which associate publisher Rob Borem says is a huge advantage. "Our primary asset is still pulling down world exclusives," he states in the story.

"Sitting on a coffee table, desk, or kitchen counter, print is an evergreen," he says, adding, "We want to reflect that it's more of an art, celebrating the joy of the game."

Lifetime Fitness plans world's largest cycling class at Saint Paul RiverCentre

TradersHuddle.com Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Lifetime Fitness has a plan to set the record in the Guinness World Records for the world's largest static cycling class--for the second year in a row, according to a press release that was published by TradersHuddle.com.

Last year, Lifetime had a cycling class of 1,052 riders in Minneapolis, it states.

On March 6, more than 1,000 cycle riders will pedal for two hours at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, making it the world's largest cycle studio for that window of time, according to TradersHuddle.com.

Lifetime Fitness chairman, president and CEO Bahram Akradi, along with the company's leading cycle instructors, will lead the way.

Roberto Costa, an internationally known DJ, will provide the soundtrack for the momentous workout.

Lowertown movie highlights origins of St. Paul neighborhood

Pioneer Press Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Pioneer Press brief highlights a recent film screening of a documentary called "Lowertown: The Rise of an Urban Village," at the Union Depot in St. Paul.

The documentary describes the development of the St. Paul neighborhood of the same name. Lowertown is a "warehouse district that, in stops and starts, has grown an arts quarter, a mid- to upscale bar and restaurant scene and a broad range of apartment, condo and loft housing," it reads.

Twin Cities Public Television hosted the documentary's reception and screening, which included St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough as presenters.

Growing agency mono rebranding MSNBC

Star Tribune Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Minneapolis-based brand agency mono has more than doubled in size to in less than three years, writes David Phelps in a profile in the StarTribune. Billings at the 56-employee company rose 50 percent to $48.5 million in 2010.

Founders Michael Hart, Jim Scott, and Chris Lange left larger local firms to launch the agency in 2004 with one client: Sesame Street.

Now, mono counts MSNBC among a list of high-profile clients, writes Phelps. Mono's innovative "Lean Forward" campaign for MSNBC debuted last fall with spots directed by Spike Lee.

Mono is located at 3036 Hennepin Ave.

Kips Bay Medical raises $16.5 million with initial public offering

Bloomberg Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Plymouth-based Kips Bay Medical Inc. raised $16.5 million in its initial public offering on Feb. 18, according to an Associated Press report in Bloomberg.

That amount is lower than the $21.2 million originally expected--and far lower than expectations of $57.5 million announced in April 2010, writes Dan Haugen in a Feb. 4 MedCity News article.

The company's product, eSVS Mesh, is used to reinforce leg veins during coronary artery bypass surgery.

Waste Wise creates online sustainability resource for businesses

Finance and Commerce Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Minnesota Waste Wise, a nonprofit affiliate of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, is offering advice on how businesses can go green and save money in the process, reports Jeremy Stratton in the Feb. 10 issue of Finance and Commerce.

The Sustainable Business Resource Center (SBRC) went live in late January. The site gives general green-business advice on waste management, resource conservation and employee education, as well as more specific information targeted to industries: education, grocery, health care, manufacturing, office, restaurants, and retail.

Minneapolis log data startup Rapid.IO raises $1.1 million

TechDotMN Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Minneapolis-based entrepreneur Thomas Grabowski has ridden the tech startup train from his Minneapolis basement to the West Coast and back again, according to TECHdotMN's Jeff Pesek.

Grabowski, who helped start LogLogic in 2002, has left the company and returned to Minneapolis to team up with Jason Destefano and Peter Jordan to launch Rapid.IO with the recent help of $1.1 million in equity, including investment from Vestbridge Partners and El Dorado Ventures.

Rapid.IO is a log analytics company that develops technology that helps businesses better utilize log data. The founders' vision is that "everyone should be able to understand their application data and � produce fast, good-looking, everyday reporting on their application's log data," according to the Rapid.IO website.

"� the complexity and volume of log data needed its own data structure," state the Rapid.IO folks. They advertise a new approach with a simple concept. "Indexing works great for Google and web pages, but not for information contained in log data."

You can find as much (if not more) information about Rapid.IO on the Rapid.IO TECHdotMN page.

U.S. News and World Report: Twin Cites ranked fifth for public transportation

US News and World Report Wednesday, February 16, 2011

When it comes to public transportation, the Twin Cities are working hard to improve options, according to U.S. News and World Report.

In its recently compiled list of top ten U.S. cities for public transportation, the Twin Cities came in fifth place, after Boston and ahead of San Francisco. Portland topped the list.

The Twin Cities made the list in part for its work on the Central Corridor Light Rail line that will link Minneapolis and St. Paul. It'll build on the already-existing Hiawatha Light Rail line that brings people between downtown Minneapolis and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Also noteworthy is its Northstar Commuter Rail that runs between downtown Minneapolis and the northwestern suburbs.

Last year ridership increased 2.3 percent.