The Cities Category Archive: Business

Business leaders say they'll fight for Southwest light rail

Posted at 5:14 PM on March 28, 2012 by Jessica Mador (1 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Politics, Transportation

Both the House and Senate have failed to include the Southwest light rail line from Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis on a list of recommended projects. Top Republicans in the House and Senate say they have concerns about the cost of building and operating the $1.25 billion line.

The Southwest light rail is among a handful of projects around the country selected to receive competitive federal grants. If the state doesn't fund the light rail line this year, Todd Klingel, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, says the state risks losing that matching money.

"This is about jobs and this is the most powerful leveraging opportunity that they could have for anything in the bonding bill," he says, "and that if nothing happens that opportunity could be lost."

The state's total share of the project is $125 million, or ten percent. Aside from the state's share, the cost of the LRT will be paid 50 percent by the federal government, 10 percent by Hennepin County, and 30 percent from a five-county transit-dedicated sales tax.

Governor Dayton requested $25 million from lawmakers for the project in his bonding proposal. As the session gets closer to ending, discussions are sure to heat up over what would be the third light rail in the metro.

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Cupcake may make a comeback in St. Paul

Posted at 8:25 PM on March 22, 2012 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Politics, St. Paul

After you've stuffed yourself on tilapia tacos at Tin Fish this summer, you might be able to drive over to St. Paul for a gourmet cupcake and a glass of wine.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman today announced he's found the parking spaces and has the votes to revive plans for the popular Minneapolis bakery Cupcake to open a second location on Grand Ave.

But a parliamentary tactic from Council Member Dave Thune, whose 2nd Ward includes that stretch of Grand, could pose additional delays.

Cupcake started renovating the retail space formerly occupied by the Wonderment toy store earlier this year after the city granted it a parking variance. Because the business will include a wine bar, it's supposed to have ten of its own off-street parking spaces. But it had only three connected with its building.

The owner had an agreement to rent additional spaces in the lot attached to Anderson Cleaners, across the street. But some neighbors objected the plan was insufficient and worried it would set a bad precedent. They filed an appeal, and a 5-2 majority of the City Council granted it.

Since then, Cupcake has found four more spaces in a nearby ramp for its employees to use. And Coleman's office says it has convinced one member of the council, Chris Tolbert, to change his vote. That, combined with the mayor's veto, is enough to trump the previous council action.

The mayor's office says that when Thune heard about the veto plan, he pulled off a parliamentary maneuver to delay any further action on the issue for four weeks.

Thune hasn't returned calls from MPR seeking an explanation, but he told MinnPost he objected to the mayor's "brinksmanship." In the article, Thune suggests the council may reconsider Cupcake's parking variance next week.

Cupcake owner Kevin VanDeraa says he's already sunk more than $100,000 into the venture, which he'd originally hoped to open last year. He's frustrated with Thune's move, but at this point he's willing to wait.

"If I walk away, I've spent all this money and I walk away with nothing," VanDeraa said. "If I stay and fight and spend a little more money, I end up with a store. Hopefully in five years this all will be just a bad dream."

He hopes to have the place open by June.

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Tax credit for Minnesota businesses that hire veterans

Posted at 3:14 PM on February 28, 2012 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Veterans

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., today announced a new tax credit for Minnesota employers who hire veterans. The credit can be as high as $9,600 per veteran for for-profit employers, or up to $6,240 for tax-exempt organizations.

"With the unemployment rate for Minnesota's post-9/11 veterans at three times the state average, we have to do everything we can to create jobs for them after their service is done," Sen. Franken said in a news release. "This tax credit will help create opportunities to put our veterans back to work by providing an incentive for Minnesota businesses to hire them. I challenge every employer to recognize the invaluable skills and training that our veterans offer."

Employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed for more than six months are eligible for a new tax credit of up to $5,600 per veteran hired; if the veteran has been unemployed for between four weeks and six months, the employer's tax credit is up to $2,400. Employers who hire veterans with service-related disabilities may be eligible for the maximum credit of $9,600, which is an expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).

The new tax credits and the expansion of the WOTC were passed as part of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which was enacted last November. The IRS has recently released the guidance and forms that employers can use to claim the newly-expanded tax credit for hiring veterans. Click here for more details.

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Skyways the death of downtown sidewalk culture?

Posted at 1:56 PM on January 25, 2012 by Dan Olson (1 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Minneapolis

This 1963 photo of one of the first skyways opening in downtown Minneapolis is from the Minnesota Historical Society.

It'll be a tough sell convincing folks that skyways are a bad deal.

