Kiger's Notebook

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Growing up Rochester

Rochester once again tops a “Best Places” list, though this one is different since its looks at U.S. cities through the eyes of a child.

U.S. News and World Reports magazine, a long-time fan of Rochester, named the city as one of America’s 10 Best Places To Grow Up in a list published Thursday.

Described on the list as having “… Enough activities to tire out even the most energetic youngsters,” Rochester is ranked among other cities such as Boston, Denver, San Jose, Calif., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The magazine delved into its database of 2,000 communities to look for place  with a low crime rate, a strong school system, lots of green spaces and plenty of opportunities for recreation and artistic outlets.

When mapping out Rochester’s child-friendly features, the magazine spoke with Brad Jones, the executive director of the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He described the variety of activity options, like “85 miles of trails for in-line skating, 3,200 acres of public parks for touch football, and 56 different playgrounds.”

The list also included the Graham Arena hockey facilities and National Volleyball Center.

U.S. News and World Reports has often named Rochester to its many lists, starting with the Best Places to Live. It also has made the Best Places to Work and Best Places to Do Business lists.

Wrestling - the fans and the money

It might not be a true “sport,” but like die-hard Vikings or Wild fans, more than 5 million of its followers spend hours watching it on TV, tracking the careers of their favorites, pay big bucks for related gear, drive miles and even sit in subfreezing temperatures all night for a good ticket.

“I’ve been a fan since I was 10 years old,” said 30-year-old J.J. Giebel of his passion for professional or championship wrestling. He’s introduced his love of wrestling to his two sons and his wife, and now they too are fans.

And they are not alone.

The Mayo Civic Center estimates it will sell up to 3,900 tickets — with many being walk-ups the day of the event — by the time the first match of World Wrestling Entertainment’s Raw Live starts Saturday night. Some of those tickets, like the nine that Giebel and his friends camped out all night on Jan. 3 to buy, cost $50.

“Anytime there is an event in Rochester, the Cities or even in Wisconsin, we’ll be there — no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.

Dale Gagne of Rochester, a wrestling promoter for 21 years, said the appeal is simple.

“It is the good guys against the bad. The storylines are all about good versus evil,” he said.

While the events are famous for rough fighting, that does not mean the crowd is unruly.

“They are truly the most appreciative and kindest of fans. They pick up their own trash. They always say please and thank you,” said Donna Drews, managing director of the Mayo Civic Center.

And the restaurants, gas stations and bars of Rochester might also be appreciative.

Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester Visitor and Convention Bureau, estimates Raw Live will pin down about $150,000, not including ticket sales. It’s an average of $30 per person.

“It is the same as a Jehovah’s Witness convention,” said Gagne of the economic impact. The Jehovah’s Witness groups meet in Rochester several times during the year at the civic center.

Championship wrestling back to Roch.

Championship wrestling is on its way back to Rochester.

A while back I did a piece on the ECW wrestling syndicate that is a subset of the WWE. Don't ask me what those stand for, I don't remember.

Anyway on Jan. 10, WWE Raw Live will happen at the Mayo Civic Center along with a warm-up card of ECW matches.

Some of the wrestlers coming - for the fans out there - are John Cena, Chris Jericho, Mysterio, my old friend CM Punk, The Miz, Kelly Kelly, Finlay and the Boogeyman

My question is are you or someone you know going to this? Who are the fans locally? How much do they spend on tickets, PPV and other wrestling stuff.

Is there overlap with the Mixed Martial Arts fans?

This is big business and I'd like to know more about the attraction and what is spent on it.

Thanks.

Roch. + J. Witnesses + 2009 = $$$

It is a relationship that has stood the test of time going on 21 years.

The couple? The City of Rochester and the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Recently, the Jehovah’s Witness religious group signed up for another round of meetings in the summer and fall at Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center.

 

 It will hold seven meetings with the four district meetings in the summer expected to attract 6,000 people to each, while the three fall circuit meetings are forecast  to have 1,250 to 950 attending each.

 

For the city, the relationship is a profitably one.

 

Each of those four 6,000 person district meetings bring in an estimated $1.18 million economic impact, says the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau. The three circuit meetings in the fall are expected to bring in $209,000, $107,000 and $144,900 respectively.

So by the Rochester convention bureau’s estimation, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ meetings will bring a financial boost of biblical proportions to Rochester - $5.46 million.

The crowds of well-dressed families and individuals walking around downtown is a familiar sight to anyone that has lived in Rochester long.

But why do they keep coming back?

“ Rochester is a clean, safe, attractive city with skywalks and many beautiful hotels. The people are exceptionally friendly,” says David Kennedy, news director of the Minnesota Circuit 6 of Jehovah's Witnesses. “We enjoy coming to Rochester because city and convention and visitors' bureau officials are exceptionally cooperative. So are the folks at the Mayo Civic Center.”

Is Mayo Clinic's biobusiness strategy paying off?

Here's some an interesting piece by Ben Butkus from Biotech Transfer Week's Oct. 22 issue.

Evidently, this magazine covered the Licensing Executives Society annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. a few weeks ago.

The well-written story is packed with info that could spur local articles, but here  are a few highlights that found the most interesting:

A three-year-old approach to technology transfer at the Mayo Clinic has boosted the number of faculty invention disclosures, increased the chances of spinout company survival, and necessitated the hiring of additional tech-transfer personnel, according to clinic officials.
 
