Buzz

Minneapolis and St. Paul made Sherman's Travel’s recent list of the country’s top 10 places for bicycling.

“The Twin Cities emergence as a bike-friendly superstar coincided with a general plan to make the area more livable,” the story states.

The story points to the Nice Ride bike-sharing program, and to bike-themed events that happen frequently here.

Just last year, the city of Minneapolis added 37 miles of bikeways, installed hundreds of bike-specific street signs, and created a citywide bike map for the first time, the story states.

Bill Dossett, who heads Nice Ride, is quoted saying,  “All of these things are happening at the same time that we’ve made this great investment in the last five years,” adding, “You bring all of that together and I think our future is very bright.”
 

The Anchor Fish & Chips restaurant in Minneapolis is featured in a Yahoo! Travel piece about the best seafood spots in the country.
 
“Crisp Alaskan cod and hand-cut fries steal the show at this traditional Irish chipper,” the piece reads. “Request a side of tangy curry sauce to layer on your fries and you're sure to tantalize your taste buds.”
 
The Anchor’s seafood isn’t the only thing drawing people to the small hole-in-the-wall pub, the piece points out. It also has a solid beer selection, well-executed Shepherd’s Pie, and a trendy ambience.  
 
For those on the go, the restaurant’s food truck is a good option, adds Yahoo!
 

The Bachelor Farmer restaurant in Minneapolis was recently featured in the New York Times.

The modern, chic restaurant “playfully blends Scandinavian design and tradition with a handmade-food ethos and the friendly unpretentiousness of the Midwest,” the story reads.

With its unique offerings, such as roasted rutabagas and reinterpreted cinnamon rolls, the place “has given Scandinavian food a much-needed shot of adrenaline.”

Although the state hasn’t always garnered a lot of attention for its food ideas, “this Scandinavian surge is intersecting with the most avant-garde movement in food today: New Nordic cuisine,” it states.

Eric Dayton, who co-owns the restaurant, told the newspaper that the restaurant fell into the trend. “Our goal was something that was authentic to Minnesota, not necessarily authentic to Scandinavia.”

In a recent piece from Fox News, Minneapolis is recognized as a top “revival city.”

Fox explored a handful of cities that might seem under the radar or “once balanced on the economic precipice only to sustain as a stronghold for independent artists, forward-thinking entrepreneurs and corporate backers"--and looked at "how they're being transformed into unique vacation destinations,” the story states.

Minneapolis leads the nation in bicycling; it has award-winning restaurants and music venues and striking hotels, and plenty of art, the story states.

It mentions a laundry list of area destinations, including a 44-mile network of bike paths, the hard-to-get-into Marvel Bar, Eat Street Social, the Art Deco-style W Minneapolis, ArtCrank bike-inspired art and more.

State fairs aren't exactly known for their healthy food and beverages, and the Minnesota State Fair is no exception. With its cheese curds, garlic fries, and bacon-on-a-stick, the yearly event is a much-loved indulgence for thousands of visitors.
 
For Traveler magazine, the standout treat for this year is deep-fried cookie dough. In an article on state fairs around the country, the writer notes: "At the Minnesota State Fair, the scent of freshly baked cookies is not what it seems. These chocolate chip treats skip the oven--instead, they're coated with a sweet batter, deep-friend, and sprinkled with powdered sugar."
 
Other dishes showcased from state fairs include fried watermelon at the Arizona State Fair and chicken-fried bacon at the State Fair of Texas.

The Walker Art Center is renowned for its curation of compelling artworks, cutting-edge contemporary performance, and thought-provoking films. But it's generating a great deal of buzz lately for a particularly quirky offering that's distinctive in the art world: an Internet Cat Video Film Festival.
 
As noted in ABC News, the "festival" is really just an hour-long event, held at the center's Open Field space on August 30th.
 
Since organizers are still reviewing submissions, a solid lineup hasn't been announced, but ABC posited that some viral favorites could be included, such as Surprised Kitty, which had more than 64 million views on YouTube as of late July.
 
News stories about the festival abound, appearing in the Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, BBC News, and Gawker. 

The Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis has been re-imagined as a “hotel for locavores,” according to a recent New York Times story.

Part of the hotel’s recent $25 million renovation used area manufacturers, artisans, and artists. Its new décor “pays tribute to the city’s heritage and industry,” it states.

While the hotel is internationally known, architect Mike Suomi of Stonehill & Taylor says in the story, “We also wanted to craft a narrative that is specific to the location.”

