Minnesota

Business People: Longtime NAMI Minnesota executive director to retire

Published

10 months ago

May 25, 2025

Press Room

Business People: Longtime NAMI Minnesota executive director to retire

HEALTH CARE

Sue Abderholden

NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) announced that Sue Abderholden will retire as executive director effective Oct. 15. Abderholden has led NAMI Minnesota since October 2001.

AIRPORTS

The Metropolitan Airports Commission announced it has promoted Kelly Gerads to director of reliever airports, responsible for the operation and maintenance of its six general aviation airports in the Twin Cities metro area: St. Paul Downtown Airport, Flying Cloud Airport, Anoka County-Blaine Airport, Crystal Airport, Airlake Airport and Lake Elmo Airport. Gerads was promoted from assistant director of reliever airports, a position she’s held since 2007. The MAC also operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

ATTRACTIONS

Transwestern Real Estate Services announced the planned opening of a Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park at Aurora Village Shopping Center, located at 1801 County Road 42 West in Burnsville; it’s the chain’s first Minnesota location.

CONSTRUCTION

Empirehouse, a Mounds View architectural glass and metal contractor, announced the retirement of General Manager James Bringle.

EDUCATION

Blaze Credit Union, Falcon Heights, announced it was honored with the Minnesota Credit Union Network’s 2025 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award, recognizing Blaze’s initiatives promoting financial wellbeing of students in St. Paul Public Schools.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

U.S. Bank, Minneapolis, announced that it has united its Global Fund Services and Global Corporate Trust teams into a single Investment Services division led by Jay Martin, president of Investment Services. Martin has led Global Fund Services since joining the bank in 2023. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, he spent time at Citco, where he was head of operations within the Fund Services division. … Merchants Financial Group, Winona, announced the reelection of three directors to three-year terms: Molly Jungbauer, Hollstadt Consulting; John Killen, WinCraft; and James Rogers III, Mayo Clinic.

HEALTH CARE

Nura Pain Clinics, a subsidiary of the Capitol Pain Institute family of practices, announced the opening of a clinic at 707 Bielenberg Drive, Suite 108, Woodbury. Dr. Larry Studt, who joined Nura in 2024, will serve as the Woodbury clinic’s primary provider. Nura Pain Clinics also has locations in Edina and Coon Rapids.

HONORS

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it has named ATEK Distribution, of Minneapolis, as SBA’s Minnesota Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year. The business is owned by Jeffrey Anderson, who previously served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. ATEK Distribution provides wholesale electrical construction materials, including wiring supplies, electrical light fixtures, EV charging stations, light bulbs, and solar and electrical power equipment. … Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota announced this year’s winners of BBB’s Torch Awards for Ethics: Category 1 (1-2 employees): T & J Construction, Rogers; Category 2 (3-15 employees): Front Burner Accounting Services, Eden Prairie; Category 3 (20-99 employees): Paris Painting, Brooklyn Center; Category 4 (100+ employees): Coordinated Business Systems, Burnsville.

LAW

Faegre Drinker announced that Berglind Halldorsdottir Birkland has joined the firm’s litigation practice as counsel in the Minneapolis office. Birkland, a native of Iceland, also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and chairs the International Business Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

REAL ESTATE

HomeServices of America, a Minneapolis-based Berkshire Hathaway franchised real estate agency, announced the following executive appointments: Alex Seavall, promoted from chief financial officer to chief financial and operations officer; and Candace Adams has been named executive vice president. Adams has served as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties.

SERVICES

Restaurant Technologies, a Mendota Heights-based provider of cooking oil waste management to restaurants, announced it has named Matthew Micowski as chief financial officer, succeeding Bob Weil, who has held the position since 2007 and has transitioned to a strategic adviser position within the organization.

TECHNOLOGY

Calabrio, a Minneapolis-based provider of human resources software and services, announced it has appointed Frank Ciccone as chief revenue officer. Ciccone most recently was with Verizon, where he managed a $400 million collaboration and customer experience business.

EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

Source link

Click to comment

Minnesota

Lawmakers want Minnesota to study possibility of building new nuclear plants

Published

9 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Lawmakers want Minnesota to study possibility of building new nuclear plants

A coalition of utilities, counties, clean energy groups and labor unions known as the Minnesota Nuclear Energy Alliance is pushing the Legislature to reconsider the state’s moratorium on new nuclear plants. Some legislators want to fund a study of the potential impacts.

