OF NOTE

Dave Boden

Blaze Credit Union, Falcon Heights, announced the pending retirement of President-Chief Transformation Officer Dave Boden, effective July 1. Boden previously led Hiway Credit Union, St. Paul, prior to its merger this year with Spire Credit Union, Falcon He

ights.

AGRICULTURE

The Minnesota AgriGrowth Council announced it hired Darin Broton as executive director. Broton comes from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, where he served as a senior adviser to the commissioner.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

Golden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm WSB announced the promotions of Jess Karls to senior director, transportation design; and Jesse Sievers to director, talent acquisition.

DEVELOPMENT

Dominium, a Plymouth-based affordable housing owner, developer and manager, announced the hire of Jason Fein as vice president of property maintenance. Fein previously was a national maintenance services director at Camden Property Trust.

EDUCATION

New Horizon Academy, a Minnesota-based provider of child care and preschool education, announced the opening of its 100th school, located in Corcoran, Minn. … The MacPhail Center for Music, a music school in Minneapolis, announced the appointment of Paul Babcock as chief executive officer, effective July 1; Babcock  also holds the position of president and chief operating officer. He succeeds Kyle Carpenter, who will transition to CEO emeritus until his retirement on Aug. 31.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced the promotions of Stephen Philipson and Felicia La Forgia; Philipson joins the leadership of the company’s Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking team; he previously led Global Markets and Specialized Finance in WCIB. La Forgia will lead the newly formed Institutional Client Group; she previously led Corporate Banking. … Piper Sandler Cos., a Minneapolis-based investment bank, announced the addition of Ryan Tull as a managing director on the energy & power investment banking team. Tull previously was head of oilfield services and oilfield infrastructure at JPMorgan.

HEALTH CARE

The Minnesota Society of Addiction Medicine has named Dr. David Peter president and Dr. Ashwin George president-elect. Peter is an addiction medicine and family physician working at the VA and the University of Minnesota, according to the society’s website; George is CEO of Valley Medical and Wellness, which made the announcement.

HONORS

Cintas Corp., a national provider of custodial services to business, in addition to ISSA, a cleaning trade association, announced Bob Galewski, Wabasha-Kellogg High School in Wabasha, Minn., as its Custodian of the Year, awarding him a check for $10,000 and $5,000 in Cintas and Rubbermaid products and services for his school.

LAW

Maslon, Minneapolis, announced it has been recognized with a Meritas Women’s Leadership Award: Firm of the Year for its commitment to advancing women lawyers. Meritas is global independent law firm alliance.

MANUFACTURING

Mulcahy Co., an Eagan-based supplier of HVAC equipment, announced the appointment of Paul Frank as vice president of sales and business development. Frank has been with the company for 17 years. … Tennant Co., a Golden Valley-based maker of floor scrubbers for business, announced the appointment of Barb Balinski as senior vice president, chief transformation officer, and the promotion of Pat Schottler to senior vice president, chief marketing and technology officer. … King Technology, a Minnetonka-based maker of pool-cleaning supplies, announced the appointment of Mike Noer as president and CEO, succeeding company founder Joe King, who will now serve as strategic growth adviser. The company also announced the following executive appointments: Alex King, VP sales; Carson King; VP operations; Jon Westas, chief growth officer; Desiree Church, chief human resources officer, and the addition of Doug Moechnig, formerly at Ecolab, as chief financial officer.

RECREATION

Mississippi Park Connection, a philanthropic partner of the National Park Service in the Twin Cities, announced the appointments of Lisa Keitel and Anna Sullivan to its board of directors. Keitel is a master naturalists; Sullivan is an executive at Securian Financial.

RETAIL

Sota Clothing, a St. Louis Park-based apparel chain, announced the opening of a third location at 1009 W. Franklin Ave., in Minneapolis’ Lowry Hill neighborhood.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

Minnesota United’s roster was ravaged by international call-ups for the 1-1 draw with FC Dallas on Saturday, but the Loons will avoid losing their ironman this month.

MNUFC captain Michael Boxall — who has played all 1,440 minutes across 16 games this season — will not be joining New Zealand for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Nations Cup next week, he told the Pioneer Press on Saturday.

“Had a few conversations — happy to stick around,” Boxall said inside the Loons dressing room post-match.

The Kiwis are scheduled to play group-stage matches June 18 and June 21. If they advanced all the way to the final and Boxall was with them, he could have missed approximately four MLS matches while playing for his country through June 30.

