Buzz

Could a Minnesota Innovation Fund help pull state forward?

Star Tribune Wednesday, January 12, 2011

A recent economic development publication touts 54 innovations from Minnesota, but only four of them come from this century.

Former U of M Humphrey Institute policy fellow Eric Schubert says in a Star Tribune opinion piece that Minnesota has no shortage of ideas for economic development, but we're struggling to turn those ideas into reality.

Schubert proposes a Minnesota Innovation Fund, a sort of political action committee that would support "pragmatic political candidates" who support policies and funding for Minnesota ingenuity.

Read his argument on the Star Tribune's Opinion Exchange.

Minnesota titles pick up numerous literary awards in San Diego ceremony

StarTribune Wednesday, January 12, 2011

At the American Library Association's book awards ceremony in San Diego earlier this month, five authors and two publishers from Minnesota received numerous prizes in various categories, which are tallied by the Star Tribune.

Author Laurie Hertzel quotes Alison McGhee, who, along with Kate DiCamillo received the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for best book for beginning readers for "Bink and Gollie," saying, "The Minnesotans are ruling!"

McGhee describes the phone call about the news: "It was an unfamiliar number and I thought it was a marketer, but instead it was Julie Roach from the ALA and there was a roomful of people clapping and cheering in the background, so I figured it had to be good news."

As the news made waves on Twitter, Hertzel says in the article, Andrew Karre, editorial director of Minneapolis' Carolrhoda Books, tweeted about the Minnesotans' "stunningly good" performance."

Local authors pen editorial calling for regional planning

StarTribune Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Dave Van Hattum, who is the policy and advocacy program manager at Transit for Livable Communities and Jim Erkel, the land use and transportation program director at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, co-wrote a recent Star Tribune editorial urging the Twin Cities to pull together as a region to stay competitive.

Van Huttum and Erkel, along with Ann Canby of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, are the authors of a report about regional governance titled "Planning to Succeed?"

In their editorial, they state: "Today, we hear from some quarters that we don't need a strong regional vision, that local control is the key to success." They argue that that kind of thinking could put the metro area behind others across the country while also shortchanging its ability to respond to changing needs.

The market is shifting to more walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods. "To compete with other regions, we need to ensure that the money we spend on transit, roads, airports, and sewers maximizes efficiency."

Brookings head: MSP needs higher visibility on national stage

MinnPost.com Tuesday, January 11, 2011

MinnPost.com's Steve Berg recently spoke with Bruce Katz, head of the metropolitan policy program at the Brookings Institution, for an outside view of Minneapolis-St. Paul's economic competitiveness.

Katz tells Berg that the region needs to go beyond planning and infrastructure and pursue a higher national profile, as well as show greater focus and energy in attracting and retaining jobs.

"The economy that got us into the recession isn't the same one that will get us out of it," Katz said. "Metros should know what they do best," he said, adding, "It's not about what the public or private sector does; it's about a partnership of both."

Read the rest of Berg's Cityscape post here.

Best Buy branches out into publishing with online mag, video network

Advertising Age Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Advertising Age reports that Best Buy is rolling out its own media network. Best Buy On is being billed as an "online magazine," whose content will be streamed to in-store screens in the TV, mobile and portable entertainment departments. The retailer started experimenting with the publishing project in 2009 and is now "ready for prime time," Ad Age reports. To prove it, the network will be on the ground to cover this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Read the rest at AdAge.com.

The Year in Minnesota Startups/Innovation

Star Tribune Wednesday, January 05, 2011

MOJO/Minnesota agitator Ernest Grumbles III has compiled a look back at the year in startup/innovation news in Minnesota. They include the debut of the state's angel investor tax credit, the creation of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority, as well as the launch/growth of new media sources covering the state's startup/innovation scene (including us!). Read Ernest's full rundown and summaries on his Star Tribune YourVoices blog.

Antiques Roadshow includes Minneapolis on summer tour

Pioneer Press Wednesday, January 05, 2011

For the first time since 2004, the Antiques Roadshow will drop by the Twin Cities as a part of its summer production tour that includes a handful of other U.S. cities, the Pioneer Press reports.

The long-running PBS show puts a dollar value on people's accumulated treasures.

On July 9 the show will be staged in Minneapolis with host Mark L. Walberg--though a venue hasn't been announced yet, the paper says.

Anyone wanting free tickets should sign up at the show's website well in advance, or by April 18, according to the Pioneer Press.

Gibson Guitar blog: First Avenue and 7th Street Entry among top 10 world-class rock venues

Gibson.com Wednesday, January 05, 2011

It probably comes as no surprise to music enthusiasts everywhere that First Avenue and 7th Street Entry in downtown Minneapolis are featured by a Gibson Guitar Corp. blog post that pays homage to 10 world-class rock venues across the globe.

Both stages have hosted many pop icons, including some who started out in the Twin Cities, the blog notes. But when Prince and the Revolution stepped on to the main stage at First Avenue to perform the music in the film, "Purple Rain," the place was memorialized forever.

Throughout the 1980s, Prince continued to experiment with new songs in front of audiences at First Avenue. At the same time, 7th Street Entry turned out such noteworthy local bands as The Replacements, Husker Du, and Soul Asylum, the blog goes on to say, adding: "One wonders if the Midwest alternative explosion would have occurred at all were it not for this cornerstone venue."

