2011-03-01 Eagan Business NewsLM
First Quarter 2011 Vol. 10 No. 1
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InBusiness News
JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
60M
Evaluating Eagan's "new normal,"
ensuring its future
"Job number one for this
City Council is to maintain our
fiscally prudent approach," said
Mayor Mike Maguire during the
annual State of the City event,
held Thursday, March 17. That
approach — which has gar-
nered a Triple -A credit rating
from Moody's (only 15 other
cities were so awarded) — is
especially prudent in light of
potential changes to federal
and state budgeting, he said.
Mayor Mike Maguire, standing, recognized the lengthy service of
Ea an City Administrator Tom Hed es (center) durin the State of
The Mayor addressed his g
the City 2
remarks, "Governing Well in among the
Times of Great Change," to a
crowd of approximately 100 attendees,
including Eagan business leaders and
residents, members of the Dakota County
Regional Chamber of Commerce and Eagan
Business Council, Eagan City Council mem-
bers, City staff members and others. He
made special note of the presence of Eagan
police officer Chad Clausen, who is shipping
out for a second tour of duty with the Army
Red Bulls to the Middle East this spring.
9 9
011 event on Thursday, March 17. Paul Bakken (left) was
councilmembers who attended the St. Patrick's Day event.
Then the Mayor got down to business,
focusing on "not just the State of the City but
the state of our future," one that includes a
vision for job creation and economic
development.
"Eagan is taking the lead to attract a regional
co -location facility," he said, offering one
example. Such a specialized data center
would welcome all communication and
content providers to a carrier neutral facility;
and there, 'bur small and mid-size businesses
"The trend towards marginalizing and
denigrating the work of public servants is
unworthy of our public discourse. Our City
staff, from the police who protect us to
the people who clean the floors of this
building, demand our respect, especially
as we wrestle with declining resources to
pay them."
— Mayor Mike Maguire, State of the City 2011
could get affordable offsite data storage and
disaster recovery."
In addition, Maguire explained that such a
facility would attract more high-tech and
research -and -development businesses to
Eagan, and noted that the City's Request for
Proposals for private partners of such a co -
location facility garnered interest last month
from both local and national firms.
"They were impressed with our vision — not
just that a city was focused on its own future
continued on page 2
First Quarter 2011
"New Normal"continued from page 1
JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
but the future of our region, and setting our sights on a globally
competitive vision."
Maguire also addressed the "new normal," a term
increasingly used to characterize the ever-changing present,
which challenges long -held beliefs and demands that we
"need to operate differently now and into the future." This
new normal includes, Maguire said, looking realistically at
funding obstacles.
For example, Maguire offered, the City is decreasing its total
energy use — and its costs: Eagan was one of only 40 cities
nationwide to receive a competitively awarded U.S. Department
of Energy grant, $1.3 million, to convert the Eagan Civic Arena
to geothermal heating and cooling. After the conversion, "we've
decreased total energy expenses nearly 64 percent, reduced
our natural gas consumption 97 percent, and conserved an
estimated 1 million gallons of water a year."
"While [the City is] not passing up opportunities that make sense
for particular grants," he explained, "we're not going to be
dependent for our general fund operations on the whims of state
and federal budgeting. Our goal is to seek fiscal independence
from other units of government, so as not to be reliant on them."
Jobs, jobs, jobs: Eagan's outlook
The Twin Cities metro is the best place in the United States to
find a job.
That's according to Ajilon Professional Staffing, a national
recruiting firm, which selected, in February, the Twin Cities based
on its industry diversity, cost of living, range in size of companies
offering employment and residents' high level of education.
Meanwhile, in January Forbes named Minneapolis -St. Paul the
fourth -best job market in the country.
The new normal also means approaching community
and business needs differently. For example,
Maguire shared:
• that the City must ensure its organizational continuity by
anticipating and managing leadership and staff changes;
• that the City must work at maintaining a healthy
demographic balance and to reconsider its services in
light of residents trending older and more diverse and
those who work in new and flexible ways;
• that Eagan's critical infrastructure, such as roads and
parking lots, must be maintained both by the City (through
such efforts as the Pavement Management program) and
private owners to ensure the community's ongoing appeal
and property values; and
• that the City is implementing new social media, updating
its Website and using geographic mapping data to target
criminal activity.