“It will give some younger players from New Zealand the opportunity to get some minutes and some experience,” Boxall, 35, said. “I’ll be around. And my wife (Libby) will be happy I’m not gone for three weeks.”

On top of his day job, Boxall will remain on daddy duty for his two young children.

The Loons will get back the majority of their internationals before Saturday’s game at the Seattle Sounders. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair (Canada) and midfielder Alejandro Bran (Costa Rica) are expected to remain with their national teams for Copa America. It’s uncertain if striker Tani Oluwaseyi will remain with Canada for that regional tournament; he was a late call-up to Canada’s two friendlies this week.

Not kept in a Kage

Loons academy prospect and current MNUFC2 player Kage Romanshyn has been training regularly with the first team since preseason started in January. So, the 18-year-old Apple Valley native’s MLS debut Saturday wasn’t exactly a push into the deep end of the pool.

“Training with these guys every day, it makes me so much better, working on my game against them,” Romanshyn said of work done during the week in Blaine. “I just feel like I’m getting better every day.”

Romanshyn said there were “a little bit” of nerves before subbing into the match for a 12-minute shift in the second half. “But kind of when I just stepped on the pitch, I just kind of felt at home,” Romanshyn said. “I felt ready. It was good.

“Honestly, it was a surreal experience,” Romanshyn continued. “I had so much fun. It kind of felt like a bit of hard work paid off, which was really fun. (I’m) just thankful for the coaches for believing in me.”

Romanshyn is subjected to some friendly ribbing from veterans on the team. Six-year midfielder Hassani Dotson says he tries to strike a balance with newcomers.

“I like to joke around with guys,” Dotson said. “Nothing too heavy, but talk to them a lot and make sure they know they can come to me with anything. I welcome the competition. I want him to be loud and aggressive, and let him know it’s his career too. He doesn’t have to take a back seat because he’s with older guys. That is one thing I really like about him is that he’s got that fire. He’ll let you know if you mess up. That’s what I want.”

Jokes include referring to Romanshyn by his actual first name, Keith. “Yeah, I don’t know if that is his legal name, but that came up,” Dotson said. “So we play around with little Keith.”

MLS debutants wear a small patch commemorating their achievement on the chest of their jerseys this season. “Probably frame it,” Romanshyn said, still wearing the black shirt in front of his locker. “Put it up in my house.”

Irwin keeps Loons level

With St. Clair expected to be away for weeks, the Loons need backup goalkeeper Clint Irwin to step up. He did so Saturday with three big saves in the second half in St. Paul.

“Exactly what we needed from him,” head coach Eric Ramsay said. “He has been a really big part of what we are doing. He is very good behind the scenes, perfect character for that No. 2 goalkeeper, really good influence in the dressing room, really steady guy, very positive, and we needed him to perform.

“I’m really glad that he has done so because it sets off really well this period that he is going to be standing in for Dayne,” Ramsay continued. “I did not have any doubts about him, I don’t think any of the staff had any doubts about him, and he has proved that.”

The Loons don’t have a third goalkeeper on their MLS roster. They have called up MNUFC2’s Alec Smir three times on short-term loans, including Saturday’s game, and since he hasn’t played, he has only one more loan available this season. That means the club might sign Smir to an MLS contract for the rest of the season to provide cover at the position.

Cannonballs continued to land during the Gophers football program’s “Summer Splash” recruiting weekend on Sunday.

Peoria, Ariz., offensive lineman Nick Spence started things off with a pledge at 9 a.m. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound, three-star recruit from Liberty High School had offers from Duke, Iowa State, San Diego State and others.

“Proud to announce my commitment to Minnesota!” Spence posted on social media.

Naples, Fla., receiver Bradley Martino gave his verbal just before 10 a.m. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound four-star prospect from Golden Gate High School had offers from Michigan State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Pittsburgh and more.

“I’d really like to give a social thanks to coach (P.J.) Fleck and the entire Minnesota coaching staff for making me feel welcome,” Martino wrote on social media. “All the support and guidance you have provided me throughout my recruitment process has been phenomenal.

“With that being said, after an awesome weekend I am committing to the University of Minnesota! ROW THE BOAT!”

Martino is now the Gophers’ second-highest rated recruit in next year’s class, behind Laguna Beach, Calif., quarterback Jackson Kollock.

The Gophers have 14 commits in its 2025 class. The weekend started off with three-star defensive lineman Abe Tarawallie, of Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove, pledging to the U on Monday.

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