26 May 2024

Business People: Operators of Xcel Energy Center announce executive promotions

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OF NOTE

Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, which owns the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild, and manages and operates downtown St. Paul events spaces Xcel Energy Center and RiverCentre, announced the following promotions: Steve Weinreich, to senior vice president and general counsel, legal services and risk management; Kelly McGrath, promoted to vice president and general manager of Xcel Energy Center, from general manager and executive director, and Kate Setley, promoted to vice president and general manager of Saint Paul RiverCentre, including Roy Wilkins Auditorium, from RiverCentre general manager and executive director.

AIRPORTS

The Metropolitan Airports Commission announced the promotion of Dana Nelson to director of governmental affairs; Nelson has been with the the MAC since 2009, most recently serving as director of stakeholder engagement. The MAC owns and operates the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six suburban reliever airports in the Twin Cities.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Granite Mortgage, Champlain, announced the addition of Ricky Cheath as senior vice president of Regional Development and Diversity Lending. Cheath is a first-generation Cambodian refugee who has 18 years in the Minnesota mortgage industry. … Dave Walters was named to the board of directors at Exodus Lending, a St. Paul-based nonprofit lender providing relief to households facing predatory loan debt. Walters is vice president of consumer lending at Blaze Credit Union, Falcon Heights, which announced his appointment.

FOOD

International Dairy Queen, Bloomington, announced Jane Friedrich as executive vice president, research and development. Friedrich’s résumé includes more than 20 years at Cargill, where she most recently held the titles of vice president global core R&D leader, and vice president, animal nutrition research & development and innovation leader. … Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., announced the promotion of Chad Randick, director of strategy, to the position of vice president of legislative affairs; he succeeds Jeff Grev, who is retiring.

HEALTH CARE

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, an Eagan-based health insurer, announced the additions of Chris Boles as vice president of Medicare and Individual segments, and Melissa Flicek as chief information officer.

HONORS

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it has named Heather Polivka of Awesome People Leaders as SBA’s Minnesota Encore Entrepreneur of the Year. Awesome People Leaders is a Richfield-based management and workplace consultant.

LAW

Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that attorney Brian W. Kensicki has joined the firm as a shareholder in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Corporate groups. … National law firm Spencer Fane announced associate Samuel J. Logterman has joined the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group in the firm’s Minneapolis office. … Lockridge Grindal Nauen, Minneapolis, announced that Senior Counsel Kyle Pozan has been nominated to join the editorial board of the American Bar Association‘s Antitrust Magazine, devoted to coverage of antitrust and consumer protection law.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Tactile Systems Technology, a Minneapolis-based supplier of devices and therapies for people with lymphedema and chronic respiratory disorders, announced the appointment of Sheri Dodd, a member of the board of directors, as chief executive officer, effective July 1; she succeeds Dan Reuvers, who will retire but will continue to serve as an adviser through March 31, 2025. Dodd previously was an executive at Medtronic.

ORGANIZATIONS

Anthony S. Mendoza has been elected to the St. Paul Area Chamber board of directors. Mendoza is an attorney at Minneapolis-based law firm Fredrikson, which announced his appointment.

RETAIL

Revelyst, the Anoka-based outdoor products division of Vista Outdoor, announced the appointment of Joe Beck as chief supply chain officer. Beck most recently served in a similar executive role at embecta, a medical technology company.

SERVICES

Carson Canedy, franchise owner of Footprints Floors Minneapolis Metro, was recently recognized with the brand’s Cobblestone Award for bringing in more than $500,000 in revenue during his first year in business.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

26 May 2024

Stillwater prison on lockdown after assault on corrections officers, officials say

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Two corrections officers at Stillwater prison were taken to the hospital after being assaulted Saturday morning by two inmates, officials said.

At about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, a prisoner attacked a corrections officer at a housing unit security post, according to a news release issued Sunday by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Another prisoner and another corrections officer stepped in to try to stop the attack. During the melee, a third prisoner began assaulting the second officer who had come to help.

The two officers were taken to the hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and released. The two prisoners who attacked the corrections officers were transported to Oak Park Heights, the state’s maximum-security prison, the news release said.

As of Sunday, the Stillwater prison was on lockdown status while the attack was investigated. When the investigation is complete, the Washington County Attorney’s Office will review the findings and determine whether there will be felony charges filed in connection with the assault on corrections officers.