Maguire concluded his remarks by applauding both
community volunteers and last year's successful celebration
of Eagan's Sesquicentennial, which included contributing
380,000 pounds of food to area food shelves.
"Today's Council has renewed its commitment to not
just volunteerism, but engagement in the city and in city
government," Maguire said, adding, "Let's let both the state
of our city and the state of our future be a model that
others may learn from and perhaps even aspire to." ■
ware and staffing services, often to
major temporary staffing companies.
"The demand for temporary personnel
is exploding," says Kraus (inset). The
company has expanded its Eagan office
space recently, boosted its percentage
of employees by 10 percent, and plans
to hire on 30 more employees in 2011.
Other Eagan businesses have grown their staffs in the last
year as well, including Big Ink, PackNet, Sushi Avenue and
White House Custom Colour.
First or fourth, it's good news for local employers and job seekers
looking for a reprieve from the ongoing economic downturn. Strong employer base in Eagan
Eagan's unemployment is dropping
Perhaps the outlook is even brighter in Eagan. According to the
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), the City's unemploy-
ment rate in January was 5.8 percent, compared to 6.5 percent
for Minneapolis (both not seasonally adjusted) and 9 percent
nationwide (seasonally adjusted).
All this good news is no surprise to Casey Kraus, vice-president
of sales for TempWorks Software, which provides staffing soft -
2 Eagan Business NEWS
Fortunately, despite the economic downturn, various
business closings and layoffs (including the first actual lay-
offs announced in March by major Eagan employer
Lockheed Martin), the City's employer base is strong. It
includes such major employers as Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota, Coca-Cola's Midwest Bottling
Company, Ecolab, Thomson Reuters, United Parcel Service
and the U.S. Postal Service.
Also impressive are Eagan's many manufacturers — Bird &
JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Business leaders headline
The Women's Conference
Julie Gilbert, CEO of WOLF Means Business, will serve as
keynote speaker at The Women's Conference, a new half-day event
sponsored by the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce
on Thursday, March 31.
"We were looking to offer an event that provided education and
taught leadership," says Ruthe Batulis, Chamber president. Two
members had served on national boards and arranged national
women's conferences in the past, so it made sense to focus on that
audience — although men are welcome to attend as well.
"Many attendees possibly don't have the opportunities within their
own networks or organizations to learn leadership skills and to be
promoted in their own careers," says Cindy Haas, conference
organizer, explaining the event's approach and slogan: "Energizing
Educational. Empowering."
"We wanted a panel of extraordinary women, and we didn't have to
look far," adds Batulis. Among them are Tammy Mencel, publisher
and CEO of Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal; Darlene Miller,
president and CEO of Permac Industries; Sona Mehring, founder
and CEO of CaringBridge; Sharon Sayles Belton, vice-president at
Thomson Reuters and former Minneapolis mayor; Kathy Mock,
senior vice-president for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Cronin, Cedarberg Companies, Ergotron, Pioneer Plastics and others
— plus such food manufacturers as Sushi Avenue, Catallia Mexican
Foods and French Meadow Bakery. Eagan also boasts numerous
retailers, distributors, small and mid-sized businesses, and more.
Additionally, in the last couple of years, Eagan has welcomed many
new businesses (and their employees) including such retailers as
Batteries Plus and Pearle Vision; service businesses like Anytime
Fitness, Scottsdale Insurance, SportsClips, Think Mutual Bank and
Yoga Soul Center; restaurants, including Andiamo, Dickey's
Barbecue, Kyoto Sushi and Hibachi, Panda Express, Smashburger
and Solo's Pizza; and many others.
Get Jobs Job Fair coming up
To serve such growing employers, the Minnesota WorkForce Centers
of Dakota and Scott Counties are gearing up for their 10th -annual
Get Jobs Job Fair offered at Eagan Civic Arena on Thursday,
March 24, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Foundation; Patsy Skiba,
cofounder of The Fun
Sisters boutiques; and
comedian Mary Rowles.
Response to the event
has "exceeded our
expectations in every
way," says Haas, who
says that bringing such
an event to a suburban
audience is one reason
for its success.
