Kiger's Notebook

Dancing With The Stars + Minnesota apples?

Two things I never expected to come appear together in a business item - Minnesota apples and the "Dancing With The Stars" TV show.

And yet they will come together on Oct. 16, when dancer Chelsie Hightower will make an appearance at the expo booth of an orchard that grows Minnesota's up and coming apple variety, SweeTango.

Get it? She's a dancer, right? And the tango is a dance, though in this case… uh… it really is an apple.

The SweeTango name for the University of Minnesota created apple variety came from Dennis Courtier, the president of Pepin Heights Orchards in Lake City.

Courtier also spearheaded the creation of the Next Big Thing cooperative of SweeTango growers that govern the growing and marketing of the apples, which are a cross between Honeycrisp and Zestar.

Now playing off that name, Hightower is slated to appear at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit in Atlanta later this month.

She'll be at the booth of Fowler Farms Of New York. Fowler is one of the 45 members of the Next Big Thing co-op.

I think there needs to be some sort of reality show competition to choose the best apple variety. It could be called "America's Next Top Apple."

Uh… or maybe not. Heh.

Roch. Feed & Country - today's AM Espresso

There was a good crowd at Rochester Area Chamber's AM Espresso this morning at the Rochester Feed & Country Store.

Rochester Feed hosted the monthly networking breakfast with in partnership with Hope Ranch.

I had some good chats and learned a few things, which is always a good way to start a Friday morning.

One prominent tidbit was delivered by 2011 Chamber President Melissa Brinkman of Custom Alarm as she led the ring of introductions.

• The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce might be the largest chamber in the state. That is based on data on Minnesota Chambers of Commerce recently listed in the Twin Cities Business Journal.

I'll check that out and see if I can officially confirm it.

• The annual Business After Hours EXTRA mega networking event is scheduled for April 21 in the Kahler Grand Hotel's refurbished Heritage Hall. This is a month earlier than in past years.

And, in my subjective opinion, Scott Wiederhoeft of Roto Rooter had the best business tagline during the introductions.  "Our plumbers all wear belts." Heh.

Netta Putzier, who co-owns Rochester Feed with Bob Kopplin, gave me a quick behind the scene tour and showed me the latest addition to the pet grooming side of the operation - a massive claw foot bathtub to bathe the dogs in style.

Saudi royal family visit = $1.3M

Here's some fron the follow-up to my post a couple weeks ago about some of the Saudi Arabia royal family visiting Rochester.

The full piece is in print today.

A visit from members of the Saudi Arabian royal family boosted Rochester cash registers by an estimated $1.3 million this month.

The Saudi group, which reportedly includes direct members of the Middle Eastern royal family, has been in Rochester nearly three weeks.

A Saudi Arabia Airlines Boeing 777 departed Tuesday for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Rochester International Airport. Transport trucks were lined up next to a line of Mercedes Benz  in front of the Kahler Grand Hotel as some in the group prepared to leave and take their new possessions with them, boxed up for shipping. The remainder of the group are expected to leave later this week.

Official sources estimated anonymously that the group included more than 100 people connected to the royal family.

The visit is similar to one two years ago that officials estimated provided a $1.5 million economic shot in the arm to Rochester's economy.

As in November 2008, the royal family members likely are visiting this month for examinations or treatment at Mayo Clinic. Clinic representatives could not confirm or deny that, however others with knowledge of the visit indicated the visits were for medical evaluations and treatment.

Zombies on parade

In case you missed it over the weekend, here's some from what I wrote up about Rochester's first zombie walk Saturday plus a pic by Scott Jacobson.

If you want to see some video Scott shot of the faux dead event, some is posted here.

It was the sunny afternoon of the … uh … dead today in Rochester.

A mob of almost 100 zombie fans covered in fake blood gathered in the downtown Peace Plaza for Rochester's first-ever Zombie Walk.

 "Awesome," is what young Sam Hanson declared the event as he followed the shuffling zombies down Broadway. While he didn't dress up for it, Hanson did enjoy watching the sort of undead parade.

Sam's parents, Cory and Kimberly, brought Sam and his sister out to see the spectacle, because "he is a huge monster movie fan."

Not every spectator was as excited about the theatrical group.

A couple eating dinner in front of Mac's Diner said they were "appalled" by the display and that the zombies "should get real and have more purpose to their lives."

However, by far, the majority of people on downtown's sidewalks and streets seemed entertained by the invasion of the legendary brain-eating monsters. Spectators took photos, honked horns, laughed and shouted their support.

Many people said it was refreshing to see Rochester embrace something different.

