Kiger's Notebook

Roch. Fuel Happy Hour @ 5

 A last minute reminder, Fuel Rochester is gathering for its monthly Happy Hour get-together from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Rochester at Sontes.

Remember, Fuel is the young professionals crowd and it is backed by the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. Fuel Happy hours are open to all Chamber members (even the old ones like me. Heh.)

Fuel members receive one free drink by showing their membership/discount card. Attendees will have the chance to sign up for Fuel.

Wine and roses? - Roch. florist eyes Stewartville liquor biz

Here's an interesting tidbit from an article by Laura Horihan on the Stewartville City Council Oking two liquor licenses.

For the full story, look here.

One of the applicants is in a different business in Rochester.

Here's that part of Laura's story:Thomas Weisheipl, the owner of Flowerama in Rochester, also submitted an application to sell off-sale liquor.

Weisheipl hopes to start a liquor store in the former Ambassador Liquor building.

The council revoked the liquor store's license after a series of failed alcohol compliance checks.

The approval of Weishepl's application will depend on whether he's able to lease the building from current owner Gary Johnson.

Johnson had previously been working on an agreement with Bill Heimer, who was planning to buy his remaining inventory and set up a new liquor store.

The council made it clear that only one license will be issued to the site.

"If I'm not able to get that spot, I'm not planning to do anything at all," Weisheipl said. "One person will win the race, and that's it."

Yaggy Colby Associates' reorganization

Here's some from my piece on the changes underway at Yaggy Colby Associates. The full article is here:

Responding to changes in the market, a large Rochester engineering and architectural firm is re-organizing into two specialized teams.

Yaggy Colby Associates' architecture and interior design department, led by architects Chris Colby, Jose Rivas and Jason Woodhouse, is spinning off as a separate business called CRW Architectural + Design Group.

However, the new operation is not moving far. The plan is to keep the 11-person CRW team based at 717 Third Ave. S.E. along with the other 55 Yaggy Colby employees in Rochester.

Details are still be worked out, but the new operation is expected to launch next week.

Colby, who merged his architectural firm with one owned by Ron Yaggy in 1987, describes the changes as "friendly."

"We (the architects) have a slightly different business model and marketing concept, so we're going to pursue that and still be friends," he said.

An announcement of the move says CRW's mission "…will be centered on the delivery of architecture and design services with a focus on sustainability and the promotion of green building practices…" for existing clients and new ones.

WOW II to open next week, says owner

After almost a year of warm-up, WorkOut World's second Rochester center may jump into action next week.

"We're ready and we'll open June 1" is what WOW owner Steve Borghi is saying.

He's talking about the long-planned WOW in Rochester's Maplewood Square commercial center off 41st Street Northwest.

Blueprints for that project have been posted in the windows of the former Rainbow Foods building since July 2009.

Borghi opened his first Minnesota WOW in Rochester in 2008 in the Crossroads Center. That center's opening also saw extended delays.

Borghi says the East Coast-based fitness chain is doing well here, and he has more centers slated to open in other Minnesota cities.

"People like what they've seen of us in Rochester," he says.

While WOW has found a niche here, its high-energy sales teams have also worked up some controversy in Rochester.

If things go according to Borghi's plan, this new WOW will be the first business to be active in a portion of the long-empty Rainbow Foods space since the grocery store closed in 2003.

Architect news on the way

Look for news on long-time Rochester icon -  Yaggy Colby Associates - in print on Thursday.

The design and engineering firm is revamping a bit to better navigate the market.This business is 30 years old (at least the Yaggy part). Chris Colby merged his business with Yaggy in 1987.

I'll post part of this piece on this blog later tonight.

Mayo Clinic and scientific misconduct

Here's some from an article I have in today's paper. The full article is posted here.

Accusations of scientific fraud by a researcher is driving Mayo Clinic to retract findings from almost eight years of research on an antibody after firing the scientist at the heart of the controversy.

 Mayo launched an investigation of research by Suesh Radhakrishnan of an antibody molecule with possible cancer-fighting properties after other researchers in his lab were unable to duplicate his results.

The research, much of which was funded by National Institute of Health grants, was conducted in the Rochester lab of Larry Pease.