The Women's Conference
2011 First Quarter
Julie Gilbert, CEO of WOLF
Means Business, will keynote
the new half-day conference.
will be held on Thursday,
March 31, 12:30-5:30 p.m.,
at the Eagan Community Center. To register, visit
dcrchamber.com, email mtigheodcrchamber.com, or
you may pay at the door. Cost is $109 per person.
Attendees are invited to stick around after the
conference for a wine -and -appetizer reception,
featuring Dress for Success Twin Cities. ■
as last year when we had record unemployment."
Planning to participate in the job fair are many employers,
including retailers, banks, media companies, financial
services firms, temporary agencies and sales firms.
For a complete listing, Lang suggests visiting
positivelyminnesota.com/getjobsjobfair where you can
research exhibiting firms, get links to company Websites
and study the types of jobs for which they're recruiting.
Select a few companies to focus on, Lang advises, "but
be open to speaking to other companies as well." For
example, he says, a person might be looking to do pay-
roll for a human resources company such as Paychex,
but might find a payroll position open at Home Depot.
Be sure to bring copies of your resume and be prepared
to interview. "The job fair is a good chance to make a
good first impression," Lang says.
"In the last few years we've definitely seen a great increase in the Two last bits of advice? Most people arrive during the
number of job seekers who come," says Mike Lang, workforce develop- first hour, so you might want to come a little later. "And
ment specialist, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic parking can be rough," so consider taking a shuttle bus
Development. Recent attendance has been at 3,000, jumping from from one of the WorkForce Centers, located in Burnsville,
2,000 in previous years. "I probably wouldn't expect it to be as busy West St. Paul and Shakopee. ■
EBN is printed on paper which contains a minimum of 10% post consumer fiber. Eagan Business NEWS 3
City of Evan
3830 Pilot Knob Road • Eagan, MN 55122
Editor Karin B. Miller, Working Words, Inc.
Designer Brent Kastler, Kastler Art & Design
Send comments and story ideas to
EBN@cityofeagan.com.
Briefly
Lockheed Martin employees
attend job fair
The City of Eagan and the State of Minnesota
collaborated with Lockheed Martin to offer a
job fair for the firm's employees who wish to
remain in Minnesota. "Although approximately
750 positions are being transferred to other
locations, for our employees who wish not to
move, this was a tremendous first step helping
them land on their feet," said John Samuelson,
general manager. Roughly 80 firms and employers participated,
hoping to recruit these scientists, engineers and professionals at the
February event.
Cray recruiter Pat Duffy chats with David Dyiia, a Lockheed
Martin systems architect.
• IN OTHER NEWS: Biothera named XSTO Solutions as the eastern
U.S. distributor of its immune -enhancing ingredients for the company's
experience marketing and selling science -based ingredients.... The
Vietnamese restaurant Classic Sai Gon has moved from the Cedar
Grove area to Town Centre Shoppes.... In March veteran newscaster
Don Shelby featured Coca-Cola in his blog, highlighting the Eagan
company for its energy efficiency.... Children's Dental Services and
Eagan's Delta Dental of Minnesota have expanded their Smiles
4 Eagan Business NEWS
Standard
U.S. Postage
PAID
St. Paul, MN
Permit #7732
Across Minnesota program,
providing complimentary
preventive dental services to
uninsured and underinsured
children, to the Moorhead
School District.... Nearly
100 building professionals
attended the Facade Design
& Delivery Conference,
sponsored by Eagan's
Enclos Corporation, a
specialty contractor.... Eagan -based Mesaba Airlines recalled all of
its 159 pilots, furloughed two years ago, to operate Saab aircraft at its
new LaGuardia Airport hub.... ProAct staff members and clients knit-
ted more than 60 scarves for a national Special Olympics effort....
Eagan's Skyline Exhibits awarded Commonweal Theater Company
first place for its "Arrive with Ease" video on its user-friendly trade-
show displays.... Eagan's Intercim, a factory automation software
firm, has been acquired by minority owner Dassault Systemes for
$36.5 million.... Insty-Prints of Eagan is doing its part to help
financially struggling nonprofits, offering each organization up to
50 free 11 x17 -inch customized color posters. For more information,
call 651-688-3385 or visit www.instyeagan.com. ■