Kiger's Notebook

Hormel Institute working with Vanicream maker

Here's some from another story that came from Thursday's biobusiness panel discussion:

The Hormel Institute is not only growing, it's taking its research to the marketplace.

 Sitting on a bioscience panel made up of leaders from Mayo Clinic, IBM and the University of Minnesota-Rochester, Anne Bode of Hormel Institute announced a new partnership with a Rochester company.

"We are working with PSI (Pharmaceutical Specialties Inc.) to add our agents to their lotions," Bode told the audience of business and political leaders Thursday in Rochester.

Describing the partnership as in the "very early stages," she touted the project as an example of collaboration in the bioscience field that can strengthen the local economy.

PSI, which is owned and was founded by two former Mayo Clinic pharmacists, makes the popular Vanicream lotions, sunscreens, shampoos and lip balms.

Deli coming to N.W. Rochester

Thanks to the BP oil spill in the Gulf, a new deli is on the way for Rochester.

Tom Heimer and his fiancee, Zoya Reynolds, are opening Country Fresh Deli in Vahalla Plaza on Elton Hills Drive.

"We're shooting to have top-quality meat and cheeses at affordable prices," Heimer says.

"The original plans were to open a seafood deli in Arkansas, but the BP spill killed that idea."

While in Rochester, the couple had a new idea. Why not open a deli right here?

Now they are planning to open Country Fresh in early September in 800-square-feet at 314 Elton Hills Drive Northwest, next to Woody's Liquor and near the new Swagg Tagg.

The pair, now living in Wisconsin, will staff the store when it opens,. Heimer has lots of plans for the store's future.

He plans on carrying the award-winning Fancy brand cheese, made in Grantsburg, Wis., as well as fine smoked meats.

In the future, he hopes to add soups, sandwiches and coffee for the lunch crowd, with Reynolds possibly adding a dish or two from her native Russia.

George Rownd of Braasch Commercial Real Estate handled this deal.

RAEDI wants $10M in city sales taxes for economic fund

You have to stay for the end, if you want to hear the good stuff.

That's the lesson I took away from the hour and half panel discussion about the potential of bioscience in the area.

In the last two minutes, Gary Smith of the Rochester Economic Development Inc. tossed out a bit of a grenade.

Here's some from my piece on this. More is posted here.

I'll have more on this event later.

To create an economic development fund, RAEDI and the Rochester Area Chamber Commerce plan to ask the city for $10 million of sales tax money.

Gary Smith, the executive director of Rochester Area Economic Inc., announced the plan this afternoon at the end of a panel discussion titled "Building Rochester’s BioBusiness Future Through Collaboration."

"We've been doing this on a nickel budget. It is time for some real money to do this," said Smith, after a panel of leaders from Mayo Clinic, IBM, the Hormel Institute and the University of Minnesota Rochester spoke about the potential of bioscience.

One theme was how biotechnology start-up companies with local roots are looking elsewhere to develop.

Steve VanNurden of Mayo Clinic's Office of Intellectual Property Mayo Clinic told the crowd of community leaders gathered in an unfinished section of the Minnesota BioBusiness Center that his office has directly helped launch 42 companies based on Mayo-created technology.

"None of those 42 companies are based here," he said.

Snapshots @ Roch. Chamber golf bash 2010

I cruised around a bit of the back nine hole this afternoon at the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce Golf bash on a drinks cart with Willow Creek Golf Course's Jenna driving.

This year's theme was Hollywood. The gang at the Doubletree Hotel site did their best keeping the Hollywood sign up.

 Saw and heard some interesting things while out and about.

Here are a few pics I took as well as a submitted one of Chamber President John Wade walking the red carpet dressed as ...uh...Elton John with a Jimmy Durante hat on? The submitter asked to remain nameless.

Don't ask. I protect my anonymous sources.

I'll probably swoop back out there later, so I should have another update or two coming.

Looking for Roch. Chamber Golf pics, vids updates

The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce's annual golf extravaganza is rolling along at Willow Creek Golf Course today with the first teams teeing off at 7 a.m.

I'll pop in out there once or twice today, but I'd love to get pics, videos and updates from the players and the business sponsors at each hole.

E-mail stuff to me at jkiger@postbulletin.com.

If you post to Twitter, please use the hashtag of #Rochcham.Thanks for your help.

