Minneapolis, MN

Business People: Former Dayton spokeswoman Laura Cederberg to head Weber Shandwick’s Minneapolis office

Published

3 months ago

February 18, 2024

Press Room

OF NOTE

Laura Cederberg

National PR firm Weber Shandwick announced the promotion of Laura Cederberg to Minneapolis market leader. Cederberg most recently was a senior vice president on the firm’s corporate and public affairs team and before that served as a spokesperson for former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and former Lt. Gov. Tina Smith.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Minneapolis-based ad agencies Preston Spire and Carmichael Lynch were named to Ad Age’s Best Places to Work 2024 list.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

HGA, Minneapolis, announced the appointment of Mia Blanchett as chief executive officer, succeeding Tim Carl; Blanchett has been with the firm since 1989.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, announced the opening of a branch at 1460 S. 12th Ave West, Virginia, Minn. … Bell Bank, Fargo, N.D., announced that Jenny Senecal has been named executive vice president/chief credit officer, based at Bell Plaza in Bloomington and in Fargo. Senecal has been a member of the executive leadership team since 2022. … First Interstate Bank announced that Tim Schmidt was promoted to director of Treasury Solutions, based in the Twin Cities; Schmidt is a board member on the St. Paul District Council and member of St. Paul’s annual Capital Improvement Budget Task Force. … BGM, a Bloomington CPA, advisory and financial firm, announced that Nathan Panning has been promoted to lead the Tax Group. Panning has been with the firm since 2007 and was promoted to principal in 2021.

GOVERNMENT

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has named Jeanna Fortney as its next CareerForce director in the agency’s Workforce Development Division. Fortney previously was executive director of the Minnesota Association of Workforce Development Board. … The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced the hiring of Brian Walsh to lead a new Worker Protection Unit. Walsh previously served as director of labor standards enforcement for the city of Minneapolis.

HONORS

The city of Rosemount announced Senior Planner Anthony Nemcek as its 2023 Employee of the Year. Nemcek has worked for the city since 2016; he was promoted to senior planner in 2021.

LAW

Lockridge Grindal Nauen, Minneapolis, announced the promotion of Joseph Bourne to partner; Bourne’s fields are antitrust, consumer protection and business litigation. … Moss & Barnett, Minneapolis, announced that Brian T. Grogan was re-elected and Brian J. Schoenborn was elected to three-year terms on the firm’s board of directors. … Chestnut Cambronne, Minneapolis, announced that Elizabeth (Lisa) Henry has been elected shareholder and also that she has been selected by Minnesota Lawyer as an inaugural 2023 Top Women in Law award recipient. Henry sits on the firm’s board of directors and practices primarily in trust and estate litigation and elder law.

MANUFACTURING

BioMADE, a Manufacturing Innovation Institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, announced the appointment of Jack Starr as its inaugural chief manufacturing officer. Starr previously held similar roles at Cargill and NatureWorks. BioMADE is based jointly in St. Paul and Emeryville, Calif. … Malco Tools, an Annandale, Minn.-based maker of professional hand tools for workers in the HVAC, construction and automotive trades, announced that Marc Kermisch, chief digital and information officer at CNH Industrial, has joined its board of directors. … Industrial Louvers and Verta, Delano, Minn.-based makers of architectural metal and metal coatings for industry, announced the retirement of CEO and President Jo Reinhardt, to be succeeded by Brett Reinhardt, now president of both companies. Reinhardt family leadership at Industrial Louvers dates back to 1971.

NONPROFITS

St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity, Hudson, Wis., announced new board members Lisa Lyon, Pillar Bank, and Dave Grambow, Hudson Schools; Gina Moe-Knutson, WESTconsin Realty, was named board president and Clark Schroeder, city of Lake Elmo, vice president.

RETAIL

Scooter’s Coffee, an Omaha, Neb.-based drive-thru coffee chain, announced the opening of a location in Rockford, Minn., the franchisees are Josh and Kaiyah Herscheid, and the planned summer opening of an end-cap location at the National Sports Village in Blaine, Susan and Brent Nygaard franchisees.

SPONSORSHIPS

USA Fencing announced a multiyear partnership for Bell Bank become its official bank. Fargo, N.D.-based Bell Bank is Minnesota’s seventh largest bank by deposit market share.

EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis announces plan to flag police officer problems early

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Minneapolis announces plan to flag police officer problems early

Minneapolis leaders on Monday announced they had selected a company to build a database designed to flag problems with police officers — before they become problematic.

The idea is a technological approach — an “early intervention system” — to both support officers in need of say, mental health services, while also preventing cops with patterns of potential misconduct from ascending the ranks unchecked.