Some other venues that made the list include Whisky A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, the Apollo Theater in New York, and the Marquee Club in London, England.

Does Target have an opportunity to leapfrog Walmart in sustainability?

GreenBiz.com Wednesday, December 15, 2010

When Target announced a set of environmental sustainability goals last week, its press release was largely ignored. But GreenBiz.com took a closer look and sees the potential for Target to leapfrog Walmart and go transform from "Tarjay to Targreen."

Writer Dara O'Rourke notes that most of what was in Target's announcement isn't worthy of hoopla. It's playing catch up with Walmart, which set more ambitious goals a few years ago. "[I]n 2010, pledging to eliminate waste is like pledging to close the refrigerator door."

But where Target now has a major impact is in the products it chooses to sell. "Based on an optimistic reading of the company's announcement, Target may now be positioned to do for sustainable products what it did for well designed, yet affordable, consumer products." Read the rest of O'Rourke's piece at GreenBiz.com.

Alvenda, Best Buy among best marketing apps of 2010

Advertising Age Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A couple of products from Twin Cities companies showed up on Advertising Age's lost of 2010's top 10 "Best Marketing Apps."

Alvenda, a social e-commerce company that we wrote about in August, earned an inclusion for its Delta Air Lines ticket window app for Facebook. It allows users to search and book flights without ever leaving Facebook.

Best Buy is mentioned for a mobile app meant to be used in theaters during the movie "Despicable Me." The app dims and silences the phone during the movie, until the credits at the end, when it translates the cartoon characters' language.

See the rest of the list over at AdAge.com.

Minneapolis�s 10-year contract with US Internet among few successful city wi-fi networks

CivSource Wednesday, December 15, 2010

While plenty of U.S. cities have touted plans for citywide wi-fi, Minneapolis may be one of the only ones to deliver, according to CivSource.

Minneapolis's 59-square-mile network, which is offered to residents for as low as $15 monthly, it states, is making money. In contrast, in many other cities, similar efforts have flopped.

US Internet has a $12.5 million, 10-year contract with Minneapolis "which helps ensure network profitability," the article states.

Only six percent of its network capacity will be reached this year, but that figure is likely to rise in 2011, while US Internet is poised to reach its goal for 2012 of 30,000 citizen subscribers.

Minneapolis builds a good case for the model, says CitySource, adding that "despite the cost, it doesn't appear that the contract will be on the chopping block any time soon."

In terms of retirement readiness, Twin Citians set the curve

Forbes Wednesday, December 15, 2010

When it comes to 'retirement-readiness,' the Twin Cities is the ideal place to be, according to Forbes. It cites a study by Ameriprise Financial that indicates that 83 percent of area residents have started saving for their golden years. Raleigh and Baltimore also top the list that ranks 30 of the country's largest metropolises.

By contrast, more than 40 percent of those living in Los Angeles haven't gone there yet. Likewise, Indianapolis and Orlando are unprepared, it shows.

Craig Brimhall, vice president of retirement wealth strategies at Ameriprise, is quoted, saying that "local economic conditions have had such a substantial impact on people that their levels of preparation and confidence appear a bit out of sync."

Target Field in Minneapolis has had a �transformative effect�

Next American City Wednesday, December 08, 2010

The Winter 2010 issue of Next American City magazine says that downtown Minneapolis's Target Field has had a "transformative effect" on its surroundings.

With a record-setting 3 million-plus attendees in the first year, "the park is perhaps the first example of a publicly financed sports stadium done right," even beyond sports, it states.

Target Field, it boasts, is the country's second LEED-certified major league ballpark, with numerous green features, plus easy access to light rail, buses, the popular Nice Ride bike-sharing program, and other transit-oriented developments. The stadium has brought a neighborhood feel to an otherwise business-y district, it goes on.

The story quotes Andrew Dahl who works for the city's economic development office. Noting a dramatic increase in the use of public transportation, biking, and walking, along with more foot traffic to nearby restaurants and bars plus the emergence of pedicabs and street food vendors, Dahl states, "I think when we look back 10 or 20 years from now at what Minneapolis has become, this stadium will really be the definitive turning point."

Portfolio recognizes Twin Cities for its smarts

Portfolio.com Wednesday, December 08, 2010

In a recent Portfolio.com study that analyzed 200 of the country's largest metro areas for "strongest collective brainpower," the Twin Cities comes in 18th.

Number one is Boulder, Colorado while 200th is Merced, California, according to the magazine, which crunched numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Looking at data for post-secondary education and high-school dropout rates in various cities, Portfolio scored cities by "comparing the 2007 median income for all workers ($33,452) with the median income for those workers at a specified educational level," the article states.

The results show that it does indeed pay to have a college degree or two.

What's on Medtronic CEO Bill Hawkins' reading list?

Fast Company Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Twin Cities med-tech exec Hawkins leads a Fast Company round up of what corporate social responsibility and non-profit leaders are reading. Hawkins is chairman and CEO of Medtronic, and also a board member at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Tops on his reading pile these days: Start Up Nation, by Saul Singer, and Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath.

Start Up Nation is "a truly inspiring book on how nations and their culture can directly influence innovation." Switch describes how change is necessary, but "also not altogether natural. "The authors demonstrate how we can harness the power of subliminal thought to enact profound, sustainable change," Hawkins tells Fast Company.