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As JoeBlow pointed out a few weeks ago, there is some work underway at the former Conoco station at Rochester's 2620 North Broadway.
And now I know that is to prepare the building for its new tenant, Space Concepts.
The storage and garage flooring specialist is gearing up to be in the building by late January or early February.
I'll have more on this in my column Monday.
A Beligum biotech company that licenses Mayo Clinic research and is partially owned by Mayo - Cardio3 BioSciences - is looking to launch an intitial public offering with hopes of raising $72 million, according to speculation in European press.
Cardio3 is still 26.0 per cent owned by its founders, while management control 5.0 per cent of the company.
Cardio3 will pay grants to Mayo for additional research as part of the deal.
Proceeds will fund development of the
group’s lead therapy C-Cure, which has been through phase I of clinical
trials, de Tijd claimed.
Reports made no mention of where
Cardio3 would list and did not give a timeframe for the IPO, though the
group is expected to be a publicly traded company by the autumn of 2010.
It was established in 2007.
Other investors include the Mayo Clinic with a 30.0 percent stake, Tolefi (9.0 percent) and Technowal (4.0 percent).
After weeks of speculation, the Rochester Downtown Alliance has chosen local businessman Jon Eckhoff as its new executive director to replace the retiring Sandy Keith.
“Jon brings many strengths to the position,” says Chris Tatting, president of the Rochester Downtown Alliance. “Primary among them is his passion for downtown Rochester.”
Eckhoff says he met with the RDA board this morning and was notified that he chosen for the job a few hours later. He was one of 40 people who applied for the position.
He recently sold Venture Computer Systems, a Rochester technology company that he founded and ran for 17 years.How does he plan to approach this new position with this organization that has quickly become a strong force for Rochester development?
“My goal in the first three months is going to be to listen to the stakeholders and business owners,” Eckhoff said this morning. “There is already such positive momentum and we want to be careful not to slow that down.”
Eckhoff, a 21-year resident of Rochester, has served as chair of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce; chair of the United Way of Olmsted County 2009 campaign; co-chair of the First Steps Business Alliance and chair of several committee/reviews of the Rochester School District.
“He exhibits a positive, can-do attitude in all that he does. The Alliance and downtown Rochester will benefit greatly from his energy and vision for the future.” says Randy Staver, chair of the search committee that recommended Eckhoff.Keith, the executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance throughout its first five years, will remain on the job until Dec. 31.
This is a little old since this came out earlier this week, but I couldn't resist pointing this out.
As a lover of classic pulp-style fantasy fiction, I consider John Jakes the creator of one of the best swords and sorcery characters behind Conan and the duo of Fafhad and the Grey Mouser.
While best known for U.S. south historical fiction like "North and South," "The Rebels" and "California Gold," Jakes wrote several books about a character called Brak the Barbarian.
The Brak stories as well many sci-fi, fantasy and noir thriller-style books came early in his career before hitting his groove with historical fiction. His popularity attests to how well he can reach readers with a story.Jakes is considered one of the best historical fiction authors, but I think he should also be known for his very fun and cool earlier works like When "The Idols Walked," "The Fortunes of Brak," "Tonight We Steal the Stars," "Six Gun Planet," "Monte Christo 99" and "Mention My Name in Atlantis."
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Family sagas that delight millions are John Jakes's claim to fame, but he and his wife, Rachel, have added a new chapter to that legacy, making a $2 million estate gift to Mayo Clinic in Florida.
Residents of Sarasota, Fla., the Jakes are long-time patients of Mayo
Clinic in Florida, and their gift is in honor of their physician team
and an expression of gratitude for their care, which Mr. Jakes credits
with saving his life.
"Mayo Clinic has become a vital part of our lives
since we first visited in 1990," says Mr. Jakes.
The Jakes' estate commitment will help future patients receive the same
kind of care that inspired the couple's generosity.
Their gift will create a posthumous fund that supports all areas of Mayo Clinic in Florida's mission in patient care, medical education and research.
He
is the creator of the legendary eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles;
the Main and Hazard families of The North and South Trilogy; and the
Crowns of Chicago, German-Americans whose stories interweave the
history of the 20th century in "Homeland" and its sequel, "American
Dreams." His 2002 novel, "Charleston," returned him to the turbulent
years of the Revolution and the Civil War. "The Gods of Newport"
(2004), dealing with the "queen of resorts" in the age of robber
barons, became his 18th consecutive "New York Times" bestseller.
Here's the follow up to the MDC Sports posting:
MDC Sports, a Rochester scuba diving and outdoors sports shop that closed in July 2008, is resurfacing after taking a breather.
