Recent content from Neal St. Anthony
Minneapolis' Niron Magnetics still small, but intends to be big player in greener economy
The company, having raised $30 million in capital, is building a Minneapolis pilot plant to make sustainable magnets that will replace use of imported rare-earth materials.
SharpLink makes $8.1M deal to buy fellow Mpls. gaming company
Chris Carlson's 2005 gamble starting FourCubed paid off, as he becomes part of the newly public SharpLink organization.
St. Anthony: Holiday shutdown, insider sales could damage Sun Country
The Twin Cities-based airline hits some turbulence.
St. Anthony: Why Connexus Energy won't raise electric rates for a fifth year
The north-suburban cooperative credits renewable energy investments, and also seeks independence from Great River Energy.
Broadband installer Clearfield a leader among Minnesota's standout stocks in 2021
Three out of four of Minnesota's publicly listed companies saw their share values rise in a year when the overall market surged nearly 30%.
Digi International, slowly transforming business model, increased share value 25% in 2021
Digi, approaching $1 billion in value, has made operational and financial progress under CEO Ron Konezny since 2015.
Summit Academy's Louis King named CEO of national job training network
Louis King will retain his post as CEO of Summit as well.
Software entrepreneur funds solar projects in Minneapolis
Amber Naqvi is building a solar-software company in Eagan and funding solar projects in overlooked parts of the Twin Cities.
Minneapolis retailer Fair Anita works with female artisans around the globe
Joy McBrien's business hit $1 million in sales this year and returned more money to artisans in Central and South America.
Dayton's Project is fueled by federal-state tax credits
The developer-owners, delayed by COVID-19 and victorious in a recent court fight, now focus on leasing.
Twin Cities startup setting up 'milkman' system of regular neighborhood delivery routes
Pikup received $1.8 million in venture capital funds to help fuel its growth.
A pair of North Side nonprofits quietly buys Thor-built center in $10M deal
The Regional Acceleration Center is acquired in a transaction that preserves local ownership.
Veteran cafe owner opening second spot on Minneapolis' North Side
Sammy's Avenue Eatery is approaching $1 million in annual sales.
Minnesota's Navegate, with roots in serving Control Data, Honeywell, sold for $35M
The Mendota Heights-based company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Radiant Logistics, based in Washington state.
North End Hardware owner calls it a career
Darryl Weivoda, 65, neighborhood business leader is giving up the long hours and selling to a long-time employee.
Twin Cities couple plan to give away around $100M, concentrating on disadvantaged youth
The money seeding the Graves Foundation is from John and Denise Graves selling their tax-compliance software business a few years ago.
U.S. Bank donates riot-damaged Mpls. branch to nonprofit developer
Seward Redesign plans 2800 E. Lake St. redevelopment that will include affordable housing, commercial spaces and a home for nonprofits.
Ingebretsen's stands strong for 100 years as 'heart of Lake Street'
Scandinavian food-and-gift shop helps Minneapolis neighborhood businesses recover.
Bank manager, who grew up off Lake Street, determined to help neighborhood
Saul Hernandez, manager of the BMO Bank branch, believes in community outreach and helping to rebuild the Lake Street corridor in Minneapolis.
Twin Cities American Indian business leaders coordinating on development projects
The American Indian OIC is one of the groups that are ready to build new facilities to improve their programs.
Margaret Zack, Star Tribune courts reporter and union leader, dies at 77
She was an attorney and longtime elected officer for the Newspaper Guild.
St. Anthony: Spectro Alloys invests $10 million in its aluminum-recycling business
Spectro Alloys of Rosemount is investing $10 million to make its Rosemount recycling plant, the Upper Midwest's largest processor of industrial aluminum, safer and more…
Longtime Star Tribune business journalist Dick Youngblood dies at 85
Dick Youngblood was known for his folksy writing style, fascination with entrepreneurs and for treating new colleagues to a "Jucy Lucy" cheeseburger.Youngblood, a longtime business…
Minnesota and Finland want to accelerate business partnership
Gov. Tim Walz will lead a delegation visiting Finland in November.
St. Anthony: COVID working conditions, income insecurity spur 'Striketober'
October has been marked by high-profile strikes and new organizing, including mental health coordinators at Allina.
