Despite escalating costs for all concerned, American Crystal Sugar is operating without 1,300 unionized factory workers locked out six months ago. Upping the ante, the union threatens to pull support for the Farm Bill, which

Craft breweries are springing up all across the Twin Cities. Why now? And will demand keep these start-up businesses from going flat?

Social enterprise pioneer Joe Selvaggio started his newest venture, MicroGrants, to give ambitious people in need a boost—without getting them into debt.

Parasole’s abandonment of the old Figlio space has observers asking whether something’s wrong in Uptown.

How a talented high school principal and a passionate CEO performed a near-miracle.

There’s a difference between being trusted and being trustworthy

American Crystal Sugar Company's lockout: a perfect stalemate.

A task force report that’s worth looking into.

Internet-based tech businesses remain a hot commodity, but there’s a rationality to the feeding frenzy.

Every adoption of Microsoft’s sprawling SharePoint software is unique.

Mulberrys seeks to make dry cleaning sustainable—and convenient. In three years, it has opened six locations.

Alpha Video and Audio introduces an innnovative emergency notification system for schools.

The best opportunities for networking this month.

Five Twin Cities attorneys tell us about their highly specialized practices.

Periscope’s innovative campaign for Treasure Island evokes the agency’s jackpot year.

Egan Company’s CIO Jim Nonn prides himself on how much he and his five-person department can do.

It might be in venture capital—for companies with strong ideas, large markets, and clear exit strategies.

HydroNovation develops water-conditioning systems that reduce the amount of potentially hazardous substances and minerals in order to create high-quality drinking water for homes and buildings.

Abby and Carlos Jimenez will open their second cupcake shop and cake studio at the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in March.

The governor told the owners of the Minnesota Vikings that the Metrodome site is the only option for a new stadium, if a stadium bill is to gain approval from the Legislature this year.

Just when the Windsong Farm Golf Club was about to be foreclosed upon, David Meyer-founder and CEO of Fargo, North Dakota-based Titan Machinery-bought the club and plans to keep it open.

Kenneth Burdick will take the helm in mid-February; he most recently served as senior vice president of Coventry Health Care and CEO of its Medicaid and behavioral health businesses; but Burdick reportedly spent 14 years

GameStop, Jewel Spa, and Mrs. Field's Cookies have reportedly closed their stores in downtown Minneapolis' Block E.

Now through March 31, the downtown Minneapolis hotel will offer its special "blizzard rate" on weekdays whenever at least three inches of snow are predicted.

The majority of those who responded to a recent survey plan to spend at least as much on leisure travel this year as they did in 2011, and 24 percent expect to boost spending.

Twin Cities Business' Quarterly Economic Indicator survey found that, compared to the previous quarter, more Minnesota businesses expect to hire, invest in infrastructure, and raise prices during the first quarter of 2012.

The New York Times reported that union lockouts, like the one imposed by Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar, are now more common among American companies.

A couple of months after a contentious proxy fight resulted in an activist investor winning three spots on Regis' board, the company has terminated the employment of its chief operations officer for undisclosed reasons.

A study commissioned by Ameriprise Financial found that when it comes to retirement planning, men focus on the numbers while women tend to plan based on lifestyle goals.

John Mulligan, who will succeed 18-year CFO Doug Scovanner when he retires in late March, has been with Target for 16 years.

Greg Page-whose company has production facilities, warehouses, and branch offices in roughly 80 Brazilian cities-has been named chairman of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council.

Julie Dexter Berg is leaving the company, and Michael Moore-who joined Supervalu last year as business transformation officer-will replace her.

Minnesota manufacturers are reportedly hiring for highly skilled positions, but they can't find qualified employees-and some say it's because they are not offering high enough salaries.

Minnetonka resident Steven Carver, who was a real estate broker and operated Carver & Associates Real Estate in Maple Grove, allegedly orchestrated a kickback scheme through which lenders lost $3.3 million and that resulted in

Ad agency Mono and multimedia company Crash+Sues-both of which are based in Minneapolis-collaborated on an interactive installation for Parsons The New School for Design in New York.

Pearce, who was set to take the reins in February following the planned departure of Paul D. Finkelstein, has elected to leave the company instead; separately, Regis laid off 110 employees at its corporate office

Three Minnesota companies-General Mills, Allianz Life, and the Mayo Clinic-made Fortune's list of the "100 best companies to work for"; but Mayo-with 1,600 job openings-is also on the magazine's short list of companies hiring in

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is now "optimistic" about the plan to build a new stadium at the Metrodome site. Los Angeles, meanwhile, which has been seeking an NFL team, is no longer in the market

Minneapolis law firm Winthrop & Weinstine has lured six patent lawyers from Dorsey & Whitney to join its expanding intellectual property practice.

The long-abandoned Dunwoody Building in south Minneapolis is reportedly set to be converted into a 123-unit apartment complex.

The Minnesota Trade Office is now accepting applications for a summer trade mission to China-Minnesota's second-largest export market and an important trade partner for the state.