Bob Nellis, a Mayo Clinic spokesman, confirmed this morning that the investigation found Radhakrishan was responsible for scientific misconduct and was fired.

"In the specific incident that resulted in the dismissal of the individual, it was an instance of tampering with another individual's experiment to alter the outcome" Nellis said this morning.

Radhakrishnan, who had worked at Mayo Clinic for almost 10 years, denies the charges.

"I did not forge the data," he told the scientific journal, "Nature."

"However, I do not have an explanation for the current loss of effect of the antibody preparation," Radhakrishnan wrote in a comment on a medical blog.

He describes the the findings of the investigation, "based on multiple- guilt by association and corroborative-evidences. Because of lack of significant alternative explanations, this conclusion seems appropriate."

Mayo Clinic says scientific journals that published peer-reviewed articles based on the questionable data have been notified. An estimated 15 to 17 papers published in nine scientific journals between 2002 and 2009 are being retracted.

"Science is incremental. When something is discovered, there are multiple publications from it over a period of time," says Nellis. "The conservative approach was to be inclusive to find anything that could possibly have been impacted by what was considered unverifiable. It is important to understand that this is not a far-reaching impact."

He added that "Retractions happen all the time in science for various reasons."

Top Roch. building official leaving

Most people doing business in Rochester, particularly those in the construction industry, deal with the Rochester Building Safety Department once in a while.

That department will soon be looking for a new chief.

Here's some from a piece about this transition by Jeffrey Pieters in today's PB. The full deal is here:

Ron Boose's last day on the job heading the city Building Safety Department will be July 23. He is leaving to oversee building inspections in Tucson, Ariz.

"I will be very happy on the day I sell the snow-blower," Boose said.

Boose, 58, accepted a job offer late last month. He described it as a "now-or-never" opportunity to put in 10 years of work in a new position before he retires.

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Boose came to Rochester in August 2000 from past positions as building-safety director in Oak Park, Ill., and Iowa City, Iowa.
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City Council President Dennis Hanson — probably the closest observer of Boose's work on the city council — said he will recommend re-examining the department's structure and its personnel before replacing Boose.

It's possible, Hanson said, that Boose might be replaceable from among the existing employees, without adding a position.

Munch crunch makes way for vid biz

Demo crews are clearing away the remains of the ex-BP Pump & Munch C-store and gas station on Elton Hills N.W. today.

 This demolition sets the stage for the construction of a new 4,600-square-foot Family Video store.

Glenview, Ill.-based movie and video game rental chain says expect the new building to go up quickly, probably within 90 days of when the work starts.

I remember when this BP station became a Pump & Munch back in 2007. The Rochester Pump & Munch stations all closed last July.

Mac's menu makeover

After 61 years, George Psomas thought it was time to update the menu at Mac's Diner in downtown Rochester.

"It is a modern twist on the classic, Old-School diner," says Psomas. "We're gearing toward healthy and organic food."

Expect local, grass-fed beef. To create healthier dishes, the cooks will only use olive and canola oils.

Some of the new additions include unique dishes like salmon kissed with fig and honey, grilled shrimp with quinoa and couscous, "The French Kissed Burger" and a glazed ham steak laced with a sweet peachy sauce.

What about the items that Mac's is famous for, like its meatloaf, gyros, big breakfasts, shishkabobs and spanikopita?

"Don't worry. We've kept the classics. Those standards obviously have kept us in business all these years," he says. "They are still there. We've just made them better and healthier."

He plans to remodel the diner in January.

First Avenue student housing complex update

Construction of an almost $28 million nine-story apartment complex in downtown Rochester is underway, now that three First Avenue Southwest buildings in the 300 block have been scraped off the plot.

It is very handy that the Third Street Parking lot gives me an elevated spot to shoot pics from.

The unnamed (A name would make this much easier to write about. Hint, hint, Hal) building is slated to offer housing for University of Minnesota Rochester students as well as classrooms, retail and offices.

GH Holdings is spearheaded by developers Hal Henderson and Grant Michalitz.

It is across First Avenue from the Minnesota BioBusiness Center and the newly opened Dooley's Pub.

It will contain 98 apartments, ranging in size from three-bedroom units to efficiencies, as well as space for classrooms, offices, and a student life area.