Business Developments

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

Northern

Affiliated Computer Services plans to hire 43 more employees at its Fergus Falls facility. The company’s information technology outsourcing service is growing, so over the next few months it plans to hire network engineers and analysts, remote support desktop technicians, and imaging specialists.

The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (PFA) awarded funding to several communities in northern Minnesota to build drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The projects, which are financed in part by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — the federal spending bill designed to stimulate the U.S. economy, will create jobs, promote economic activity, and provide safer water supplies. The recipients in northern Minnesota are:

Wheaton - $2 million for improvements to the sewer collection system, including lift station repairs, gravity sewer line rehabilitation, manhole replacement, and forcemain redundancy.

Elbow Lake - $1.8 million for replacing the sanitary sewer collection system in the west and northwest portions of the city.

Swanville - $912,500 for replacing a water main on Berkey Avenue and on DeGraff Avenue.

Hoffman - $700,000 for replacing part of the water main.

Remer - $368,494 for improving the city’s drinking water storage, supply, and distribution system.

Innovative Surfaces, a maker of tabletops for outdoor patio furniture, is moving its operations from Phoenix to Wadena with the help of low-interest loans and tax incentives from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The relocation will create at least 22 new jobs.

Construction has begun on the Ash River Neutrino Detector Lab, which will be located about 40 miles south of International Falls at the Soudan Underground Mine. This University of Minnesota and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory project is funded by a combination of federal stimulus money and an allocation from the U.S. Department of Energy. It is expected that 60 to 65 construction workers will work on the project this year. The main contractors for the project are Minneapolis-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction Management Co. and Hoover Construction from Virginia, Minn. The $270 million project is expected to be operational by 2014.

Central

The city of Kandiyohi was the recipient of a $3.4 million PFA award for piping and lift stations that will transport the city’s sewage to the Green Lake Sanitary Sewerage Water District.

St. John’s University and the Order of St. Benedict plan to install about 1,800 solar photovoltaic panels northwest of the St. John’s campus in Avon Township. The panels would produce up to 575,000 kilowatt hours annually, making it the largest solar farm in Minnesota. The site will supply about 4 percent of St. John’s electrical needs and will serve as a research and education tool for students and visitors.

Twin Cities Metro

Walker Methodist and Welch Companies plan to build a new senior housing complex in Blaine. The $25 million, 142-unit project would include 34 nursing home units, 44 independent living units, 36 assisted living units, 10 care units, 16 memory care units, and two guest suites. The new facility could provide as many as 80 jobs, from executive and medical to food service and housekeeping with a projected payroll of $2.9 million.

Southern

A Minnesota firm, Shafer Contracting Co. Inc., has begun work on the U.S. Highway 169 project in St. Peter. The $16.5 million project, which is almost completely supported by federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, extends about 1.5 miles from state Route 22 south to Union Street. The project is expected to create about 300 jobs.

An EDF Energies Nouvelles company, enXco, plans to develop, build, and own a 201 megawatt (MW) wind facility near Lakefield. The wind farm will consist of 134 General Electric 1.5 MW turbines and is expected to be operational by the end of 2010. The electricity generated by the Lakefield Wind Farm will be shipped to Indianapolis via high-voltage transmission lines. The company has also applied to build a similar wind project west of Worthington.

Two cities in southern Minnesota were recipients of PFA awards that are financed in part by funds from the ARRA to create jobs, promote economic activity, and provide safer water supplies. The recipients are:

Waseca - $16.1 million for major modifications and rehabilitation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Blue Earth - $2 million for phase 2 of the city’s wastewater treatment improvements.