A recent batch of barbs from some thinkers and from Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak cite the skyway system as the reason the city's storefronts and sidewalks are so blah and devoid of people.

Apparently the critics haven't noticed all the shivering bus riders, buskers and beggars on downtown sidewalks.

But it's true. Most of the city's 160,000 plus downtown workers stride along coatless, hatless and gloveless through the city's eight miles of skyways that connect more than 70 blocks.

Calling a halt to skyway expansion and encouraging more street level walkers, some thinkers argue, would make downtown more interesting.

Weather may play the biggest role.

The downtown scene really perks up with warmer weather as vendors populate the Nicollet Mall.

Business owners funding DID, the Downtown Improvement District, are certainly encouraging sidewalk use by spending lots of money keeping them clean and ice and snow free, and hiring workers who gladly help lost pedestrians find their way.

When it stops snowing, sleeting, raining, blowing and freezing and when more San Diego-type weather arrives in the Twin Cities, I boldy predict a resurgence of people on downtown Minneapolis sidewalks.

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Marketing push planned for Central Corridor

Posted at 3:57 PM on January 23, 2012 by Laura Yuen (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Minneapolis, St. Paul , Transportation

As the Metropolitan Council reflects on how to improve Central Corridor construction in 2012, it's rolling out a new marketing push to promote affected businesses.

At a transportation committee meeting this afternoon, the Met Council's project staff is recommending the $1.2 million, two-year contract go to Mod & Company of St. Paul. On its website, the marketing and design firm showcases a sampling of the stylish branding it has done for clients ranging from the Rosedale Center to the Uptown Art Fair.

A collective plug for the corridor can't come soon enough for Jack McCann, head of the University Avenue Business Association.

"We need to have the marketing in place when the cones are set up and everyone says, "Oh Christ, here we go again,'" McCann said.

McCann and other business folks met project representatives today for one of many discussions about "lessons learned" from 2011. McCann said his general message to the council was: "You confused people, you didn't manage your signs, you kind of fumbled your way through the first year."

But McCann said now that the marketing money is secured, it's also time for business owners to work with the Met Council and bring customers back to University Avenue.

"It's time to stop the crabby thing, and we have to do the positives," McCann said. "It's time to say, 'It's a great time to come down here.'"

The mega-marketing push builds on the efforts led by community groups in St. Paul to help businesses during construction. The Neighborhood Development Center's U7 offers consulting services to businesses, and the Midway Chamber of Commerce hosted "Lunch on the Avenue" and developed a grassroots marketing campaign. The St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce developed the "Discover Central Corridor" brand.

And they pushed for more.

Last June, the chambers and several other business groups wrote Met Council Chairwoman Sue Haigh a letter urging the council to fund a comprehensive marketing program.

"The campaign would create excitement around the CCLRT and ensure that the businesses that are facing the hardships of construction today are around to enjoy the excitement and benefits of the completed line," the letter says.

File photo by MPR's Jeff Thompson

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Fiscal sage Gunyou ready to close the books

Posted at 10:56 AM on January 10, 2012 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Budget , Business

John Gunyou says he'll retire as Minnetonka city manager June 1.

If you don't know who John Gunyou is, he's the smiling guy who's been talking fiscal sense to Minnesotans for decades.

Sadly, evidence that we've heard and adopted his advice is not immediately apparent.

One sign of Gunyou's credibility is that politicians on both sides of the aisle find him reliable.

Gunyou was state finance commissioner under Republican Governor Arne Carlson.

He was DFLer Margaret Anderson Kelliher's running mate in her bid for the DFL gubernatorial nomination in 2009.

He was finance director for the city of Minneapolis and for Minnesota Public Radio.

We know he can add and subtract, and understands the consequences for not having that skill, because he was once a middle school math and history teacher.

Gunyou's time as a state numbers mogul gave him an excellent high altitude view of where government reform is needed.

More than eleven years as the Minnetonka city manager sharpened his views and his opinions.

Here's his response from a recent public policy seminar when Gunyou was asked, "What would you most like to have from the state?"

Gunyou: "To get out of the way. Seriously."

Gunyou's retirement as Minnetonka's city manager probably has others already speculating about how they can convince the guy to come to work for them.

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BBB issues warning on 'veterans' funeral company

Posted at 9:56 AM on December 20, 2011 by Elizabeth Dunbar (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business

The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota says a casket and funeral supply company is making some questionable claims in door-to-door sales pitches to potential elderly customers in the metro area.

