Buzz

Antiques Roadshow finds lots to see in Minneapolis

MinnPost Wednesday, May 09, 2012

PBS’ Antiques Roadshow filmed three hour-long episodes in Minneapolis last July, which premiered on tpt this week.

Minnpost highlights some of the results of the show’s local visit, which will continue to air over the next two weeks.

“The show visits the American Swedish Institute to look at Mora clocks, the Wabasha Street Caves to talk about flashlights, and the World War II hangar of the Commemorative Air Force—Minnesota Wing, whose holdings include (who knew?) wartime Disney cartoons and memorabilia," it states.

One local woman finds out that her 1885 heirloom oil painting by Russian artist Franz Roubaud is highly valuable, thanks to the current Russian art market.

The upcoming May 14 episode includes appearances from Minnesota Supreme Court justice and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page, who collects black Americana objects.

Placemaking conversation regarding Hennepin Avenue at Walker Art Center

Walker Art Center Wednesday, May 02, 2012

The Walker Art Center magazine features a story about the “Art of Placemaking,” as it pertains to Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

“Despite its status as a major, historic thoroughfare in Minneapolis--or maybe because of it--Hennepin Avenue has for decades been regarded as a problematic, contested public space,” it reads.

A project called Plan-It Hennepin aims to change that, by turning it into a “lively, compelling cultural corridor,” the story says.

The story touches on the Walker’s perspective on the process, in which it’s a participant: It quotes the Walker’s Olga Viso, who says, “Along with our partners in Plan-It Hennepin, we thought that the Walker could help lead a different conversation in terms of creativity and envisioning possibilities, by bringing artists’ voices into the process.”

This story dovetails with The Line's feature this week on Candy Chang.

Photographer puts together Twins games time lapse

MinnPost Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Minnpost has a brief piece about photographer Bruce Hemmelgarn’s 23-hour time-lapse of Target Field.

The result, which is posted on its website and Hemmelgarn’s blog, brings together day and night games from April 11 and 12.

It uses thousands of images to show the transition from one game to the next. At one point in the evening, the moon is visible in the scene, Hemmelgarn notes on his blog.

The time-lapse has been posted in many places, including the CBS Sports Daily Blog and the Major League Baseball website.

Twin Cities named top destination for affordable vacations

Livability.com Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Even with a somewhat improved economy, belts are still tightened when it comes to vacations and extra expenses. Fortunately for the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, we still have the ability to entertain visitors without risk of giving them sticker shock.

A recent study from Livability.com ranked the top 10 most affordable vacation cities in the country. The website took its database of 500 cities and narrowed them down based on factors like availability of discounts on local attractions and quantity of free activities.

The Minneapolis area was ranked second on the list, after Louisville, Kentucky. The editors noted: "Explore the City of Lakes and 180-plus area parks, where 81 miles of on-street and 85 miles of off-street trails showcase landscapes and historic neighborhoods."

Minneapolis-based foundation gives Yale School of Drama its largest donation ever

Yale Daily News Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Minneapolis-based Robina Foundation has given the Yale School of Drama its largest donation ever, in the form of an $18 million gift.

According to an article in Yale Daily News, the funds will go toward supporting the Yale Center for New Theatre, which was established in 2008 with a grant from Robina. The Center will be renamed the Binger Center for New Theatre, after Robina Foundation founder James Binger, a passionate advocate of theater.

The Robina Foundation is a private grantmaking organization that "seeks to positively impact critical social issues by encouraging innovation...and transformative projects," according to the foundation's mission statement.

Travel + Leisure calls Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport the best in the country

Travel + Leisure Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have picked Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as the best in the nation.

In its first airport survey, the magazine asked readers to rank 22 airports based on categories like food and drink, check-in, security, service, location, and design. The results were published in Travel + Leisure's April issue.

The Twin Cities airport was called the "cheeriest and most welcoming" airport in the country, nabbing the top spot thanks to its easy check-in and efficient security process.

"T+L voters loved the shopping and food and drink options at this mini-mall of an airport, and when it came to ease of check-in and security, Minneapolis also took the No. 1 spot," the article noted.

New York's La Guardia was ranked as the worst on the list, preceded by LAX.

Forbes chooses local companies as top corporate citizens

Forbes Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Business magazine Forbes released its annual "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list, and eight Minnesota companies found a place on the roster.

Hormel Foods was ranked the highest of the state's companies, coming in at number 19 on the list, followed by The Mosaic Co., 3M, General Mills, and Medtronic.

Also on the list are Best Buy, Target, and UnitedHealth Group.

Forbes came up with the results by comparing companies in seven areas, including human rights, employee relations, philanthropy, and environmental awareness.

MCTC student gets national recognition

Minneapolis Community and Technical College Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Recently, Brad Conley, a student at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, was recognized as a member of the All-USA Community College Academic Team and a New Century Scholar, representing the state.