The external review of the Academic Health Center, which will be led by Dr. Ken Kaushansky of Stony Brook University, comes on the heels of an internal review-which many in the university community found to

The newly launched Bedd Head Media will offer a combination of media buying, promotions, and event marketing services.

Minnesota's health care start-ups led their Midwestern neighbors in attracting venture capital by raising $223.2 million last year, according to a report by Cleveland-based BioEnterprise.

The New Hope-based company said that its planned purchase of design-build engineering company WPCS International "is not viable" given "current market valuations."

TCF extended CEO Bill Cooper's contract term through the end of 2015 and increased his base salary from $950,000 to $1.5 million.

The first of four public interviews will feature Randall Peterson, deputy dean of faculty and professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School.

U.S. Bank acquired BankEast, a Tennessee-based bank that was shuttered last week by regulators; it also announced plans to purchase the Indianapolis-based corporate trust business of UMB Bank.

Given that it’s February, it’s apropos perhaps to think back to a perfect summer evening this past June, when an educational rock star and his lead accompanist drew 150 or so people to the Capri

Reunites Prince’s Revolution

The Twin Cities’ first lice elimination superstore found a niche in need of scratching.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says a proposal for a Minneapolis Vikings stadium that involves funding for Target Center renovations is "unbalanced" and "inequitable."

Given that it’s February, it’s apropos perhaps to think back to a perfect summer evening this past June, when an educational rock star and his lead accompanist drew 150 or so people to the Capri

Delta Air Lines is spearheading a reinvention of airport concessions at MSP, and the results are already apparent.

Does high technology mix with chicken bones and beer? Buffalo Wild Wings is investigating.

Where to find the perfect Twin Cities hotel.

The old standard is no longer just an ironic statement in hipster restaurants.

Interrad Medical's catheter securing system attracts $10 million in funding.

Minneapolis’s Taiga Records produces avant-garde music in an old-school format.

Through a $25 million redesign, the Hyatt Regency looks to refresh its appeal to business travelers amid a lodging industry recovery.

After seeing soft holiday sales in December, the retail giant saw a significant jump in same-store sales last month-double the increase that analysts expected and on the high end of the company's own expectations.

American Crystal Sugar says it is two-thirds of the way finished processing last year's beets, and "the window for reaching an agreement is closing."

Gerald Greenfield was sentenced for helping Brett Thielen, who was executing a mortgage fraud scheme involving a Minneapolis condo building, launder illegal profits.

Burnsville-based Lazy Deuce Capital Company allegedly duped Florida firm Integrity Dominion Fund into making $3.6 million in short-term loans to Lazy Deuce, $1.5 million of which hasn't been repaid.

A new agreement reportedly calls for medical device companies to pay $595 million in fees over five years, and for the FDA to add more than 200 people to its approval processes-which industry representatives have

Minnetonka-based IT consulting firm McKinley Consulting has acquired Elk River-based Novon Consulting, a firm that provides project management and business consulting to the financial services market.

Northwestern Mutual's Twin Cities offices expect to hire 94 financial representatives and 206 interns in 2012; Northwestern Mutual says that 45 percent of its senior field managers began their careers with the company as interns.

Fairweather, Ltd., International Clothiers, and Les Ailes will stop using the Target name and branding elements by January 31, 2013-right around the time when Minneapolis-based Target plans to begin opening stores in Canada.

After announcing two other acquisitions during the past week, the Minneapolis-based bank said it will also buy the institutional trust business of California-based Union Bank.

Jonathan Kaplan, who has served as president of Walden University since 2007, was named its CEO; succeeding him as president is Cynthia Baum-who was Walden's executive vice president.

Farmers, ranchers, and cooperatives in Minnesota will collectively receive $93.3 million, the largest share of the cash distribution among all states.

Datacard Group has invested in DeviceFidelity, and it will now offer the company's In2Pay technology, which allows consumers to make purchases with the wave of a smartphone.

The Minneapolis-based beer company donates 100 percent of its profits to charities that feed the homeless; last year, the $46,000 it donated provided roughly 120,000 meals for the hungry.

Steve Eastman, who left Target in October, will lead Polaris' parts, garments, and accessories business.

Golden Valley-based General Mills has partnered with video game company Atari to introduce cereal boxes that feature classic Atari games from the 1980s; the limited-edition line is available exclusively at Target stores.

Ritchie Capital Management filed a civil racketeering suit against Petters' executives and in-house counsel, as well as Fredrikson & Byron, which reportedly performed legal work for Petters' businesses.

Minneapolis-based TST Media has acquired Wisconsin Sports Network, a website that reports on high school sports in Wisconsin.

Sales for Crispin, which launched in 2008, grew 200 percent in 2011-outpacing the cider market as a whole, which grew 26 percent during the same period, according to MillerCoors.

The majority of the 800 cuts will take place by February 25, and they affect all Supervalu offices and most company departments.