The company, U.S. Patriot Services, lists addresses in Missouri and California and claims to be a veterans' organization. According to the Better Business Bureau, the company makes it seem as though it's offering burial in national cemeteries for free. But all U.S. veterans who are honorably discharged are already eligible for such burials, so it's not a service the company can offer, the BBB said.

The consumer advocacy group is advising veterans to ask the company about its credentials as a veterans' organization and to seek multiple quotes before buying any kind of service.

The company did not immediately respond to an inquiry by MPR News.

The BBB says one veteran who lives in the Stillwater area was able to get a refund after purchasing services from the company.

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Financial lifeline to Somalia remains at risk

Posted at 9:15 PM on December 2, 2011 by Rupa Shenoy (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Minneapolis, St. Paul

Bank officials, elected representatives, and Somali money lenders still are trying to find a way to keep a financial lifeline to Somalia open.

Owners of Somali money-lending businesses, called hawalas, were notified by St Paul-based Sunrise Community Banks this week that their accounts with the bank will be closed Dec. 14th. Hawalas are the only financial institutions operating in Somalia, and Sunrise is the last remaining bank in the United States that supplies hawalas with the accounts they need to do business here.

The Association of Somali American Moneylenders says if the Dec. 14th deadline is enforced, it could lead to no less than a humanitarian crisis in East Africa. Remittances are one of the largest sources of income from that country, which is recovering from civil war and mass famine. The hawala owners met with Sunrise officials today to try to get the deadline pushed back.

David Reiling, Sunrise CEO, said the meeting was "excellent." This is how he said he responded to their request for an extension:

Quite honestly, we're still looking through all the various facts. We'll be meeting with our legal counsel and regulators. And we hope to have some sort of decision on that fairly soon. I wouldn't see that before end of day on Tuesday for sure. Obviously everyone would prefer not to have a break in their ability to send money back home, but that's obviously the issue.

Reiling said one possible solution is a humanitarian waiver from the U.S. State department that would offer the bank more legal protection if someone uses its system to transfer money to terrorist groups. But those types of waivers usually aren't given to banks. Reiling said Sunrise and hawala owners have the attention of elected officials who might be able to change that.

"I think they're engaged and they understand the magnitude of the situation and everyone is working in good faith in order to explore alternatives," he said.

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Transportation planning the topic in St. Paul

Posted at 4:05 PM on November 28, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, St. Paul , Transportation

Transportation officials, policy wonks and business leaders held a roundtable Monday in downtown St Paul to highlight their visions for improving the state's transportation system. They say Minnesota needs to expand and preserve existing roads and transit network to make it easier for local businesses to attract workers. They also say the state will have to find new ways to finance transportation projects, as federal and state dollars dwindle.

Margaret Donahoe, executive director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, says the Congressional Budget Office estimates that every dollar invested in infrastructure generates $1.60 in new economic growth. And transportation improvements will also create much needed construction jobs in the state.

"They are the kind of jobs that generate a multiplier effect in local economies," she said. "And at the same time we are building the infrastructure that other general businesses need to move products, to move people, to do what they do they have to have that transportation infrastructure."

Donahoe's group estimates that deficient surface transportation infrastructure cost the nation's businesses nearly $125 billion last year. Their numbers find deficient infrastructure could cost the country nearly $3 trillion by 2040.

Here is the Minnesota Department of Transportation's GO 50-Year Vision for Transportation, another long-term transportation strategy that aims to offer more ways to get around more quickly in the Land of Lakes.

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St. Paul residents object to proposed closure of local post office

Posted at 9:53 AM on November 16, 2011 by Madeleine Baran (2 Comments)
Filed under: Business, St. Paul

Residents of the Payne-Phalen neighborhood said they're not letting their post office go without a fight.

Several dozen people voiced their objections to the proposed closure of the Seeger Square post office at a public hearing held by the Postal Service last night. Some criticized the Postal Service for not issuing any public hearing notices in a foreign language, particularly given that 39 percent of neighborhood residents speak a language other than English.

"Seeger Square serves one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the whole of Minnesota. Correct?" said Leslie McMurray, an organizer with the Payne-Phalen District Planning Council.

The crowd answered with a resounding yes. McMurray scanned the mostly white, elderly crowd. "And yet this group is not as diverse as our community."

Many said the proposal was the latest blow to a low-income neighborhood that has struggled to attract jobs and basic services.

"The fact that this area is being considered is adding insult to injury," said state Rep. John Lesch. "I know that many people aren't here because they feel like, well, it's just going to happen. They feel like a dog that's been beat too much, to quote a Bruce Springsteen line."

