Buzz

What constitutes local food in the Twin Cities? Lenny Russo, "a de facto leader in the local and sustainable food movement," argues at his Star Tribune's Your Voices blog that it's not as restrictive as farmer's markets might have it, nor as broad as California growers want:

"Heartland is a Midwestern regional restaurant , and as such its food shelf extends as far east as Ohio, south to Missouri west to the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska and north to Canada and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  In other words, we draw products from the entire Midwestern portion of North America. While the vast majority of our ingredients are sourced within a 200 mile radius of the restaurant, there are some who would not consider much of what we serve to be local food. We certainly wouldn't pass muster with the St. Paul Farmers' Market whose members define local food as that which is grown and produced within 75 miles of the market."

Read the entire article here.

University of Minnesota professor Marla Spivak has won a MacArthur genius grant for her research into the health of bees. The Wall Street Journal featured her in an article about this year's winners:

"'It just blew me away,' said Marla Spivak, a 55-year-old professor of apiculture at the University of Minnesota. 'I thought they might have the wrong person.' She won the grant for breeding honey bees that can restore health to beehives stricken with pests or pathogens, which in recent years have devastated U.S. bee colonies. She plans to use the grant to launch new bee-related projects. ...

"'Creativity is at the heart of this' fellowship program, said Robert Gallucci, president of the MacArthur Foundation. 'The most vexing problems are not going to be addressed without creativity.'"

Earlier this month, Spivak's latest article on bees was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Here is an excerpt from her highly readable article:

"Colony collapse disorder, the name for the syndrome causing honey bees (Apis mellifera) to suddenly and mysteriously disappear from their hives�thousands of individual worker bees literally flying off to die�captured public consciousness when it was first named in 2007. Since then, the story of vanishing honey bees has become ubiquitous in popular consciousness�driving everything from ice cream marketing campaigns to plots for The Simpsons. The untold story is that these hive losses are simply a capstone to more than a half-century of more prosaic day-to-day losses that beekeepers already faced from parasites, diseases, poor nutrition, and pesticide poisoning.

"The larger story still is that while honey bees are charismatic and important to agriculture, other important bees are also suffering, and in some cases their fates are far worse. These other bees are a subset of the roughly 4000 species of wild bumble bees (Bombus), leafcutter bees (Megachile), and others that are native to North America. While the honey bee was originally imported from Europe by colonists in the early 17th century, it is these native bees that have evolved with our local ecosystems, and, along with honey bees, are valuable crop pollinators.

"People want to know why bees are dying and how to help them. This concern provides a good opportunity to more closely examine pollinators and our dependence upon them. Bees are reaching their tipping point because they are expected to perform in an increasingly inhospitable world. ...

"But there is no reason to wait for research and policy to mitigate the plight of the bees. Individuals can modify their immediate landscapes to make them healthier for bees, whether that landscape is a public rangeland in Wyoming or a flower box in Brooklyn."

Read the full articles in The Wall Street Journal and Environmental Science and Technology.

Two mainstays of the local classical-music scene, the Schubert Club and the Music in the Park concert series, have merged their organizations. Both are in good shape but see their merger as a route to bigger and better things, reports the St. Anthony Park Bugle:

"Opportunity, not desperation, prompted Himmelstrup to accept van Bergen's proposal. 'We were not in trouble. We are rock-solid. We have a good amount of money in the bank,' Himmelstrup says, noting an annual budget of more than $150,000. 'It's good for both sides. Together we can cook up a whole lot of things.'

"Joining a well-established and well-respected institution like the Schubert Club, which has an annual budget of nearly $2 million and a 12-person staff, was a seductive proposition for Himmelstrup, who, with a part-time manager, makes up half of Music in the Park's staff. Still, the decision to merge with Minnesota's oldest arts organization was not made in haste.

"'We thought long and hard' before accepting van Bergen's proposal, says Himmelstrup who started the chamber-music series in 1979.

"'She is taking a big leap of faith and trusting us to carry and grow her baby,' van Bergen says. 'How do you continue to grow this amazing thing that she's built?'

"For more than three decades, Himmelstrup has served as artistic director for Music in the Park, bringing chamber music (including jazz) to St. Anthony Park, exposing the neighborhood to nationally prominent and promising musicians and composers.

"Still, joining forces made sense on both an artistic and a financial level. It ensures the future of the Music of the Park series and expands the program offerings of both organizations.

"'Two healthy organizations coming together�we really couldn't ask for a better scenario,' says van Bergen."