“This attack on correctional officers at the Stillwater correctional facility is another unfortunate reminder of the challenges and risks corrections staff face,” Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said in the news release. “We will pursue prosecution of the perpetrators of these cowardly attacks to the fullest extent of the law, and we recognize and appreciate the honorable actions of the incarcerated man who courageously intervened,” Schnell added.

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26 May 2024

Four injured Saturday night in shooting at North St. Paul park, police say

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Four people were injured by gunfire Saturday night at a graduation party at Casey Lake Park in North St. Paul, police said.

Officers were called about 10:44 p.m. to the park in the 2100 block of 17th Avenue on reports of an assault involving gunfire, according to a news release. When law enforcement arrived at the park, officers found that four people had suffered gunshot wounds.

All four were taken to an area hospital for treatment, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, said Sgt. Chris Ahles of the North St. Paul Police Department,.

Reports of the shooting drew a massive law enforcement response from several agencies, including North St. Paul, Ramsey County and Washington County sheriff’s offices, Minnesota state patrol, Maplewood, Oakdale, Woodbury, White Bear Lake and St. Paul police departments. They arrived at a “chaotic” scene at the gathering of more than 60 people, Ahles said.

Authorities say there is no threat to the public. The shooting is being investigated by the North St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff’s office. Investigators ask anyone with information on the shooting to call 651-747-2444.

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26 May 2024

Other voices: Trumponomics 2.0? Think ‘inflation’

by | posted in: Politics | 0

Whoever wins November’s election, inflation will present them with an immediate challenge. More than two years after the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates to alleviate a pandemic-era price spike, the so-called core consumer price index remains well above the central bank’s target. It’s a bit puzzling, then, that former President Donald Trump’s economic agenda seems to be dedicated to raising prices.

What policies would a second Trump administration pursue? The former president hasn’t been a model of clarity on the campaign trail, but some general themes have emerged.

Tariffs, one of Trump’s only consistent enthusiasms, are a sure thing. Starting in 2018, his administration imposed several rounds of duties, prompting predictable retaliation. Combined, these measures eliminated jobs, slashed incomes and cost consumers about $51 billion annually. Now Trump wants to impose tariffs of 60% on Chinese-made products and 10% on other imports. Bloomberg Economics estimates that this would raise consumer prices by 2.5% over two years and reduce growth by 0.5%. Trump has also promised a 100% duty on imported cars. Details TBD — one analyst describes the likely effect as “catastrophic” — but the point is that trade wars of this kind are always prone to raising prices.

Trump’s plans for monetary policy pose a similar risk. According to media reports, his advisers are laying the groundwork for the president to weigh in directly on interest-rate decisions. (His campaign has vaguely disputed these reports.) The rationale for central-bank independence — among the most successful policy innovations of the post-war era — is that politicized monetary policy will tend to have a pro-inflationary bias. In this case, a self-fulfilling prophecy is likely: Consumers and businesses, expecting the Fed to tolerate higher inflation under Trump, will behave in ways that (once again) boost prices.

More directly, the former president is toying with devaluing the dollar. Although the hope is to revive domestic manufacturing, exactly how he’d carry out this plan isn’t clear. (Like many products of Trump World, it seems to be premised on a lot of needless belligerence.) On balance, such manipulation is likely to invite retaliation, erode faith in the dollar and do little to actually boost exports. By raising the cost of imported goods and inputs for domestic producers, it would also (perhaps you’ve sensed a pattern) increase prices.

Trump’s tax plans, finally, would tend in the same direction. He says he’ll extend the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and has at times mused about a further reduction in the corporate rate, to 15% from 21%. Recall that the drafters of the law tied themselves in knots to avoid acknowledging its true costs (hence the expirations). Extending it in full would cost about $3.8 trillion by 2033. A 15% corporate rate would cost perhaps a half-trillion more. Trump’s plans for further tax cuts — “I’ll give you a Trump middle class, upper class, lower class, business class big tax cut,” he said at a rally recently — remain rather nebulous, but fiscal discipline does not sound like the governing priority. It’s safe to say (at risk of repetition) that these policies, too, will contribute to higher prices.

Some caveats are in order. Trump doesn’t always mean what he says. He rarely gets what he wants from subordinates. Many of these policies may never come into effect, or may be partly neutralized by the Fed if they do. But what do you get, all else equal, when you add much higher tariffs, a politicized central bank, a deliberately weakened currency and an enormous surge in public borrowing, at a time of already-elevated inflation?

It would be best to not find out.

— The Bloomberg Opinion editorial board

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