He’s one of 20 students selected from a pool of 1,700 nominations that came from around the country to be part of the team, according to school information.

On April 23, Conley was recognized for the achievement at a convention in Orlando, Florida, and he got a shout-out in USA Today.

The honors come with $4,500 in scholarship money.

“The New Century Scholars program and the All-USA Community College Academic Team honor outstanding community college students for their grades, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and volunteerism,” MCTC materials read.

Source: MCTC

Fox News ranks Summit Maibock as one of the best spring beers

Fox News Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fox News included Summit Maibock, a type of beer from the locally based Summit Brewing Company, in its list of the top-ten spring beers from U.S. and German breweries.

The piece provides some background on this seasonal style of beer, which usually comes out in April or May.

Considering Summit’s Bavarian roots, “it's only natural that they honor that heritage by brewing their own Maibock,” the article states.

Summit’s Maibock “is fermented at slightly warmer temperatures than other lagers to coax more spicy aromas from the hops. As for its flavor, Moravian 37 and Munich malts and Saaz and Mt. Hood hops combine for a toasted sweetness with a subtle spice and peppery character.”

Chef Shack featured in 'America's Most Creative Food Trucks'

Yahoo! Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A story from Yahoo! about “America’s Most Creative Food Trucks,” features the Twin Cities-based Chef Shack.

Yahoo surveyed the country’s “quirkiest cuisine” delivered on wheels.

It found that while the popular Chef Shack may seem to offer a random menu at first, with everything from bacon beer brats to beef tongue tacos, everything is sourced from local family farms and coops.

“Chef Shack operators Carrie Summer and Lisa Carlson switch up the menu on a regular basis, tailoring it to the season's prime ingredients. This means that your taste buds are guaranteed a flavorful punch no matter which dish you order,” it states.

Venture Beat nods to local coworking space, business accelerator

Venture Beat Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Venture Beat mentions the local CoCo coworking space and Project Skyway business accelerator in a story about the coworking trend.

Skyway is an example of the kind of collaborations that can come out of coworking, it expains.

For the vast majority of startups, coworking may be a better alternative than the traditional business incubator, it argues.

“Co-working shifts the startup mentality away from the tunnel-vision focus on getting funding, and onto the 'first-things-first' task of growing a company culture, developing ideas, and most importantly, nurturing support networks,” it states.

Minnesota Book Awards winners announced

St. Paul Pioneer Press Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Minnesota Book Awards have become popular and highly competitive honors, and more than 750 people attended the announcements about who won, according to a story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Nine categories were included, and some of the winners were: Laura Purdie Salas, for her children's book "Bookspeak! Poems About Books"; Richard A. Thompson, for his novel "Big Wheat"; and Ed Bok Lee, for his poetry book "Whorled."

Allan Kornblum, founder of Minneapolis-based Coffee House Press, received an award for lifelong contributions to the state's literary community.

The award program is a project of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, in consortium with the St. Paul Public Library and the city of St. Paul.

Minneapolis-St. Paul top cities for jobs

Orange County Register Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Orange County Register in California recently reported on a survey from temp firm Ajilon Professional Hiring, which looked at the best places in the country for finding a job.

The firm named Minneapolis-St. Paul as the top spot for job hunters, based on factors like unemployment rate, diversity of industries, cost of living, level of higher education, and the range in size of companies offering jobs.

Ajilon noted that the Twin Cities topped the list mainly because hiring is on the rise among its large industry players in sectors like financial services, health care, retail, and manufacturing. The area is also family-friendly, with low crime and poverty rates, the article noted.

Minneapolis designer recognized for innovative crutch invention

Plastics News Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Traditional crutches can be cumbersome, difficult to use, and downright painful. That was the experience of Minneapolis-based designer Jeff Weber after he had to hobble around with a broken heel.

He was determined to create a better option, and came up with Mobilegs, a plastic and aluminum crutch that recently won the medical and scientific category award in the Society of the Plastics Industry's design competition.

The product was covered in a recent issue of Plastics News, which included quotes from the award's judges. One industrial design judge joked: "You almost can't wait to hurt your ankle just so you can use it."

Local PR executive showcased in Wall Street Journal story on mentorship

Wall Street Journal Wednesday, April 11, 2012

In a recent article on the benefits of mentoring programs, Minneapolis-based public relations professional Tameka Davis shared her insights on how a mentor helped her to succeed.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Davis chose a mentor in the interactive and social media field, and found numerous benefits with the arrangement. She developed a five-year career plan, improved her networking skills, and learned to work better with clients, the article noted.

The story went on to include tips on maintaining an effective mentor-protégé relationship.

Davis says, "It's just good to be able to talk to someone who has been there and can help you navigate your career."