Minnesota Business Developments

by Rhonda Mix - rhonda.mix@state.mn.us
August 2009

Northern

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) announced a $49,700 grant to support development of simulation scenarios for employees of Knute Nelson, a long-term care facility in Alexandria. The two-year training collaboration includes MJSP, Knute Nelson and the Alexandria Technical College, which will collaborate with Knute Nelson, Hennepin Technical College, and Ridgewater College to use SimMan, a training manikin, to create health care scenarios relevant to their elderly residents’ needs. Thirty registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, aides, and administrators will learn critical-care skills or upgrade existing skills. Training topics include general assessment and observation skills in cardiac, critical thinking, respiratory-lungs, and specific geriatric needs; and advanced assessment, which covers critical care, cardiac conditions, and specific behavioral conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, selected staff will learn how to apply continuous improvement concepts and techniques for extended care environments; other staff will participate in train-the-trainer sessions.

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in rural northern Minnesota has been selected to receive an $83,149 grant to help The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s Business Center provide training for area businesses to expand, thereby creating new jobs and spurring economic growth in the region. The funding is through the federal Recovery Act.

Central

Work should be completed in about a month on the new wind farm in Princeton. Two 15-megawatt turbines will supply power to 40 percent of the residents and businesses in town.

Twin Cities Metro

Cigna Corp., a health-services company in Eden Prairie, plans to hire about 180 people to add to its current workforce of 750. They have job openings for nurses, behavioral clinicians, health educators, personal advocates, and wellness coaches. These new positions are for the company’s Integrated Personal Health Team.

A new Rainbow Foods grocery store has opened in The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park — a 380,000-square-foot lifestyle center. The 55,000-square-foot Rainbow Foods facility is more compact than other Rainbow grocery stores in the Twin Cities area — about 20 percent smaller than most new suburban grocery stores. This new store, however, offers more services than most other Rainbow stores, emphasizing fresh foods, such as providing a salad bar in the deli.

The University of Minnesota Academic Health Center broke ground on a $53.2 million expansion of its Center for Magnetic Resonance and Research in Minneapolis. The 65,000-square-foot expansion will house one of the world’s largest imaging magnets, which will be used by researchers to explore treatments for diseases like breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. The expansion is a major part of the new Biomedical Discovery District, a $292 million state-funded investment in biomedical research.

Innovative Holdings Group has bought Lemon Water Salon in White Bear Township and plans to open 20 or more Lemon Water Salons in the metro area over the next seven years. Each store is projected to employ 10 to 12 people.

Southern

Gaylord-based Midwest Biogas, a renewable fuel company, plans to build a bioenergy park in Welcome. The plant will convert chicken and pig manure into 169 megawatts of electricity per hour and 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year. The plant will be the largest of its kind, and it will bring 50 new jobs to the area.