Source link

Minnesota

‘No Kings’ Minnesota rally starred whistles, butterflies, Springsteen

Published

21 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

‘No Kings’ Minnesota rally starred whistles, butterflies, Springsteen

Being the center of attention isn’t a Minnesota specialty.

But Minnesotans clearly embraced having the nation’s attention at the “No Kings” rally on Saturday as thousands of them stood unified in opposition to President Donald Trump.

Those in attendance appeared so unified that, when asked to take a moment of silence, it really was quiet. Crowd size was difficult to estimate but ranged from 100,000-200,000, depending on the source.

They came bearing images that have become icons of the resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), like whistles used to call for help and monarch butterflies that embody the right to migrate across borders.

In many ways, the spring rally acted as a communal catharsis following Operation Metro Surge – and a stark reminder for the discontented crowd that the federal government’s immigration enforcement agenda hasn’t changed.

Here are some of the images we captured and the people we spoke to.

Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost/CatchLight Local/Report for America

Amy Speare and Emmanuel Speare, along with their three children, pose for a portrait before marching from St. Paul College Saturday. “This is me putting my foot down,” said Mr. Speare.

Mrs. Speare shared a story about their 5-year-old daughter who asked if her mother was alive “when the brown skin people weren’t able to go to the grocery store.”

“We talked about how that was a horrible thing, and how people marched and changed the rules, and changed the laws, and made it so that doesn’t happen,” Mrs. Speare said. “And then she asked, ‘Will they change the laws back?’”

That’s why she said the family protested that day: “to make sure that they don’t change the laws back.”

As with the city of Minneapolis, it was impossible to miss the faces Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Saturday’s march. Federal agents fatally shot both Good and Pretti while they observed immigration enforcement actions in January.

Photos from the October “No Kings” protest in Minneapolis

Organizers chose Minnesota for their flagship march nationally largely because of the state’s response to immigration enforcement. Over 3,000 “No Kings” protests took place across the country on Saturday.

Mark Sackett and his dog, Penny, pose for a portrait while sitting outside the Minnesota State Capitol. “I’m just so proud of Minnesota,” he said, saying typically, the state would “never want to be on the national stage for something like this.”

Despite its relatively recent release after the killings of Good and Pretti, many in the crowd on Saturday appeared to already know the words to “Streets of Minneapolis” when Bruce Springsteen preformed it.

Springsteen warmly greeted Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, as he got on stage.

Madeline, of St. Paul, wears a dinosaur costume while protesting during the “No Kings” march on Saturday. The 10-year-old joined her mother and aunt with tens of thousands of protesters.

Others on the long and high-profile list of attendees included Joan Baez, Jane Fonda and Maggie Rogers. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also appeared, along with Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.

Cousins Craig Pierce, left, and Kari Pearson stand for a portrait at the protest. “We just really share the same values, and beliefs and worldview that it’s really important to show up,” Pearson said, adding that their presence wasn’t optional. Chase said the two joined in solidarity with everyone else representing Minnesota at the gathering. “This is the responsibility of citizens,” he said.

A child, holding a “No Kings” sign and an American flag, joins protesters to watch the action while elevated in a tree. People perched on steps, children on parents’ shoulders and stood on highway overpasses to get a glimpse of the program happening on the steps of the Capitol.

Ryan, left, his daughter Olivia, center, and wife Karen, who declined to give their last names, pose for a portrait while protesting. “We just wanted to stand up for democracy,” Ryan said. “I feel that a lot of our rights are being taken away from us.”

Marchers were seen wearing frog costumes, as has become customary at protests denouncing the Trump administration’s actions. Full-body narwhal, bananas and more were spotted in the crowd. Many children joined their families.

Stephanie Rathsack, 34, of Faribault, waved to passing cars while holding the Minnesota state flag. Rathsack, who said she traveled to the Twin Cities to join the fight against fascism, has been joining protests since early 2025. “I’m just really proud of our state, and we’ve been through so so much, and I could not be prouder of all the people that are here and all the people that just make up our beautiful place where we live,” she said. “We are still here, we are still strong and we are going to keep fighting no matter what they throw at us.”

