Kiger's Notebook

Lakeside Foods to cut jobs

Here's a snippet of a piece by P-B colleague Elliott Mann in today's edition:

Approximately 30 Lakeside Food employees in Plainview will lose their jobs by May, said a spokesperson for Lakeside.

The employees were notified Thursday. The action comes in the 127-employee Contract Operations Division.

Lakeside said it will continue to employ in excess of 100 hourly and salaried contract personnel on its first shift, which produces a variety of branded and private label food products.

The Hangar is gone

I swung by the Rochester Airport this foggy and slushy morning to check up on Andy Chafoulias' bar and grill project.

It looks like 331 is cooking along. The Hangar sign is down making room for big numbers to go up.

From the amount of construction trucks and guys going in and out, I'd guess it is on track for the March 31 opening.

I'll keep an eye on things out there.

Supper club re-opens in Plainview

Look for some action in Plainview this Valentine’s Day. That’s Thursday, if you don’t know it.

Dorothy and Orrin “Puddin” Haugen plan to re-open the restaurant at the Plainview Golf Course as The Hill Supper Club and Lounge.

“We’ll have steak, shrimp, ribs, broasted chicken … pretty down-home stuff,” says Dorothy Haugen.

They have been remodeling what used to be Finne’s Golf View, which has been closed for a while. The Haugens also own WDs Bar and Grill in Mazeppa.

The plan is to have about 15 to 20 employees to staff the club, which can seat about 200.

“I’ve heard a lot of buzz about it. People are happy to see it come back,” she said.

So why call it The Hill?

“A lot of people in Plainview already call it The Hill. So we decided we’ll just call it The Hill,” Haugen said.

HBC on the move

Here's a little bit more on the Hiawatha Broadband Communications Inc. dividend. Actually, this is just a portion of a story I have set for print Tuesday. Three Fastenal founders including Bob Kierlin are on the board. Another Fastenal founder, Rochester Athletic Club owner Jack Remick, also is in involved. This is includes the Olmsted County/ Rochester specfic questions:

HBC offers high speed Internet, local and long distance telephone, cable television, and video production services in Winona, St. Charles, and Wabasha. It also offers dial-up Internet to Lewiston and surrounding communities.

The company is also building new networks in Lewiston, Stockton and Rollingstone this summer as a back-up fiber ring that runs near Plainview, Elgin, Dover, and Eyota.

“That sets up the potential to build networks in those communities,” Evans said.

Is HBC coming to Rochester?

“We’re inching closer and closer to Rochester,” he said with a laugh. “Seriously, we have made no decisions as to Rochester.”

HBC did conduct a broadband-over-powerlines study in Rochester in 2004 and 2005, though there are no plans to offer that service in Rochester or elsewhere.

A.W. Beadblasting +Plainview

A manufacturer of parts used in the semiconductor industry, A.W. Beadblasting, has moved to Plainview from St. Paul.

It is expected to bring 16 to 20 jobs to the area, according to the Plainview News. Its co-owners are Joyce Guertin and Art White.

It opened in August. It also has a site still in St. Paul along with one in Ireland.

We'll do more this one later.