Read the full article here.

The Metropolitan Council is reining in its plans for building roads to far-flung suburban developments, favoring instead more central highway lanes dedicated to transit and toll payers, according to the Star Tribune:

"A sudden change in Twin Cities highway planning could mean the end of the road for some suburban projects.

"Commuters and suburban elected officials are fuming over the decision by planners to back away from the age-old compact in which the state tries to keep pace with suburban expansion.

"Planners are instead embracing the idea of blanketing the inner metro area with a network of so-called "managed lanes"--what critics have long dubbed 'Lexus lanes'--for buses and drivers who are willing to pay extra to skirt stalled traffic. Officials outside the Interstate 694-494 beltway say they see their hopes for new roads vanishing as a result, despite forecasts for major population growth. ...

"The clash features some unexpected opponents: On one side are state officials working for a Republican governor, along with transit advocates, environmentalists and much of the business community. On the other are many Republican-voting suburbs."

Read the full article here.

An idea developed by Twin Cities Public Television is set to be sprung on the nation next year via PBS. "Next Avenue" targets baby boomers first online then through television programming, the New York Times reports:

"The core of the project, called Next Avenue, will be a Web site with original and aggregated content from public and nonprofit partners--organized around health and wellness; money and financial security; and a category called living and learning--that is expected to start April 1.

"Some existing public television shows will be bundled together under the Next Avenue banner, but original television programming is not planned until the third year. Community events coordinated by local public television stations will also be part of the package.

"The initiative, which is based at Twin Cities Public Television, the public station in Minneapolis-St. Paul, has some deep-pocketed foundations backing its development with $5 million in grants, which is a fairly typical public broadcasting approach. But to make Next Avenue self-sustaining once it starts up, organizers are forming a new sponsorship approach for public television, which is often a difficult sell to marketers used to buying commercial time on more ratings-driven networks. ...

"Next Avenue grew out of Twin Cities Public Television's 2004 award-winning documentary for PBS called 'The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's,' and its series, 'Life (Part 2),' also on PBS, about the generation's fresh approach to aging."

Read the full article here.

The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal reports that Minneapolitans boast the best credit rating in the nation, with an average score of 787, according to credit reporting agency Experion. (Interestingly enough, the average debt tops a hefty $25,000.)

"Other Midwestern cities placed high on the list. Following Minneapolis was Madison, Wis., with a score of 785; Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a score of 781; and Green Bay, Wis, with a score of 780. At the bottom were Harlingen, Texas (684), Jackson, Miss. (698), and Corpus Christi, Texas (700)."

Read the entire article here.

Target's announcement last week that it would open half-size stores in urban markets like Seattle drew attention in the business press.
 
The smaller format is a "new approach to urban markets," according to the Associated Press, featuring more site-appropriate sizing than the standard big box.

"'We've never been a cookie-cutter retailer, but we are increasingly realizing that one size doesn't fit all,' said John Griffith, executive vice president of property management at Target.

"The new store will be about 90,000 square feet. The new urban prototype will range anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet. A typical Target store ranges in size from 125,000 to 180,000 square feet. Company officials made the announcement Friday at a rare media conference at Target Field, the Minneapolis ballpark."
 
AOL's Daily Finance advanced a more prosaic take, pegging the move as an attempt to steal business from urban supermarkets and from competitor Wal-Mart, which also plans a new focus on urban markets.
 

Last week brought a flurry of news coverage around a proposed $1 billion fund to support a biotech park near Rochester. In the end, though, we were left not knowing much more than we did at the start of the week.

San Francisco biotech investor Steven Burrill told the Star Tribune that he was close to completing the billion-dollar deal, which would help fund the Elk Run BioBusiness Park in Pine Island, Minn.

The next day, Burrill softened/hedged/clarified his words in a press release, saying that no deal is guaranteed.

MedCityNews recaps the statements and concludes that maybe Burrill should have stuck with "We're making progress. Hopefully, we'll have a deal soon."

If it seems like you can't swing a bicycle messenger bag in this town without hitting another artist or creative, it's because we're creatively dense.

Creative-class guru Richard Florida has been crunching geographic numbers over at The Atlantic lately. Last week, Florida took a look at the density of artistic and cultural creatives.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area ranks fifth overall, behind Los Angeles, New York, DC and San Francisco, when measured by the number of artistic and cultural creative workers per square kilometer.

The Twin Cities rank in the same place on Florida's list of creative "overperformers"--cities with the highest density of artistic and cultural creatives compared to what would be expect based on their population density.

