Strong Local Economy : Buzz

Three Minnesota companies landed on the annual list of 100 Best Companies, compiled by Working Mother magazine.
 
Carlson, General Mills, and McGladrey were recognized for their family-friendly benefits and programs, which help to keep working mothers' careers on track.
 
With its baby sign language classes, tuition reimbursement, and high number of female managers, Carlson stood out on the list.
 
Also notable was General Mills, with free career counseling for employees' unemployed family members. The company was also recognized for having working mothers head five of its seven U.S. retail divisions.
 
McGladrey made the list for alternative schedules that help employees with work-life balance, and a free coach-on-call program, which offers employees access to sessions with a licensed career coach.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently released a list of 100 businesses that have created at least 100 jobs since receiving SBA assistance, and three Minnesota companies were highlighted.
 
Great Clips, Shield Services, and Tastefully Simple--all based in Minnesota--made the list, showing growth since their SBA aid.
 
Great Clips received a $9 million SBA loan in 1997 and used the money to grow from 800 salons to over 3,000 franchised locations, creating 15,000 jobs along the way.
 
Security firm Shield Services benefited from the agency's business development program and an SBA-assisted contract, and now employs 130 people.
 
Tastefully Simple, a food-mix and gift purveyor launched in 1995, used a $20,000 SBA loan to grow into a $100 million company with 340 employees. 

In a recent USA Today story about ways to make the most of produce before it goes bad, Minneapolis is named along with Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, for having thriving food swaps.

Food swaps, which are listed here, help avoid wasting food, the author explains. “Imagine a place where regular people get together to unload what they have too much of (summer squash? raspberry jam?) and, in exchange, find something they need or hadn't thought of (asparagus beans? pickled okra?)." 

Other creative food-saving measures mentioned include donating items to a food pantry or preserving, cooking, or juicing fruits and vegetables. 

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.

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."

 

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.

Grist, a source for green news, recently posted a video and text about the Twin Cities' Nice Ride bikeshare program.

Streetfilms took a special trip to the Twin Cities to find out more about Nice Ride.

Quoting Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who says, "You've got to go big or go home," Grist emphasizes the fact that the program went from 65 stations with 700 bikes last year to the current 116 stations and 1,200 bikes.

Companies see the bikeshare stations as good for business, Rybak says. 

Washington, D.C., Madison, Wisc., Denver, and Boston have similar bikeshare services, it states.

Although California was named the best state for kid-friendly dining, Minnesota ranked high in kid-friendly options, according to online restaurant reservation site OpenTable.

The list of winners was culled from more than ten million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners, and included more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states.

Out of 100 top kid-friendly eateries, twelve Minnesota restaurants were recognized, with Buca di Beppo nabbing five spots for its family-friendly style in Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Axel's Bonfire took three spots on the list for its locations in Blaine, Savage, and Woodbury.

Also making the list were Boca Chica Restaurant in St. Paul, Burger Jones near Lake Calhoun, and Good Earth and Mozza Mia, both in Edina.

Johnny Michaels, who works as a bartender at La Belle Vie restaurant in Minneapolis, was recently featured in Esquire magazine.

"Mixology is sort of like cooking with liquor," says Michaels in the interview, joking,  "With my looks and personality, I should've been a cook."  

He describes his good fortune to have wound up at La Belle Vie, which he imagines is "like getting drafted by the New England Patriots."

Although he claims he's not a popular "silver-tongued" charmer, he admits that he's in a good position to see people's moods brighten.

"What's good to hear is when people tell you, 'That's the best drink I've ever had in my life.' That's my crack. That's my home run," he says in the piece.   

According to rankings compiled by U.S. News and World Report, The Saint Paul Hotel is the top luxury hotel in the Twin Cities, based on an unbiased analysis of awards, expert recommendations, and user ratings.

The publication's travel listings noted that the hotel has a combination of history and comfort, and excels at sophisticated elegance. "Sipping a cocktail in the classic lobby bar or dining at the St. Paul Grill are culinary highlights of many travelers' trips," the site noted.

Coming in second and third on the list are Graves 601 Minneapolis and Hotel Ivy, which also garner high marks in terms of recognition and user ratings.

Event planning site Successful Meetings reported on a survey of the 10 best convention and visitors bureaus and destination marketing organizations in North America, and Minneapolis came in third place, just after Toronto and Seattle.

The results were derived from a survey by the Watkins Research Group of over 600 meeting planners, and identified over 30 defining characteristics of 46 key convention and meeting destinations.

Meet Minneapolis, the city's convention bureau (and a sponsor of The Line), was noted  for attendance gains in the first four months of 2011, particularly in major shows like the Twin Cities Auto Show and Minneapolis Home and Garden Show.

Cool Hunting, which showcases interesting new developments every week in the areas of design, tech, style, travel, culture, and more, recently featured an invention that comes out of Minneapolis.

Bike Fixtation, the bicycle-repair kiosk from the Minneapolis company of the same name, topped a recent list of picks on the Cool Hunting website.

"If you've ever ended up stranded in the city with a flat tire, you'll find the new Bike Fixtation kiosks helpful. The self-service stations are open extended hours for bicyclists in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan areas," the notice reads.
 
An international team of editors and contributors at Cool Hunting sort through all kinds of innovations to provide the weekly digest.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area landed on Forbes' list of Best Cities for Young Professionals, coming in at number 10 on a list of 15 top cities.

The Midwest was well represented on the list, with Des Moines grabbing the top spot, Madison coming in third and Omaha at number five.

To determine the best cities for young professionals--which Forbes defines as adults aged 24 to 34 who hold a bachelor's degree or higher--the magazine assessed cities on seven factors, including unemployment rates, projected growth, number of small businesses, median salaries, and cost of living.