Minnesota Business Developments
by Rhonda Mix
January 2010
Northern
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced a $38,000 Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) grant to support lean training for 67 employees of Residential Services of Northeast Minnesota, a not-for-profit organization serving adults and children with disabilities in Duluth and eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The one-year training collaboration includes MJSP, Residential Services of Northeast Minnesota, and Lake Superior College. Lean training in health care focuses on eliminating waste and identifies steps that add value to the entire health care delivery process.
Central
RITE Enterprises, a company that customizes and installs point-of-sale software, is growing. It has moved from East St. Cloud to a bigger location in Sartell. The new 1,600-square-foot facility is 25 percent bigger than its prior location. The business was started just six years ago by a college student working out of his basement. RITE now employs nine people and serves customers in 30 states and five countries.
Coborn’s Inc. opened a new grocery store in St. Joseph. The 36,000-square-foot store is the first grocery store in St. Joseph and provides 125 jobs. The facility includes a drive-through pharmacy, dry-cleaning service, liquor store, and pet food department.
A new wireless broadband business, MaxWireless, has opened in St. Cloud. The company provides no-contract, flat-rate wireless plans for unlimited minutes for talk and texting as well as unlimited data plans, no credit checks, no early termination fees, and no hidden charges. The company employs 11 people.
Twin Cities Metro Area
Coon Rapids-based HOM Furniture plans to open a discount store in Little Canada in the former Levitz Furniture store. Called Dock 86, the discount store will have a 74,000-square-foot showroom and a 91,000-square-foot warehouse. The store will open with about 50 employees, most of whom will be new hires. Staff could increase to as much as 75 within a few months of opening.
Open Systems International Inc. plans to build a $20 million, 95,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Medina. When the new facility is completed, the company would move from its 60,000-square-foot leased space in Plymouth. Open Systems International, which specializes in energy management software, has a current workforce of about 190 employees and expects to grow to about 230 employees in 2011.
Groundbreaking has occurred for a $14 million facility on the campus of Unity Hospital in Fridley. The new two-story, 60,000-square-foot facility will house Multicare Associates and Virginia Piper Cancer Institute. The building, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010, will be owned by Multicare Associates.
A new neonatal intensive care unit opened on the Minneapolis campus of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. The new 25,000-square-foot unit has private patient rooms with parent-sleeping areas, dimming lights, sliding glass doors, and soundproof ceilings. The rooms can accommodate special equipment so babies won’t need to be moved as often.
Bloomington-based Erik’s Bike Shop Inc., which sells bikes, skateboards, snowboards, and accessories, has moved its Eden Prairie store at 16376 Wagner Way to a bigger location at 16570 Main St. in Eden Prairie. The new 8,000-square-foot Eden Prairie store is nearly twice as large as the former location. Erik’s now has 16 locations — 13 in Minnesota and three in Madison, Wis.
The Park Square Theatre in St. Paul plans a $4.2 million expansion that includes a new 142-seat basement theater and a performance/art gallery area. The expansion plan also provides for new seats, equipment, lighting and other improvements to the main stage and two endowments for increasing staff and improving cash flow. The new 8,500-square-foot theater is slated to open in 2011.
The People’s Center Medical Clinic in Minneapolis was awarded $2.1 million in federal economic stimulus funds to upgrade its facility. The clinic, which operates out of a 100-year-old building, will use the funds to install a new elevator, upgrade its heating and cooling system to solar and gas, and to add X-ray imaging.
Southern
Garland, Texas-based Singleteary Food Solutions plans to operate a food-processing plant in Wells, in the former Wells Co-Pack building, which has been empty for about two years. The company expects to begin operations in Wells in March with about 15 employees. Within three to five years, the company expects to employ about 200 people.
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