Design touches reference timber and woolen mills while an oversized map of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers is tied together with Post-Its, which the city is also known for.

Bon Appetit magazine recently pulled together a list of the top five soda fountains around the country.

“A band of bartender converts are stepping up to the seltzer tap, returning us to the era of phosphates and egg creams,” the story states. Eat Street Social in Minneapolis made the list.  

“Sodas go toe-to-toe with craft cocktails at this lively bar,” it reads, adding that the Raspberry Rickey is a must-order.

The Twin Cities is full of incredible finds, from avant-garde desserts to haute tater tots, according to Food & Wine magazine.
 
In its August issue, the publication features the insights of writer Kate Krader, who visited Minneapolis on a restaurant research trip.
 
"I lost my heart to Minneapolis and its awesome restaurants, bars and bakeries," she writes. "Plus, it's hard not to adore a city where such good restaurants are so inexpensive, at least when you're used to New York City prices."
 
Krader provided short write-ups on a number of local restaurants, including Travail Kitchen & Amusements, Victory 44, The Bachelor Farmer, Haute Dish, and Tilia.
 

The Twin Cities are home to 18 companies in the Fortune 500, so it's little wonder that such a lengthy list of ad agencies have set up shop here, according to industry must-read magazine Advertising Age. As a bonus, Minneapolis is a "smart and artsy town," the article states.
 
Another unique aspect of our local ad agency scene is the breadth of new agencies and their ability to thrive, Ad Age notes. As an example, the article points to Olson, which has 330 employees in the Minneapolis office, and counts Target, Bauer Hockey, and Northwestern Mutual among its clients.
 
The article goes on to list other benefits to living and working here, including our fast-growing craft-beer scene, startup culture, and progressive diversity programs.

BrightScope, an investment research firm, released its second annual list of the Minneapolis-area-based companies that boast the highest-ranked 401k plans.
 
Twenty five companies were highlighted, including newcomers to the list like M.A. Mortenson Company, The Valspar Corporation, and American Medical Systems.
 
The top three companies were Fish & Richardson, Briggs and Morgan, and Leonard Street and Deinard.
 
"It is apparent that the companies on this list have created high quality and effective 401k plans for their employees, making each of them a standard in which all other companies in the Minneapolis area should strive to imitate," noted Dan Weeks, BrightScope founder, in a press release about the results.

Business magazine Forbes released its annual "Best Places for Business and Careers" list, and the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area came in at 22nd place among the nation's 200 largest metros.
 
Although that might seem like a low ranking, given the many "Top 10" lists that the Twin Cities makes, it's actually a boost over last year, when the area came in at 34th, and a huge jump over 2010, when the Twin Cities ranked 57th.
 
As the list notes, our metro area struggles with cost of business issues and job growth, but benefits from strong education and a lower cost of living than many other areas. 

A recent analysis from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that Minnesota boasts the best healthcare system in the country, according to the Star Tribune.

The state’s high marks came in the areas of medical clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes.

“Overall, Minnesota ranks third for care of patients with acute conditions, seventh for chronic care and 11th for preventive care,” the Star Tribune story states.

Jennifer Lundblad, president of the nonprofit organization Stratis Health, is quoted saying, “For more than five years we've had an intense collaboration among providers, health plans, state officials and others to tackle both quality and cost issues," adding, "That's hard work ... and this report confirms where we're doing well and where we still need to improve.”

The Pioneer Press reports that a local fashion designer will appear on the next season of Lifetime’s popular reality TV show, “Project Runway.”

The 27-year-old Raul Osorio describes himself as self-taught, according to the story. He’s “known for his attention to tailoring and striking a balance between feminine and masculine designs,” the story states, adding that his combination of hats, rolled-up pants and ankle boots make him a striking sight at fashion events all over town.

Four other Minnesotans have made it onto the TV show. The show’s 10th season starts on July 19.

Lakes, bacon-on-a-stick, dogsleds, and "Minnesota Nice"...no wonder our state has a generally joyous vibe. Now it's even got the credentials to prove it.
 
Minnesota ranks at number 3 in a recent list of the 10 happiest states in America, as noted by the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index. The state came in first place for physical health (yet ranked no. 18 for healthy behavior) and also got a nod for emotional health, good work environments, and overall life satisfaction.
 
Hawaii residents had the highest well-being score in the nation, and West Virginia came in last. Overall, Western and Midwestern states earned nine out of 10 of the highest well-being scores, while Southern states accounted for half of the 10 lowest scores.