I'll pass along anything I pick up as well as submitted stuff throughout the rest of day and evening.

Roch. firm to add 50 to 60 more jobs

Here's some from a piece I have in print today about The Affiliated Group growing due to new contracts, including one particularly large municipal one.

Unpaid bills are adding up to about 50 to 60 new jobs for Rochester, as a local firm's business explodes with new contracts.

The Affiliated Group, a locally owned debt collection company, is gearing up for the launch of a new, large contract in September.

About 80 to 85 people now work at Affiliated at 3055 41st St. N.W. in the complex formerly known as the IBM White Buildings.

Affiliated President Mark Neeb says his team needs to have staffing ready to go about four weeks prior to starting this contract with a large municipal government.

"By the end of September, we plan to bring 30 on for sure," he says."Within 12 months, that one contract will have — by my best estimate — about 40 on staff."

The client city did not give Affiliated permission to release its name, but Neeb says it is not a local municipality.

About four other smaller municipal projects are also slated to start this fall, for an estimated total of 50 to 60 new jobs during the next year, Neeb says.

Hillary Clinton + Mayo Clinic book enroute to wedding

Here's the kind of detail that is now available thanks to the unescapable social media movement.

William Daroff, VP for public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America, tweeted about U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's airplane reading material while flying to her daughter's wedding.

Clinton was accompanied by her mother and a bevy of staff. She read WP, NYT, SkyMall, & the 'Mayo Clinic Women's Health Source.'

That tweet posted on Twitter Monday has since been re-tweeted and re-posted all over the place including Clinton's own website.

What a product placement promotion for Mayo Clinic.

I wonder if this is connected to Mayo Clinic's new Center for Social Media launched today by the experienced hands of Lee Aase.  Hhhhhmmm....

Old-school video store work rolling in N.W. Roch.

It seems kind of a quaintly old-fashioned concept in the time of Red Box and Blockbuster movie vending machines as well as the movies-in-the-mail maven, NetFlix

Walk into a store, look at DVD covers and rent movies.

It is a business plan that is still working for Glenview, Ill.-based Family Video, a national video and game rental chain.

Construction of Family Video's new Rochester location is still in the trailer phase, so you still have time to get popcorn.

However, it is starting to firm up as the 4,600-square-foot video store on Elton Hills N.W. at starts to become a reality.

It is rising on the spot formerly occupied by BP Pump N Munch, before that BP station leaked away after being liquidfied by a demolition crew.

I remember when that BP station became a Pump & Munch back in 2007.

The Rochester Pump & Munch stations all closed last July.

Roch. building permits include pizza, Chinese places

Chuck E. Cheese's and Trader Joe's were not the only ones applying for permits from the Rochester Building Safety office last week.

Beside those two brands looking for interior demolition permits at the Apache Shoppes center, two restaurants were asking for their own permits.

Broadway Pizza, a small Twin Cities-based, railroad-themed restaurant chain, is looking to build a full head of steam going at the former Timberlodge Steak House building at 4144 U.S. 52 near the IBM campus.

While I have reported on this before, I think an update might be due soon. Meanwhile, China One, owned by local restaurateur Yong Hao Liu, is looking for permits to create a new eatery in northwest Rochester's Barlow Plaza shopping center on Civic Center Drive Northwest.

It was Yong Hao Liu's International Buffet  across Civic Center from the plaza that was closed and demolished to make for Rochester's latest Walgreens drug store.

Crane climbers, 318 Commons update and video

In case you didn't see this yesterday or today, two 23-year-old guys decided to climb a seven story construction crane early Sunday morning in downtown Rochester.

The crane, in the 300 block of First Avenue, is being used to build 318 Commons student housing/ mixed use development.

"The men told police 'they weren't afraid of heights.' Officers determined the men had been drinking."

Drinking? HHhhmmm.... Go figure.

Here's the link to the story by Jeffrey Pieters.

Since I haven't posted an update pic of the construction of this project recently, I thought this story was a good excuse to to do that as well getting a photo of the crane that show some perspective of what these urban mountain climbers were clambering up in the dark.

As a bonus, I'm throwing in a video clip of Mayor Ardell Brede speaking at the groundbreaking of 318 Commons.

As long-time readers of this blog know…I'm just a giver.

Heh.