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BUSINESS AGENDA

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    Ecolab builds the fabled 'better mousetrap'; also: strange Target 'bargain' and General Mills' new 'Charm'

    By Dan Haugen | Published Mon, Jun 9 2008 9:37 am

    Ecolab has done it: They've built a better mousetrap. The St. Paul company announced today the debut of CheckPoint Mulitple-Catch and CheckPoint Snap Trap inserts. The contraptions are meant to be set outside commercial facilities to provide "proactive protection," killing pests before they even think about heading inside. They're part of Ecolab's organic pest-control offerings and intended to help reduce the use of chemical rodenticides.

    What, are you trying to collect them all? Someone with the username 1pinok won an eBay auction with a final bid of $55.71. The item: a $50 Target gift card. I'll defer to the experts on this one. Stephen Levitt, University of Chicago economist and author of "Freakonomics," what do you think? "This seems to defy all logic," Levitt writes. The Consumerist blog says: "We need to find 1pinok and sit him down with Ben Bernanke. Maybe, hopefully, hours of conversation will unearth the mangled thought process that leads to baffling phenomena like the subprime meltdown."

    Lucky Charms cereal is getting a permanent new marshmallow charm for the first time in a decade. Introducing: the magical yellow bow tie! No — wait. I guess that's supposed to be a magical yellow hourglass, giving Lucky the power to control time! I had no idea what a deep back story Lucky the Leprechaun has until reading this morning's press release from General Mills.

    Do you have an inside scoop or news tip about a Minnesota company? Spotted something interesting in your RSS reader? Drop Business Agenda a note at dhaugen [at] minnpost [dot] com.

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