"I didn't get to run around town like a zombie," said 30-year-old Jane Remfert, who was visiting her parents, Elizabeth and Jeff Remfert. "I would have loved to have done that growing up here."

The Remferts sat on a bench watching the zombies gathering in the Peace Plaza. Looking for something to do to entertain their daughter, the Remferts decided zombie watching might be fun.

Another set of parents, Connor and Erin Letts, were also pleased that a zombie walk had made it to their hometown.

Two of their kids, 4-year-old Hank and 5 1/2-year-old Rosie, were very familiar with the zombie scene as they ran around in the green grass sporting makeup and fake blood.

Connor, whose band Zed on Arrival will perform later, said the kids had been to many zombie gatherings throughout the region with their parents.

"It is its own subculture," he said.

The Letts thought it was great that instead of driving to the Twin Cities or South Dakota, zombies had arrived in Rochester.

"I think it was overdue," said Connor.

While pretend undead started to limp toward the parking lot of Top Cat Tattoo on Broadway, another member of the Letts family — 10-day-old baby Nora — slept through her first zombie walk.

Connor said she'll get other chances to check out the zombie scene, hopefully in Rochester.

"She'll be going to a lot more of these," Nora's dad said with a bloody smile.

Fennel Studio -Thurs. on 1st & 3rd vendor profile

Here's the first of what I hope to be a weekly profile of a vendor at Thursdays on First and Third downtown Rochester street festival.

Unfortunately, the pics and info box were clipped from today's print edition due to a perceived lack of space on the business page.

• Owner is Michele Heidel of Rochester
• Thursdays on First & Third booth: 200 block of First Avenue Southwest
• Best-selling items: small, colorful snap wallets.
• Heidel does accept custom orders
• Website: www.fennelstudio.com

 Michele Heidel is taking her soft touch and her soft art to the street every Thursday.

Heidel, the artist owner of Fennel Studio, is displaying and selling her woven wares at the weekly Thursdays on First & Third street festival.

Standing by her table full of colorful handbags, journals with decorative stitching on the covers, sachets, dishcloths and other items, Heidel explains her work stems from her love of design and soft things.

"I believe things can be utilitarian and have good, interesting design," she says.

She started making and then selling her unique "Modern Soft Goods" full-time last summer.

A year later, the Rochester artist is still enjoying marketing her creations at festivals and such events as Rochesterfest and the upcoming Think Green Fair on Saturday at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds.

She has master's degrees in fiber arts and arts administration. After working at a variety of major art museums around the U.S., Heidel and her husband moved to Rochester.

That's when she decided to return to the roots of what she loves about art — creating it. So she launched Fennel Studio in her spare bedroom.

"It is nice to see art school pay off," she says.

Why the name?

"That's the color of the paint on the walls in the spare bedroom," Heidel says with a grin.

Fennel Studio is one of more than 100 craft and food vendors at the weekly Thursdays on First & Third street fair from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday through Sept. 2.

Listen to the sound of those trucks coming

This summer Rochester will hear the thunder roll...the thunder of more than 1,000 four-wheel drive trucks, Jeeps and even monster trucks.

The Tri‐State 4‐Wheel Jamboree, organized by the same people who brought the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour to Rochester in 2008, is slated to roll into the Olmsted County Fairgrounds on Aug. 28 and 29.

Indianapolis-based Family Events/The Promotion Company, Inc. estimate the jamboree will attract more than 15,000 4-wheel fans to the city.

I'll have more on this in the morning.

Sunstone to retain downtown Roch. hotels

Remember how Sunstone Property Investors had defaulted on two downtown Rochester hotels?

Well, today Sunstone announced it had paid off all the debts and will keep ownership of the downtown Marriott and the Kahler Inn & Suites.

Here's a little from the statement Sunstone's PR firm from Wisconsin (the same ones that represent the Rochester Visitors and Convention Bureau.)

A little more is posted here on the main P-B Website. I might have some more info to add for Friday's paper.

------------------------------

Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. will continue to maintain ownership of five hotels serving Mayo Clinic, as well as business and leisure visitors to Rochester.

The company has repaid all of the outstanding debt for both the Marriott Rochester Mayo Clinic and the Kahler Inn & Suites.

Furthermore, Sunstone says it will soon kick off a multi-million dollar investment in the Rochester hotels.

New board president, members of Roch. CVB

Here's some from a note I got this afternoon about the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau from Ellingsen Brady Advertising in Milwaukee, Wis.

The RCVB has appointed three new members to its board of directors and announced John Beltz, property manager for the Broadway Residence & Suites, will take over as the 2010 board chair. 