“We had a lot of disappointed customers,” says co-owner Claudia Campos of why she and her husband, Jim Campos, dove back into business. “We just needed to downsize some.”
The store will no longer offer inline skates, setting up only for snorkling, scuba and swimwear. “I guess you could call us ‘a wet store,’” she said.
They hope to open the doors later this month at 318 Elton Hills Drive N.W., next to Woody’s Liquor in the Valhalla Shopping Plaza. MDC fans can expect to see the familiar face of long-time manager Melissa Erickson when they come in.
The Campos have continued offering scuba classes even while the store was closed, and they are taking registrations now.
“When the dust settles, we hope to start offering scuba trips again,” Campos said.Whoops. I have been listing the location of tomorrow's A.M. Espresso incorrectly in the business calendar.
It is being hosted at Home Federal Bank. I just listed the wrong one. It is NOT at Civic Center.
The event in the morning is at the newish Superior Drive Northwest branch by C.O. Brown.
Here's the listing with the correct details:
• A.M. Espresso, a morning business networking event, is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Home Federal Bank, 2048 Superior Drive N.W., next to C.O. Brown.
It is sponsored by Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call the chamber at 288-1122 or by e-mail to chamber@rochestermnchamber.com.
Almost a year after he took over as the president of Home Federal Savings Bank, Bradley C. Krehbiel was added to the board of the bank’s holding company.
“His experience and skills will enhance our abilities … to successfully deal with the challenges facing our industry and improve Home Federal’s performance,” stated Timothy Geisler, chairman of Rochester-based HMN Financial Inc.
This move, according to insiders, signals the board’s approval of the job that Krehbiel has been doing this year.
The move follows the bank’s positive third quarter earnings report this fall, with a net income of $881,000.
As with most financial institutions, 2008 and the start of 2009 were bumpy for Home Federal.
In 2008, it reported a $2 million loss in the second quarter due to a $3.8 goodwill write-down, and a $7.1 million loss in the third quarter from its involvement in a bad $12 million loan to Minnesota businessman Tom Petters, who is on trial for fraud.
The bank also accepted a $26 million loan from the Federal Troubled Asset Relief Fund in December.
Krehbiel, 50, had worked at Home Federal for about 10 years before being named president.
He had served as the executive vice president of Home Federal since 2004. Prior to Home Federal, he held several positions in the financial services industry, including six years as a private banking consultant.
Almost 250 people work for the bank, which has $1 billion in assets. Home Federal operates ten full service offices in southern Minnesota, two in Iowa and loan origination offices in Rochester and Sartell, Minn.
Home Federal Private Banking has branches in Rochester and Edina, Minn.
MDC Sports, a Rochester scuba diving and outdoors sports shop that closed in July 2008, is has re-filled its tank and is now re-surfacing.
Thanks for the tip, Barry. I always appreciate notes from sharp-eyed and sharp-eared (?) readers.
I chatted with co-owner Claudia Campos and I will have all the details in print Thursday.
The two 20-something Rochester whiz kids — Zachary Garbow and David Fowler — behind the social networking site of Social Browse launched a beta version of what is essentially the successor to their previous projects.
They introduced Qwisk (it is not a 1970s cereal or kitchen utensil) to a crowd of Silicon Valley heavy hitters like execs from Google and Facebook earlier in November.
“When you find interesting content online, you naturally want to share it. However, sharing currently requires too many steps to be convenient,” explains Garbow, an ex-IBMer. “That’s why we created our ‘mini-browser’ technology for integrating your social network into any browser with no installation required.”
That means if you find an interesting business on a local newspaper Web site, you’ll be able to “show” it to Twitter and Facebook friends or whoever immediately without copying and pasting or awkward linking.
What was the reaction from the West Coast technorati at the conference?
“We had numerous people approach us and say we were the best demo at the conference. We had interest from investors who attended as well,” he said.I had a ton of tips on this while I was out of town early last week.
No one was available at Taher Inc. to talk about it Friday.However, worker answering phone said it was closing at Dec. 2.
Then on Sunday, a note went up on the Rochester restaurant's Facebook page saying that was the last day.
Here's what I have in my column today.
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After many false alarms, this one is for real.
Timber Lodge Steak House at 4144 U.S. 52 N. shut off its grills for good in Rochester Sunday. The eatery’s Facebook page announced the closing.
Employees at the northwest restaurant, near the IBM campus, have been telling customers for a while that the final day was imminent.
However, there was no official word from Minnetonka-based Taher Inc. to confirm or deny the comments.
When asked about a similar story in January, CEO Bruce Taher said, “We have no plans on closing.”
Sometimes recipes don’t work out as planned.
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