However, despite anecdotal evidence that the strategy is working, it is too early to tell if the strategy will provide a financial return, officials from the clinic’s Office of Intellectual Property said.
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The Mayo Clinic’s decision to revamp its tech-transfer efforts was not necessarily a result of shortcomings in the program, which has been in existence since 1986, Tim Argo, Mayo Clinic technology licensing manager, told BTW. 
If there has been one shortcoming of Mayo’s tech-transfer program, it is that it has never developed a “homerun” technology that could drive massive royalty returns. “We are still looking for that big hit,” Argo said.
 
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According to Andrew Danielsen, technology development manager in the Mayo OIP, the voluntary involvement of  physician-entrepreneurs is a main driver of the Mayo’s strategy: “they really need to be on board,” he said. “You can’t make a physician do animal proof-of-concept work for a technology if they don’t want to.”
 

...Mayo also in 2005 put in place two commercialization-financing programs: the “innovation loan program” and the “discovery translation fund.”
 
The ILP is funded with 5 percent of overall royalty income Mayo receives from out-licensed technologies, and doles out interest-free loans to provide seed funding to promising technologies. The clinic intends to recover the loan through future royalties, assuming the technology goes on to be commercialized. The loans are capped at $200,000.
 
The DTF, which was started using $8 million of a $15 million philanthropic gift to the clinic in 2005, offers loan amounts — between $300,000 and $500,000 — to move it to or through the clinical trial stage, but it also has more stringent requirements, and is intended for technologies on the brink of commercialization.
 
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.... they presented several case studies to the LES audience that they said exemplify the early success of the program. For instance,a group of cardiology physician-entrepreneurs, along with Danielsen, invented and developed a device that could make occluding an atrial appendage much easier than current techniques.
 
In order to complete a prototype and proof-of-concept studies for the device, the group secured both an ILP and DTF award for undisclosed amounts, and tapped into a couple of groups of local engineers for prototype development. The device has now been licensed and is being developed by a company called Aegis Medical Innovations in Vancouver, BC, and is in safety studies with first clinical studies planned for early 2009, Danielsen said.
 
Similarly, the OIP has moved an anti-cancer biologic to Phase I clinical trials with the help of three separate DTF awards and a group of researchers in Arizona that had been laid off by a large pharmaceutical corporation; and, with the help of an ILP loan, is currently preparing a 300-patient clinical study for a urine biomarker for preeclampsia.
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As an example, he cited a cardiac-pacing device invented by one of Mayo’s physicians. “We talked with a couple of companies about it who told us, ‘It’s a nice idea, but we don’t even know if this will work,’” Argo said. “But we were able to build a prototype, prove that it worked, and found out that it had other utilities” besides its original intended purpose. That technology will likely form the basis of a startup company by next year, Argo said.

Two biotech co. meetings in downtown Roch.

While wandering aimlessly (really, I have no sense of direction) this morning, I noticed some interesting signs outside of meeting rooms in Kahler Hotel in downtown Rochester.

• First, I spotted the name of Stewartville's favorite catheter maker, Rochester Medical. It looks like they had a meeting about planning an international sales strategy for 2009 underway.

This company, as I recently wrote, has a lot of things going its way right now. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

• Then I saw the name Centocor. That's the Penn.-based drug company that makes Remicade, which a Mayo Clinic study recently found is effective in the treatment of Crohn's Disease. Dr. William Sandborn of Mayo Cloinic made a presentation about the study at the 2008 American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting earlier this month.

By the way, Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times shot the pic of the hand holding the bottle of Remicade.

What does all of that add up to? Not much other than evidence that biobusiness companies might be starting to use Rochester as an industry hub.

More Than You Know awards 2008

I rolled in a little late (I missed Steve Lange's video), but I did catch the 2nd annual presentation of the More Than You Know awards.

Here's a breakdown:

Known for Families:
What’s your favorite family-friendly spot? - The Rochester Athletic Club

Known for Free:
What’s not only great, but free too? - Thursdays on First and Third

Known Trendsetter:
What place or person sets trends and builds business? - About Face

Known Character:
What/who has a personality all its/their own? - Big Mark Clark of Laser 101.7

Known Romantic:
What person or place is known for creating sparks? - Victoria's

Known at Night:
What in Rochester gets better by moonlight? - Kathy's Roof Top Bar

Known for Talent:
What person or institution is truly talented? - Six Mile Grove

Known for Relaxation:
What’s the best way to relax after a stressful week? - Goonie's

Known Annually:
What’s great that comes around only once a year? - St. John's Block Party

Known for Networking:
Where do you go to meet or be introduced to people? - Rochester Golf and Country Club

Known Leader:
What/who is a catalyst, putting Rochester on the map? - RCTC President Don Supalla

“Little Known” Video Category:
What’s great that few people know about? - Minnesota Ice Hawks

Rochester snags figure skating event in 2011

It sounds like Rochester better pick up a few more the Zambonis before 2011.

The Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced that it has signed up the U.S. Figure Sakting Association to have their Midwestern and Pacific Coast Synchronized Sectional Skating Championships here in 2011.

Here's how the impact is estimated:

The event will be held at the Recreation Center and Graham Arenas January 25-31, 2011 and will bring 2,500 to 3,000 athletes, plus hundreds of additional family members and coaches to Rochester.

The RCVB says that means about 7,000 hotel room nights for an estimated economic impact of $1.68 million.