However, the Postal Service says it's running out of money and doesn't have many options left. Earlier in the day, it reported losing $5.1 billion last year.

The Seeger Square post office, at 896 Arcade Street, is just one of 3,652 post offices marked for possible closure or consolidation. The list includes nearly 100 post offices in Minnesota.

Postal Service employee Margaret Campbell began the hearing by recounting the Postal Service's financial woes -- a decrease in mail volume, a dispute with federal lawmakers over pension payments, and the burden of meeting federal requirements without receiving any tax money.

"As dismal as it sounds to say, we are in a crisis," she said.

The closure of the Seeger Square post office would save about $216,000 a year, Campbell said. The post office does not have any mail carriers and is used entirely for P.O. boxes and retail sales.

Customers can use the post office at 1425 E. Minnehaha Avenue (1.6 miles away) or avoid the post office entirely and instead buy stamps from local banks and grocery stores, she said. (Rainbow Foods, the grocery store next to the Seeger Square post office, already sells stamps.)

Campbell wasn't convincing anyone - and she said she didn't expect she would. At one point, someone in the audience suggested asking everyone who thinks the post office should stay open to raise their hands. Every hand was up in the air within seconds.

As far as the complaint that the Postal Service did not post hearing information or send out notices in any foreign languages, Campbell had this to say:

Headquarters does not, um, does not provide us with that option. And frankly, it would be impossible for us to figure out which household to send which language to.

This comment was met with laughter and comments from several people that it wouldn't be that hard to print the information in several languages on the same notice.

Some attendees had suggestions for how to improve the Postal Service. One woman asked, "Why don't they, instead of having all these fancy stamps, just go to one common stamp?"

Campbell replied, "I think the collectors would probably disagree with you on that. Stamp collecting is still one of the major hobbies in the world, and actually, stamp collectors more or less give us the money because they never use those stamps."

Another woman suggested the Postal Service consider using a mobile post office, similar to a bookmobile, that could make up for the loss of a permanent station. Several Postal Service employees said they're considering that and think it's a good idea, although they cautioned that the mobile service would probably struggle to be as consistent as they would like.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal. After that, the Postal Service will provide public notice of its final decision within 30 days. It then has to wait at least another 60 days before closing the office.

Campbell cautioned that the Postal Service has not yet decided which offices to close. She reviewed the three criteria for including a post office on the potential closure/consolidation list. The criteria include:

1. Offices with $27,500 or less in annual retail revenue AND less than two work hours per day. (This criteria is meant to focus on the smaller rural offices.)

OR

2. Offices with $600,000 or less in annual retail revenue AND 5 or more alternate access points within 2 miles. "Alternate access points" are defined as places where customers can buy stamps - like at a bank or grocery store. A store does not need to accept packages or offer other services to be considered to be an "alternate access point."

OR

3. Offices with $1 million or less in annual retail revenue AND 5 or more "alternate access points" within 5 miles.

The Seeger Square office falls into criteria #2.

What do you think? Given the financial problems facing the Postal Service, is it reasonable to ask that customers share the burden of cutbacks?

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Two Minnesota companies recognized for helping military veterans

Posted at 6:00 AM on November 10, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Business, Minneapolis, Veterans

On Veterans Day, Gov. Dayton is expected to recognize Richfield-based Best Buy for its Operation Patriotic Endeavor program. The program assembles and sends care packages to military service members deployed overseas. More than 600 Best Buy employees have put together 3,300 care packages to be shipped to the 34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard, which is currently deployed in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

The governor and Major General Richard C. Nash, Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard, will present the Yellow Ribbon Award to Best Buy. The award recognizes businesses for their commitment to supporting military employees and local communities.

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp has also been honored for its programs intended to help veterans. The company recently announced plans to double its military hiring in 2012. Beginning next year, U.S. Bank will offer employees up to two weeks paid leave to cover time they would otherwise take off unpaid, per state or federal law, in connection with a family member's military service. The time can be taken not only with the deployment of a child, parent or spouse, but may be available to extended family as well.

As of October, the company reports it employed 1,643 veterans and/or members of the guard/reserve. More than 200 have been hired this year alone.

U.S. Bank's commitment to current and former members of the military and their families also earned the company "Yellow Ribbon" status this year. And Military Times magazine named U.S. Bank as one of just 46 companies in their Best of Vets 2011 annual survey. Over 1,000 firms were surveyed for their recruiting, policies for reservists and overall corporate culture pertaining to the military.

The ceremony honoring Best Buy is scheduled for Friday from 2 to 3 p.m.
on the Best Buy campus.

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