The latter was arguably the case for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who had pressed his knee against the necks of at least two men before he did the same maneuver to George Floyd in 2020. Floyd’s murder by Chauvin was the impetus for state and federal legal interventions that will lead to years of court-approved police oversight. City officials see an early intervention system as satisfying one of a litany of changes mandated by those legal cases.

“People say all the time, ‘How could they not know that this officer would do that?’” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference Monday. “This is the answer to that.”

On Monday, Mayor Jacob Frey, O’Hara and other officials announced that after a national bidding process, they had selected Benchmark Analytics, a Chicago-based firm that includes researchers at the University of Chicago and has implemented similar systems in several other major cities, to build the Minneapolis system.

“It is not going to solve all our problems,” O’Hara said. He emphasized that the system “is not discipline” but rather an “early-warning system” that can identify potential concerns for officers that go beyond traditional complaints around misconduct.

O’Hara said the database will analyze information — such as overtime, patterns of calling in sick, arrest records and off-duty work — in search of outliers. The program can assist supervisors, who can intervene in an attempt to “correct officers’ behavior” before actual problems arise, he said.

Nick Barkley, a civilian member of a team implementing the program, said officer wellness was an essential part of it. “Happy, healthy humans produce the best work,” he said.

The five-year contract for $2.375 million needs approval from the City Council, which could take up the measure as soon as Thursday.

The money would be paid in part by a $500,000 grant from the Pohlad Foundation. The rest of the funding would come from general fund spending from the city’s police and information technology budgets.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis music teacher recognized by GMA

Published

8 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Minneapolis music teacher recognized by GMA

A special teacher in Minneapolis was recognized for his efforts in and out of the classroom on live television on Monday morning.

Good Morning America is shining a light on exceptional educators who go the extra mile as classes begin wrapping up for the school year.

On Monday morning, they gave Edward Barlow – a Minneapolis music teacher – an incredible surprise. Over the decades, thousands of students have called him Mr. Barlow, but some like to call him The Music Man.

“He has a marching band that goes around the neighborhood, and they play for the neighborhood,” said one person familiar with Barlow.

Barlow has been teaching music for nearly 40 years, but his impact goes far beyond Anwatin Middle School.

“Everybody always goes to Mr. Barlow for any advice or support that they need. He’s really engrained in Minneapolis Public Schools culture,” said one student.

“He gives me a lot of motivation speeches. He doesn’t give up on anyone,” said another student.

That’s why GMA hand-picked him for a live surprise on national television on Monday.

When asked what keeps him coming back to the classroom despite being able to retire, Barlow kept the reason simple.

“Well, it’s purpose. There’s purpose in meaning in what we do as teachers,” he said.

Cheers rang out from students, staff, and his wife – a fellow teacher – as Barlow was given two checks for $35,000.

“I was totally unprepared; I had no idea. People can keep really good secrets,” he said.

Coworkers think a big chunk of the money may go toward repairing the school’s broken piano.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota passes new driver pay minimums

Published

15 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Minnesota passes new driver pay minimums

A plan to boost pay for Uber and Lyft drivers in Minnesota that lawmakers believe would prevent the companies from leaving the market advanced in the state Legislature on Sunday before the midnight deadline.

The House passed the compensation bill but the measure was held up in the Senate before winning approval prior to the deadline for lawmakers to pass bills before they adjourned. The bill now moves to Gov. Tim Walz to be signed into law, the Star Tribune reported.

The proposal that initially gained approval in the House was crafted by Democrats to replace a minimum pay measure the Minneapolis City Council passed that prompted Uber and Lyft to threaten to leave the state’s biggest city.

The House agreement announced Saturday after a day of negotiations would set a minimum pay rate at $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute. Uber has said it will keep operating in the state under those rates. The bill would take effect next January if passed.

“While the coming price increases may hurt riders and drivers alike, we will be able to continue to operate across the State under the compromise brokered by the Governor,” Uber spokesperson Josh Gold said in an email to the Star Tribune.

Lyft representatives didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions from The Associated Press about the deal.

The measure that raised objections from the companies would have required them to pay drivers at least $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute — or $5 per ride, whichever is greater — excluding tips, for the time spent transporting passengers in Minneapolis.

Marianna Brown, vice president of the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, told the Star Tribune that even though the pay rates are lower than drivers sought, they were happy to see the deal come together.

Following passage in the House, the governor said in a post on social media platform X that the deal “gives rideshare drivers a 20% raise and keeps these important services operating in Minnesota. I’m grateful to our partners in the House and Senate DFL for coming together to get this done.”

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