The board of directors advises the activities, budget and policy of the RCVB, which is the official destination marketing association for Rochester.  In 2010, the board is focused on upgrading the organization’s communications systems, destination marketing, and the impending Mayo Civic Center expansion. 

--------------

  RANDOM NOTE FROM JEFF - Improving communications is always a great goal for public-private nonprofits like the RCVB, because many of my readers as well as simple journalists like myself get confused about how all of the pieces fit together. The other day someone asked me to name the current board members and I could only remember some of them.

I'm sure that list was readily available somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Then I remembered seeing the list on RCVB's 990 form filed with the IRS.

I've attached that list on two pages from the 2008 990 document. Click to enlarge them.

And now back to your regularly scheduled press release:

--------------

John Murphy of Mayo Clinic’s public affairs department, Erin Hansen from IBM’s executive briefing center, and Bruce Dahlstrom, owner of Hers Clothing Store, are new members of the 23-person board of directors.  Beltz, already on the board, takes the chairperson reigns from Joe Powers, owner of the Canadian Honker restaurant.  Chair-elect is Teresa Puetz, program director for continuing education and professional development at the University of Minnesota-Rochester.

Major initiatives for the RCVB in 2010 include supporting the “Destination Medical Community” strategy of Mayo Clinic, which will mean further focus on hospitality industry improvement and marketing.  The RCVB will upgrade many of its communication systems this year, implementing a new customer relationship management technology system, integrating existing information systems and upgrading its Web site for both external and convention customer service.  Continuing to support the legislative agenda for the expansion of the Mayo Civic Center is also a focus.

Midwest Food Processors group + Convention in Roch.

The Midwest Food Processors Association is meeting for a convention in Rochester this week.

Not sure how many people this has brought to snowy Rochester, but its seems like a pretty big deal.

Here's some details about this group from its Web site:

The Midwest Food Processors Association is the foremost legislative voice of the food processing industry in the Midwest.  MWFPA actively represents and lobbies on behalf of food processors in the state legislatures and agencies in Illinois, Minnesota and WisconsinThe MWFPA has 16 food processor members operating over 100 facilities in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It also has over 200 Associate Members consisting of firms in allied industries.

From the convention agenda I see what looks like a pretty interesting talk from 11:45 to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Mayo Civic Center.

Lunch Buffet & Keynote Speaker (Auditorium) Dr. Thomas Price – The Impact of Globalization on American Business

Dr. Price is a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona. His extensive experience as a high-level American diplomat in Europe gives him a unique perspective on the impact foreign policy has on American businesses. He will discuss the growing concern around the nation and world with environmental issues and sustainability and how the Obama
In addition he will comment on the European attitude towards food in general and towards GMO’s in particular and how they have profound consequences for American food processors. (Sponsored in part by Lyco Manufacturing, Crookham Co, and Lakeside Foods)

Unemployment takes a dip locally

Here's a little from a piece by my colleague Mike Klein:

A boost in tourism jobs breathed life into southeastern Minnesota's labor market in July, with employment rising by 200 since June in Mower County alone, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Mower County's jobless rate was 6.2 percent in June, down from 6.8 percent in June but still higher than last year's 4.6 percent. The number of jobless people totaled 1,325, down from 1,445 in June.

The jobless rate in the 11-county region was 7.2 percent in July, down from 7.8 percent in June, but up from 5 percent a year ago. It remains lower than the state rate of 7.8 percent and the national rate of 9.7 percent.

The job market was slowly improving in spring but suddenly worsened in June, so observers were watching July closely to see if the recovery resumed, said Jennifer Ridgeway, DEED labor market analyst.

---------

A particularly bright spot was the leisure and hospitality sector, she said. After steady job losses for 18 months, the sector gained jobs in June and July compared to the previous year, Ridgeway said. In July, it accounted for 9,508 jobs in the Rochester metropolitan area (Olmsted, Wabasha and Dodge counties), up 2.4 percent from a year ago, even as most sectors stayed steady or declined slightly.

---------

Ian Freeburg, president of the Rochester Lodging Association and general manager of the SpringHill Suites Hotel, said business at his hotel has picked up in recent months and his hotel has hired a few extra people.

The Jehovah's Witnesses convention, as well as other conventions brought in by the Convention and Visitors Bureau, provided a healthy boost this summer, Freeburg said.

-------

However, retail trade jobs were down 1.4 percent over the year in the Rochester metro area, so consumer spending is still slow.

Education and health jobs, a powerhouse in Rochester because of Mayo Clinic, continued to gain. The sector accounted for 43,072 jobs, up 1.9 percent from a year ago, in the Rochester metro area.