St. Anthony: A small-dollar, big-heart rebuild emerges along Lake Street
The $1.1 million expansion of Elite Cleaners also will end an industrial tenant and create room for housing
St. Anthony: McKnight Foundation will stop investing in fossil fuels
The big private foundation joins a growing chorus of big companies and investors looking closely at companies' environmental stewardship.
Minnesota employers hire IT apprentices to boost minority ranks of skilled workforce
An apprentice program splits training at employers and Summit Academy to expand the pool of prospective tech workers.
Summit Academy's IT apprentices bring diverse experiences to local employers
Job training institutions saw more mid-career people seeking help as the pandemic unfolded.
St. Anthony: Lake Nokomis 'harbormaster' enjoys teaching others to sail
Tim Brandon, a veteran sailor, also has started driving school bus to buy another boat and supplement his retirement income.
St. Anthony: How a small business is fighting off foreclosure from its bank
Park Supply, a Minneapolis wholesaler of plumbing parts, is in a bind with its longtime lender, Sunrise Bank, after the collapse of a customer left it with $1 million in unsold goods.
Incinerator-ash miner Gem-Ash goes for more gold at Rosemount landfill
The company built a third processing line to remove metals from the ash of incinerated trash.
St. Anthony: Case shows the difficulties of recovering from financial fraud
The Perham couple is trying to collect $500,000-plus from a former financial adviser and shuttered brokerage.
St. Anthony: Canadian solar manufacturer expands on Minnesota Iron Range
Heliene has broken ground on a $21 million expansion, including government loans and grants, of its two-year-old Mountain Iron plant that will increase employment by 60.
Minnesota businesses among winners in latest Meda Million Dollar Challenge
The top prize of $350,000 went to a Virginia-based maker of desserts and sweets.
Golden Valley-based Chromatic 3D Materials closes in on a $5 million capital infusion
The company, a maker of industrial molds from 3-D printers, is a supplier to makers of medical devices and other industrial components.
Norwegian-American center in Mpls. breaks ground on multimillion-dollar addition
The project at Norway House will include a 270-seat event center and business accelerator for Nordic companies seeking to expand.
Black General Mills executive, grateful for his success, helps others make goals
Donzel Leggett is chairman of Twin Cities Rise.
Twin Cities Rise offers second chances for the unemployed and underemployed
Nearly 300, disproportionately low-income people of color achieved internships and jobs annually that often triple pre-training wages.
St. Anthony: Twin Cities window washers hail new contract with higher wages, apprenticeships
The 40-member unit of SEIU Local 26 reached a favorable settlement after a 10-day strike.
St. Anthony: East Bethel's Aggressive Hydraulics is expanding again
The maker of truck parts in Anoka County has quadrupled revenue since 2013, when it last expanded.
St. Anthony: New Juxtaposition Arts complex will enhance economic, cultural development in Mpls.
Juxtaposition breaks ground in September, joining the recently expanded Capri Theater on W. Broadway Avenue.
Larry LeJeune, businessman and philanthropist, dies at 85
LeJeune Steel fabricated steel for the Minneapolis Convention Center, downtown skyways and other buildings.
PPP work helped Minnesota's community banks gain ground on bigger ones
Some of the hard work small banks did to help businesses get government aid last year is paying of in new business this year.
Minnesota clean energy proponents see 100,000 workers in a few years
Employment in the state's renewable energy and conservation industry fell 5% last year, but executives see a fast rebound.
SBA chief visits a Mpls. business kept afloat by PPP loan during pandemic
As the core federal economic rescue winds down, it helped more than 125,000 Minnesota businesses get through the downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
St. Anthony: Eight years after employees took ownership, Long Haul Trucking is in high gear
Employee-owned Long Haul trucking outperforms with good payouts, a say and equity payout at retirement
St. Anthony: Angry Catfish bike cafe wraps up expansion in S. Minneapolis
A delay in city permits and constraints on construction created unexpected headaches for owner Josh Klauck.
Minnesota's Your Boat Club sells 40% stake to French boat manufacturer
The deal provides millions of dollars for the boat rental firm to expand beyond the Midwest.
