St. Paul medical device companies Minnetronix Medical and Intricon recently merged to form a new contract design and manufacturing organization — and it’s growing.

The newly-formed Forj Medical will soon open a 53,000-square-foot facility in Costa Rica that will feature manufacturing lines for automated and manual assemblies of components and finished medical devices, according to a company news release.

Intricon, an expert in components, microelectronics and precision molding, was founded in St. Paul in 1977 and has facilities in Arden Hills and Vadnais Heights. Minnetronix, known for manufacturing advanced medical technology, was founded in 1996 and has its facilities on Energy Park Drive in St. Paul. The existing facilities, which were not impacted by the merger, now operate under Forj Medical, a spokesperson for the company said.

“Costa Rica is a key pillar in our global network,” said Jeremy Maniak, CEO of Forj Medical and former Minnetronix CEO, in the release. “By combining deep expertise in system and component design with advanced automation and assembly, we help our original equipment manufacturing customers solve complex challenges, scale production with confidence, and bring innovative technologies to patients faster.”

Located in the Evolution Free Zone in Tacares de Grecia, the manufacturing facility will be the first in Costa Rica dedicated to custom electromagnetic sensors, biosensor devices and microelectronic medical devices built on a globally integrated supply chain, Maniak said in the release.

The Costa Rica facility will also include a large clean room for producing devices such as thoseused for surgical navigation, diabetes, drug delivery, cardiovascular and advanced optics applications.

The company is currently hiring for critical leadership positions with additional openings expected in the coming months.

About the merger

Headquartered in the St. Paul area, Forj Medical officially launched in October with the merging of two St. Paul companies.

“Two leaders in medical device innovation have come together to create something extraordinary for customers,” said Mauricio Arellano,  executive chair of Forj Medical, in October. “With a shared commitment to quality and innovation, Forj Medical is well positioned to support our customers and accelerate breakthroughs in patient care.”

Forj Medical operates across six facilities in the United States, Indonesia, Singapore and Costa Rica.

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Oakdale residents will have a chance to learn more about an upcoming City Hall remodel and police station expansion during two open houses next week.

Among the planned improvements: a new public entrance to City Hall from 15th Street North with a new public parking lot. Residents will be able to access all city services on the building’s first floor, including the police department.

Additionally, the new design provides secured parking and entrance to the facility for city staff.

Both projects are being funded by the local sales tax. Voters in November 2022 approved the local sales tax for a remodeled and expanded police facility; two years later, voters approved a five-year extension to the local sales tax to support the project.

Members of the design team will be available to answer questions and share information about the project plans and timeline at events on Monday and Tuesday night.

A virtual open house will be held via Zoom from 6-7 p.m. Monday; the Zoom link will be available prior to the Open House date on the project’s webpage.

An in-person open house will be 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oakdale City Hall, 1584 Hadley Ave. N.

For more information, visit oakdalemn.gov/Remodeled-Police-and-City-Hall.

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Today is Saturday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2025. There are 18 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 13, 2014, thousands of protesters marched in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities to call attention to the killing of unarmed Black men by white police officers.

Also on this date:

In 1862, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched failed frontal assaults against entrenched Confederate soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg; the soundly defeated Northern troops withdrew two days later after suffering heavy casualties.

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In 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese soldiers captured the Chinese city of Nanjing and began what would be a weekslong massacre of an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 citizens, war prisoners and soldiers.

In 1996, the U.N. Security Council chose Kofi Annan of Ghana to become the world body’s seventh secretary-general.

In 2000, Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida; Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity.

In 2001, the Pentagon publicly released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded his “most optimistic” expectations.

In 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit.

In 2019, the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress in the investigation that followed. He would later be acquitted by the Senate.

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act providing federal recognition and protection for same-sex and interracial marriages, calling it “a blow against hate in all its forms.”

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 100.
Music/film producer Lou Adler is 92.
Singer-TV host John Davidson is 84.
Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins is 83.
Rock musician Jeff “Skunk” Baxter is 77.
Rock musician Ted Nugent is 77.
Country singer-musician Randy Owen (Alabama) is 76.
Actor Wendie Malick is 75.
Country musician John Anderson is 71.
Actor Steve Buscemi (boo-SEH’-mee) is 68.
Singer-actor Morris Day is 68.
Football Hall of Famer Richard Dent is 65.
Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 58.
Actor-reality TV star NeNe Leakes is 58.
Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov is 56.
Rock singer-musician Tom Delonge (Blink-182) is 50.
Rock singer Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 44.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is 36.
Actor Maisy Stella is 22.

Golden State’s superstar returned to action Friday in San Francisco, while Minnesota’s sat with a sore foot.

Yet it was the Timberwolves who emerged victorious.

Minnesota utilized an egalitarian offensive approach to down the Warriors 127-120 and earn the Wolves their most impressive road win of the season to date.

Not only were the Wolves without Anthony Edwards, but Mike Conley also missed the game and Bones Hyland, who started in Edwards’ stead, left the game early with a knee bruise.

But Minnesota still found enough firepower on a night where five players scored 17-plus points.

Julius Randle led the charge with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Rudy Gobert dominated Golden State’s small front line to the tune of 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points on the strength of four triples, Naz Reid had 18 points and seven assists and Jaden McDaniels finished with 17 points and five dimes.

Minnesota finished with 30 assists, a gaudy number on a night when the Wolves (16-9) didn’t exactly light it up from distance. Friday marked the team’s first 30-plus assist regular season game with fewer than 13 made triples since February of 2024.

The Wolves relentlessly attacked the bucket, both in the half court and transition. Gobert had eight dunks. The Wolves scored 66 points in the paint and had 18 fast-break points. Terrence Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham contributed to those efforts in their extended runs.

The Wolves’ pace was exemplary throughout the contest. It created opportunities for all to shine. Minnesota has had five guys score 14-plus points in each of Edwards’ last three absences.

Everyone’s contributions were required to fend of Steph Curry. In his first game back from injury, Curry tallied 39 points, 14 of which came in a flamethrowing final frame in which Minnesota went on a 17-0 run to claim a 12-point lead, only to have the Warriors (13-13) respond with a 21-6 run of their own to go up three in the final two minutes.

It looked as though the Wolves were going to let another sizable fourth-quarter advantage slip away, until DiVincenzo stopped the bleeding with a gutsy, off-the-bounce triple at the top of the floor to knot the contest at 117-117.

Minnesota then led by two in the final 30 seconds when DiVincenzo struck again, this time on a catch-and-shoot off a feed from Randle to put the Wolves up five and effectively close the door. The Italian sniper scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half as Minnesota won its fifth clutch-time game in its last five tries.

The Wolves return home Sunday to host Sacramento.

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