News

Dave and Stephanie Shea are the new owners of Cross River Lodge, purchasing the business from John and Rose Schloot this past winter. The couple wasted no time renaming the business Borderland Lodge, its original namesake. “The Schloots said they wanted to change the name back to Borderland Lodge, bu...

Arrowhead (Electric) Cooperative will have a new board member representing Lutsen/ District 6. Sharon Hexum-Platzer defeated Tom Rider to take the spot held by Scott Harrison who had fulfilled his board term limit. Two incumbents Mike Valentini won Gunflint Trail/District 3 seat uncontested, and Don McKeever won Schroeder/District 7 sea...

Lake Vermilion resort under new ownership
Jun 9 2022COOK — After more than 80 years in the Ludlow family, ownership of Ludlow's Island Resort has changed hands.
The Lake Vermilion resort was purchased by a partnership between Minneapolis-based SVN Northco Real Estate Services and Pat Egan at the end of May.
Click here to view the original article from th...

Will the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector Ever Cool Off? In a word, no. At least not in the foreseeable future. Why is this? The Covid-19 pandemic reshuffled the deck on almost all of what we do, how we do it, shaping trends and consumer preferences. The global demand fo...

Station to Station
Jun 6 2022Remember as a child trying to learn the difference between “electric” and “electronic,” two words separated only by that “ON” switch in the middle?
Today — with a surge in EV demand and a shortage of semiconductors — they are the two most operative words in the automotive industry. How the...

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks at large meat processing facilities thrust small businesses like Jenniges Meat Processing into the spotlight.
“I think our two lines rang for two days straight,” said Nathan Jenniges, looking back on March 2020.
Click here to view the original article from the Pioneer Press.

Entrepreneurs of color gathered in Brooklyn Center on Saturday for the first BIPOC Business Expo to highlight minority-owned businesses and provide tools needed for success.
Tashie George, IFRI LLC owner, organized the event hoping to bridge gaps in minority communities.
Click here to view the original article from KSTP.

Business leaders from Minnesota and Finland admired the functional Scandinavian design of the Puustelli USA kitchens in Edina, but remodeling wasn't their main focus.
Minnesota is one of the states Finland has identified to increase its U.S. footprint. The Finnish delegation, with its U.S. hosts, on Thursday celebrated the opening o...

As automakers around the world set bold targets for vehicle electrification, many in the industry are looking to nickel — an integral component of most lithium ion batteries — as a major hurdle.
While there’s enough nickel in the ground to support a major EV ramp up, there are not enoug...

As of a report released by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) in 2019, there were over 69,000 fire engine pumpers (an engine capable of moving over 1000 gallons per minute) in the United States. Around 140 of those engines (and 43 trucks) belong to stations located in Los Angeles...

On behalf of U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, I want to invite you to attend our upcoming livestream on USDA’s framework for shoring up the food supply chain and transforming the food system to be fairer, more competitive, and more resilient.
The livestream – entitled “The U.S. Department o...
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St. Paul – Exports of manufactured, agricultural and mining goods from Minnesota were valued at $6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022, representing a gain of 13% over the first quarter of 2021, according to a report released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)...

Andersen Corp. considers expanding another one of its Twin Cities manufacturing facilities
May 25 2022Andersen Corp. is considering expanding another one of its Twin Cities manufacturing facilities, this time in North Branch.
Click here to view the original article from the Business Journal.

The supply-chain crisis that has clogged the US logistics network has made the country’s two largest ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach the least efficient trade hubs for handling containers worldwide, a new report showed.
Responsible for about 42% of all US containerized trade with East Asia, the southern California...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Department is investing $770 million to help create new and better market opportunities (PDF, 366 KB) for rural businesses and people in 36 states and Puerto Rico. The investments include $640 million for 122 projects to help peopl...

OWATONNA, Minnesota — Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation is currently accepting applications for its Small Town grant program.
Towns with populations of 10,000 or less in SMIF’s 20-county region are eligible. Requests of up to $10,000 for eligible projects will be considered.
Click here to view the original article from The Journal.

Mille Lacs Energy conducts annual meeting
May 19 2022The 2022 Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) annual meeting was held Thursday, May 5, at the Minnesota National Golf Course, McGregor. There were 172 registered members with a total of 276 in attendance.
The theme for the meeting was “Going from Good to Great.” At the business meeting, members heard comment...

Online business databases can be an effective and low-cost way to identify other companies in your market – whether as potential suppliers, competitors or potential customers. Such datasets are often only a starting point, but they can be a valuable tool to assess the landscape and further refine your marke...

Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) could be a solid addition to your portfolio given a notable revision in the company's earnings estimates. While the stock has been gaining lately, the trend might continue since its earnings outlook is still improving.
The upward trend in estimate revisions for this home construction supplier reflects growing optimis...

The unprecedented boom in logistics warehousing demand is now about a decade old. During most of the past 10 years, it was a safe bet that the aging of the industrial warehouse stock wasn’t considered a high priority. Stakeholders had their hands full just keeping up with demand for capacit...

Not even the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s attack on Ukraine and rising inflation have stalled the still red-hot industrial market, according to the first quarter national industrial report released recently by Newmark.
The United States saw 103.5 million square feet of industrial absorption during the first quarter of th...

Minnesota may not necessarily be the startup capital of the nation, but it appears to be the place for new companies to survive over the longer term.
That’s one of the takeaways from the Minnesota Chamber Foundation’s “Minnesota Entrepreneurship” report released Tuesday. Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, foundatio...

Weekend hobby turns into full-time agribusiness operation for Camp Aquila Pure Maple Syrup
Apr 30 2022DENT, Minn. — What was a weekend hobby turned into a thriving agribusiness for Stu and Corinne Peterson near Dent. For the past 22 years, they have harvested maple sap from trees on their property on Star Lake and turned it into Camp Aquila Pure Maple Syrup .
“We’re small peanut...

A community of cooperative members gathered at Lake Country Power’s service center in Cohasset for the annual membership meeting on Wednesday evening, April 20. More than 300 members and guests heard about the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic on material costs, supply chain issues, historic inflation and the impact...