The Austin-based food maker saw a 20 percent jump in second-quarter profit, prompting it to raise its earnings guidance for the fiscal year that ends in October; but the company's stock price decreased almost 5 percent on news of the strong second-quarter earnings.

A study that appeared in the June issue of The Spine Journal found that back surgery patients treated with Medtronic's Infuse product experienced higher rates of sterility; Medtronic and two surgeons involved in the original Infuse trial contend that not enough men experienced such complications to statistically link the problem to the Infuse product.

Major Minnesota employer Wells Fargo ranked 26th out of the 30 banks on the list, two spots below U.S. Bancorp; meanwhile, M&I Bank, which has 27 Minnesota offices, ranked sixth.

A recent report says that the cost of running a medical device production facility in the Twin Cities is competitive with other domestic locations, and there are a lot of other factors that can attract med-tech jobs.

A senior analyst with Wells Fargo Securities reported that St. Jude's minority investment in Micell Technologies may signal its entrance into the drug-eluting stent market.

Angeion CEO Philip Smith has resigned in a decision that the company said was "mutual" between Smith and its board of directors.

Troy Chaika was found guilty of charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme, through which he and co-conspirators fraudulently obtained money from more than 100 residential property deals.

Governor Mark Dayton signed the "Surly bill" into law, creating a brewer taproom license that allows the state's beer makers to sell their beer at their breweries.

The lawsuit-which was filed in February-reportedly has Duluth-area hotels worried that the city will become blacklisted from Expedia's Web site.

Once the acquisition closes, Pacific Plastics & Engineering will become an operating subsidiary of Cretex Companies, which already operates several other manufacturing companies.

June 14th marks the 30th anniversary of a tornado that tore through Sound of Music's flagship Roseville store. The company responded with a "tornado sale"-promoted as a "best buy"-and its success prompted a name change to Best Buy in 1983.

McNamara gave millions to his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, and enjoyed an unconventional career of buying bankrupt or foreclosed small businesses and using borrowed money to resurrect them.

Eden Prairie-based Gelco has agreed to pay the money in connection with a business deal that dates back to 2005; $2.1 million would go to Hecker's bankruptcy trustee on behalf of Hecker's creditors, $1.5 million would go to U.S. Bank, and $500,000 would go to Chrysler.

Shares of the company's stock fell Tuesday morning after Medtronic announced a 19 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings, largely due to layoff expenses and weak implantable cardioverter defibrillator sales.

Recently released data shows that Minnesota businesses received more than $27 million in 2010 through two federal grant programs-the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

The Minneapolis Fed said that banking conditions in the Midwest remained relatively flat during the first quarter, but Senior Vice President Ron Feldman expects improvement during the rest of the year.