University of Minnesota spinoff developing protective apparel raises $5.3M in first VC raise
St. Paul-based Claros Technologies should produce meaningful revenue by early 2022, ahead of the planned rollout, CEO says
Former MinuteClinic principals open walk-in clinic in Minneapolis, plan 3 more this year
The Good Clinic, a subsidiary of Mitesco in Minnetonka, plans to open 50 primary-care clinics nationally over three years.
Bell Mortgage's retired owner remembers his roots, steps up focus on homelessness and needy kids
Gary Kirt, son of the working class, bought his first house for $6,500 when he was in high school.
Drake's Organic Spirits mix includes venture capital
A North Dakota farm boy traded commodities and oil pipes before jumping into the organic foods movement.
Minnesota firms pull in $500 million of venture capital in first half of year
But it will be tough to beat the 2020 total because Minnesota companies raised so much capital in the second half of last year.
Downtown's historic Butler Square completes a yearlong update
The century-old warehouse was first restored in 1974, beginning the overhaul of the city's old factories and warehouses into offices.
Pasquale Presa, the immigrant pizza king of Rochester, proves pandemic-proof
Presa quit a $120,000 corporate chef job to launch a pizzeria that now has a growing frozen line.
St. Anthony: Solar power is glowing in Minnesota
Solar is still a small part of the state's renewable energy mix, but it is growing quickly.
Bloomington software firm 75F closes venture capital round, attracts Siemens as investor
Siemens is the first strategic investor in the Bloomington-based maker of software for controlling building temperatures.
Wells Fargo makes $12 million in grants to Twin Cities community lenders
The funding is part of an initial payout of $420 million in grants to community finance providers by the nation's third-largest bank.
Erik's Bikes pedals for records from expanded, solar-powered HQ
Like many bike retailers, 2020 was a spectacular year for Erik's Bikes, which has grown to 32 stores in seven states.
How Russ Nelson, shaper of downtown skylines, found purpose after wife's death
Nancy Nelson spent her life devoted to social service, and her husband says he still follows her lead.
St. Anthony: Rebuilding the 'downtown' of Longfellow is going to be a long haul
The Minnesota Legislature watered down a $150 million aid package that was initially designed to help businesses in the riot-damaged sections of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
St. Anthony: Legislature fell short on help for Minnesota's most vulnerable preschool kids
But it did right for the providers of home health services, along with workers and the families who count on them.
St. Paul app maker BetterYou raises $2.25 million
It's the second infusion of capital for the firm, which created an app that encourages users to build healthy habits.
Midwest clean-energy business accelerator to launch in fall
The focus of Grid Catalyst will be on cold-climate technologies.
Minneapolis-based Meda expanding along with its clients
The 50-year-old agency will quadruple its loan portfolio as it backs projects such as the Resolute on W. Broadway.
Twin Cities hotel 'manager of the year' transcends his troubled past
Michael Porter earns respect and national recognition from the hotel industry.
St. Anthony: Twin Cities businesses unite in drive to hire 1,000 apprentices, chiefly in tech
Two-thirds of the apprentices will be people of color who will complete at least a two-year degree while building a career.
Mossier helps Minnesota companies take more steps for LGBTQ inclusion
Nick Alm, founder of the Twin Cities consulting firm, said they were inspired by another visionary Minnesota entrepreneur.
Minnesota CDFIs get $38 million in federal pandemic relief funding
The government distributed more than $1 billion in recent days to community development organizations that provide capital to ventures that can't get financing in other channels.
Amid shortage of drivers, owner of Minn. school bus company takes on routes himself
The shortage of school bus drivers began before the pandemic, but it got worse.
Minnesota consumers, businesses deal with fast-rising prices
Some believe the fast-rising prices are temporary. Others worry the situation could spiral into something longer lasting.
St. Anthony: How a doctor and friends built Minnesota's most valuable cannabis company
Goodness Growth Holdings, known as Vireo Health until last week, got started when a doctor observed that marijuana was better for treating pain than opioids.
Minnesota cannabis firm expands to research psychedelic medicines
Vireo Health is taking on a new name, Goodness Growth Holdings, as it branches out with a biosciences research subsidiary.