Charts and graphs over at The Atlantic.

Construction is one of the industries that has taken the brunt of the economic downturn. But student housing is one market that's remained vital during the recession. The Star Tribune reports on several current projects at local colleges and universities:

"Student housing is an often-ignored niche of multifamily real estate that's surviving the recession quite well in many instances, especially when it's connected to schools and universities that have growing enrollments, like the University of Minnesota.

"Unlike many other types of commercial real estate, investors in the form of real estate investment trusts (REITs) are putting money into student housing, and banks are making loans to the builders of such housing, attracted by their stable occupancy rates and the fact that rents charged to students have held up well during the recession--in some cases, even risen."

Read the full article here.

Forest Hills may have a lock on tennis' U.S. Open Tournament, but Minneapolis was able to coax the organizers of racquetball's own U.S. Open tournament to move upriver from Memphis, where the national championship has been held for 14 years, according to KARE 11:

"Minneapolis outbid five other cities to become the new home of this world-class event. Racquetball's best players from around the globe will come to Minnesota for their chance to win the sport's most prestigious event. ...

"The U.S. Open Racquetball Championships will bring 800 professional and amateur racquetball players to Minneapolis this October, plus an additional 3,000 spectators. The tournament is estimated to bring more than $4 million in economic impact to the region over the course of the week-long event."

Read the full article here.

EarthClean Corp. is the winner of the 2010 Minnesota Cup.

The Minneapolis startup, which we wrote about last month, makes a nontoxic, biodegradable alternative to conventional firefighting foams.

The product, TetraKO, is a patented dry-mix product that, when mixed with water, forms a non-toxic gel that sticks to surfaces and suppresses flames.

The Star Tribune's Patent Pending blog notes that the company will receive an additional $20,000 in prize money in addition to the $20,000 it won early this month for winning the clean tech division.

CEO Doug Ruth tells the Star Tribune's Patent Pending blog that he plans to use the money for sales and marketing.

"Spiritual leader of 25,000 geeks." "Marketing genius." Now add CTO to those titles.

Tech blogger/consultant Graeme Thickens met up with Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens to talk about his new role as Best Buy's chief technology officer.

There wasn't any press release about the promotion. Stephens said he's rather have recognition when he has some results to talk about.

Find the 21-minute audio recording over at Thickens' blog.

Hotels are outpacing office and retail buildings in attracting investors' capital, especially among Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), according to Bloomberg.com, which cites Minneapolis' Hilton hotel as an example:

"REITs may be the primary buyers of hotels as they come on the market because 'they are fairly well capitalized and have access to attractively priced capital,' said John Arabia, managing director at Green Street Advisors, a Newport Beach, California-based real estate research company.

"Sunstone last month acquired Miami Beach's Royal Palm hotel in a foreclosure auction for about $117 million. LaSalle Hotel Properties, a REIT that focuses on upscale lodging, last week said it bought its first hotel in San Francisco as well as two in Philadelphia for a total of $292.5 million. DiamondRock Hospitality Co. in May agreed to buy the 821-room Hilton Minneapolis for about $155.5 million, and Host Hotels said in July it's seeking deals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

"'Publicly traded REITs will be a significant buyer of hotels over the next few years,' Arabia said. 'It's now REITs that will have their day in sun.'"

Read the full article here. 

The St. Paul Capital City Partnership is taking a new look at its role, with more emphasis on attracting and retaining businesses and less stress on placemaking events, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports:

"Capital City Partnership plans to have a new organization, including new leadership, in place by 2011. 'They plan to work extensively in both business recruitment and business retention,' Kramer wrote.

"The St. Paul Area Chamber is in also involved in both of those activities, although less so in recruitment, and there is a potential for overlap that will have to be worked out with the two groups, Kramer said. ...

"The organization received a lot of credit for its role developing the $170 million Xcel Energy Center and attracting the NHL back to Minnesota in 2000. The partnership also has been credited with helping St. Paul attract the headquarters of Lawson Software (1998), Gander Mountain (2005), and Cray Inc. (2009).

"Capital City Partnership had owned and ran the summer festival known as Taste of Minnesota for 13 years before it sold the event in 2009. In 2006, the partnership began producing the Wells Fargo WinterSkate at Landmark Plaza and to transform Rice Park into a holiday light show designed to emulate Rockefeller Center in New York City. During summer months, the Capital City Partnership has been running a flower-basket beautification program since 1999."

Read the full article here.