coordination/collaboration : 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.

In a story this month from The Economist titled "A Warmer Welcome in a Colder State," the magazine describes the receptive atmosphere for immigration in the Twin Cities, and beyond.

Despite a 130 percent increase in foreign-born people in the state between 1990 and 2000--compared with the 57 percent national average for the same period--"Minnesota has largely avoided the backlash seen in states such as Arizona," it reads.

The state is far removed from Latin America, and unauthorized migration isn't a big concern here, the story says. However, the state has been proactive in this area, with strong refugee resettlement programs that go back to the 1980s.

The Twin Cities have also established a number of related support initiatives for immigrants. For starters, Minneapolis and St. Paul are "sanctuary cities," which prevents police from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their regular work.

Government money has also gone to help immigrant entrepreneurs.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak acknowledges that while there have been plenty of challenges, "it has an enormous upside in a global economy.".

A study of 361 metro areas gives the Twin Cities a third-place ranking for its resilience. Rochester, Minn., and Bismarck, N.D. top the list, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

The Business Journal states that according to the study "there is no place better than the Upper Midwest at bouncing back from financial, natural or other disasters."

Cities in Texas and California were at the bottom of the list, whixh came out of the University at Buffalo Regional Institute.

Factors in the Resilience Capacity Index included voter participation, home ownership, economic diversity and income levels, the Business Journal reports.

As a part of a larger project on American Muslims, the Washington Post has a feature story and slide show that shed light on the efforts of local Somali youth activist Abdirizak Bihi.

Bihi, who singlehandedly runs the Somali Education and Special Advocacy Center in Minneapolis, has been a valuable resource for authorities investigating the radicalization of American Muslims.

But much of his work in "Little Mogadishu," an area of Minneapolis where many Somalis live and gather, has to do with setting up more youth programming.

Photos in a slide show document his work to build up youth soccer and basketball programs, including getting an AstroTurf field built, fundraising for Somali Week athletic games, improving access to a local gym, and starting a girls' basketball league.

The only way he can be successful in protecting his community, he says, is "to do everything to build up every part of these kids' lives."

The StarTribune newspaper last week released the findings of its second annual survey of Minnesota employees on which are the best places to work.

Pennsylvania research firm WorkplaceDynamics conducted the survey, in which 278 companies participated and 60,538 employees responded.

"Employees ranked pay and benefits below concerns about conditions at the company, execution and their company's strategic direction," writes John J. Oslund of the survey and selection process.

In the end, the top 100 companies were chosen from three categories: large, mid-size and small employers.

You can view the top ten in each category and find links to much more here. 

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.  

Did you miss last week's MinneDemo event? TECHdotMN has it covered, complete with video of all ten entrepreneurs/tinkerers who showed off their projects, which ranged from mobile games to a potentially disruptive web healthcare start-up.

As for the event itself, TECHdotMN's Jeff Pesek emphasizes that "Minnedemo is now on a whole new level," growing from a below-the-radar coffee shop meet-up a few years ago to a "top-notch" venue in the University of St. Thomas business school auditorium.

"If the raw energy, massive attendance (300+) and multitude of new faces means anything, then Minnedemo's awareness has alone has reached a new level, but I think there's more to it than that�"

More at TECHdotMN.

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.

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."  

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.

Mark Mallman stayed awake for 78 hours, playing music with help from fellow rockers from near and far. The Mark Mallman Marathon III astounded fans at St. Paul's Turf Club and around the world via the Web. City Pages live-bloggers bore witness to an event that blew off any dust that had gathered on the local scene since Mallman's last marathon. Afterward, CP collected quotes from others who can say they were there:

"Some of us may remember when our friend Mark Mallman decided to do his first 'Marathon' in 1999. Knowing Mark, it didn't seem weird that he would attempt such a stunt. The man has far too much energy and tends to be one of those creative juggernauts that fill the Twin Cities music scene....There was a sense of pride in being able to participate and carry the music on stage, while in the club and on the internet the event created a pervasive feeling of unity in the community. On a zombie-filled weekend intent on keeping the Twin Cities weird, Mark Mallman finished his Marathon Sunday night to roaring applause from all walks of life in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and around the world."

Read the entire article here.

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 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.