Source link

Minnesota

No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 10 Penn State 1: Goalied

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 10 Penn State 1: Goalied

After a heroic goaltending performance lifted Penn State to the Frozen Four last year, the Nittany Lions were on the receiving end of a strong goaltending night in Friday’s 3-1 NCAA Tournament loss to Minnesota-Duluth. Adam Gajan made 29 saves, many of them high-danger, to lift the Bulldogs past Penn State. Shea Van Olm scored Penn State’s only goal of the night in the first period. Josh Fleming made 36 saves in defeat for the Nittany Lions.

First Period

Penn State’s attack was relentless in the first period. Midway through the period, Casey Aman made a perfect cross-ice pass to Shea Van Olm. The freshman laced a beautiful shot past Adam Gajan to put Penn State on top 1-0:

Max Plante tied the game for Minnesota-Duluth late in the first period when his brother Zam found him open near the front of the net. Max fired it through Josh Fleming’s five hole to even the game at 1.

Second Period

Minnesota-Duluth took control of the flow of the game in the second period and rolled up 11 of the first 12 shots in the frame. Josh Fleming made several high-danger chances to keep Penn State afloat with the offense drying up. A too many men on the ice penalty against Penn State gave the Bulldogs their only power play of the night, but Penn State killed it off to keep the game level at 1 after two periods.

Charlie Cerrato exited the game with an injury late in the second period. He came back onto the ice briefly following the injury but did not finish the game.

Third Period

Penn State got a power play of their own when Max Plante hooked Aiden Fink as he was setting up for a prime scoring chance. Matt DiMarsico had a wide open chance at the left faceoff circle but Gajan got across just in time to make the save. Minnesota-Duluth killed off the penalty and seized momentum back.

A bad breakout led to a defensive zone turnover by Gavin McKenna as he misplayed the puck. Minnesota-Duluth’s Grayden Siepmann quickly found Hunter Anderson off the turnover, and Anderson beat Josh Fleming glove side high to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night.

Penn State struggled to gain possession in the offensive zone while trying to tie the game in the dying minutes. The Nittany Lions got a couple of decent looks, but Ty Hanson iced the game with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to end Penn State’s season.

Scoring Summary

	1	2	3	Final Advertisement
Penn State	1	0	0	1 Advertisement
Minnesota-Duluth	1	0	2	3 Advertisement

First Period

PSU: Shea Van Olm (9)- Casey Aman (5), Mac Gadowsky (17)- 5v5- 8:37
UMD: Max Plante (25)- Zam Plante (28), Ty Hanson (26)- 5v5- 15:01

Third Period

UMD: Hunter Anderson (7)- Grayden Siepmann (13)- 5v5- 14:47
UMD: Ty Hanson (9)- Max Plante (26)- EN- 19:59

Shots By Period

Takeaways

Thank You, Seniors- Jarod Crespo, Ben Schoen, and Carter Schade played their final game for Penn State tonight. They left it all on the ice tonight.
Goaltending- Adam Gajan stole this game for Minnesota-Duluth, but Josh Fleming played one of his best games of the season as well. It was hard to fault Fleming for either of the two goals scored against him. The future is bright for Fleming at Penn State.
Nightmares- Penn State’s season-long struggles with defense and puck handling came back to haunt them in the third period on Minnesota-Duluth’s game-winning goal. The injury cloud also hung over the team yet again with Charlie Cerrato exiting the game.
Expectations- After last year’s Frozen Four, the hype for this program launched into outer space, and rightfully so. They were unable to repeat last season’s success, but that’s hockey. They’ll be back before long.
Atmosphere- I was watching this game on TV at a friend’s house, and it seemed like the atmosphere at the arena was dead. The Roar Zone had a strong contingent, but there were lots of empty seats and it felt like a run-of-the-mill regular season game and not a postseason game. The NCAA may want to revisit moving the tournament to campus sites.

What’s Next

Penn State’s season is over, but the offseason will certainly be busy. Roster changes are on the horizon with players graduating out or signing professional contracts, and the transfer portal window opens on April 13. The Nittany Lions have another solid recruiting class coming in and should retain several key pieces on the current roster. Stay tuned to BSD for updates as we head into the offseason. It will be a long six months without Penn State hockey before the 2026-27 season begins, but it will be here before we know it.

Source link