Xcel threatens to leave downtown Minneapolis

Really? Pick up your toys and leave? Maya Rao and Dave Shaffer of the Strib report: “If the city of Minneapolis forms a municipal electric utility, it stands to lose one of its biggest downtown employers: Xcel Energy. Xcel CEO Ben Fowke said in an interview Thursday that the utility company would not keep its headquarters in the city if it took over distribution of electric service, a matter that is likely to come up for a voter referendum in November and will receive a public hearing before the City Council on Aug. 1. ‘There is not a utility in the nation that has their headquarters in a city that has municipalized,, Fowke said in remarks to the Star Tribune editorial board. The company, with a market value of $14 billion, operates in eight states. It has served Minneapolis for a century, has long maintained its headquarters on the Nicollet Mall, and now employs about 2,000 people downtown.” So in other words, “Let us put in our 2,000 employees worth … .”

Purely by coincidence … Steve Alexander, elsewhere in the Strib reports: “CenterPoint Energy Inc. said Thursday it signed an agreement to buy the former Neiman Marcus building in downtown Minneapolis from United Properties. The purchase price, which wasn’t disclosed and may not be finalized until next year, will likely include the cost of remodeling the four-story, 100,000-square-foot building, said CenterPoint spokeswoman Becca Virden. The building, at 505 Nicollet Mall, has been empty since Neiman Marcus Group of Dallas closed its department store there earlier this year. …   It will become the natural gas utility’s main downtown location in 2015 after the remodeling, Virden said.”

It was a good one … . Ryan Bakken of the Grand Forks Herald writes: “Back home Wednesday for her 55th class reunion, Janet Anderson visited the Marshall County Historical Society Museum. It’s a routine stop whenever she and husband Lyle return to their hometown from their residence in Sun Valley, Idaho. The top museum attraction for the Andersons — and many others — is a patrol car from what’s commonly known as the ‘Warren UFO Encounter’ of Aug. 27, 1979. … [Former Sheriff Dennis] Brekke recounted the incident details that baffled investigators, including Honeywell scientists: The patrol car left skid marks of 800 feet … [patrol man Val] Johnson suffered ‘welder-type’ burns to his eyes from bright lights … the car’s two antennas bent, one at a 90-degree angle, one at 45 degrees … both the patrol car’s clock and Johnson’s watch stopped for 14 minutes … Johnson remembered nothing during a 40-minute time period … the windshield was cracked, but the force of the damage didn’t seem to come from either outside or inside forces.” Another case of swamp gas, I tell you … .

Not exactly Anthony Weiner , but … . Kevin Hoffman at City Pages writes: “Laura Brod, a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and current member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, has released a statement admitting a boudoir photo on the internet is her. ‘The Brod Family loves each other, and we stand united against anyone who would seek to do us harm,’ the statement reads. ‘Specifically, someone has posted a photo – which was illegally disseminated – on the Internet for the sole purpose of embarrassing our family and damaging our reputations. We cannot begin to explain why someone would be so mean, and so hateful. Nor can we overstate the humiliation they have caused’. … a link to the site was tweeted out by Shawn Towle, a former DFL activist and publisher of the political site Checks And Balances. ‘She’s on TV speaking for the party on occasion, she sits on the Board of Regents, so she has a particular public reach,’ Towle told City Pages in explaining why he tweeted out the link. ‘And if you’re going to be a moralist, and state your opinion on what you think should be happening, then when you have indiscretions I think you’re fair game.’”

The Stadium Implementation Committee has lots of ideas for the Vikings’ new billion-dollar palace. Janet Moore and Richard Meryhew say “ … recommendations issued by the committee include:  

• Work with city and Metro Transit staff to study ways to lessen congestion at the Downtown East light-rail station, particularly during game and event days.

• Comply with Minnesota Audubon Society guidelines to create a bird-safe structure through glazing techniques and special site lighting on the stadium’s exterior. (Forty percent of all North American waterfowl use the Mississippi River as a navigational aid.)

 • A ‘truly urban’ design should accommodate additional on-site uses that benefit the wider community, perhaps a team store, a restaurant, an on-site day care center, and community meeting rooms.

• An analysis should be done to determine whether the design of the stadium and parking ramps could be made ‘renewable-energy ready,’ such as installing solar panels on parking facilities.”

And don’t forget the interactive E-Pulltab Museum.

In a Strib editorial an employment agency CEO says we should appreciate temp workers. Mary Marso writes: “I have been proud to represent the employment industry (temporary, contract and direct-hire positions) for 44 years. Ours is an industry that makes a difference in people’s lives — making it possible to pay bills and move forward with careers. … A contract position:

• Makes it possible for employees to meet immediate financial obligations, and thus be free to choose a full-time position that is a good fit for their goals, rather than accepting the first offer that comes along.…

• Broadens employees’ overall perspectives of what opportunities they wish to pursue.”

… as long as they don’t need health coverage.

Next: Designated trans-fat consumption zones. Sasha Aslainian of MPR reports: “The Minnesota State Fair is changing its smoking policy. Smokers will now have to use designated areas, rather than smoking as they walk around the fair. Smoking is already banned in the fair’s buildings and entertainment venues, like the bandshell and the grandstand. Fair spokesperson Brienna Schutte says the fair’s board changed the smoking policy in response to feedback from fairgoers.”

Mayoral candidate Cam Winton wants a whole new route for the Southwest LRT. Laura Yuen at MPR says: “Cam Winton wants to abandon the proposed route altogether. He says the two cities should instead get behind routing the trains along the Midtown Greenway and Nicollet Avenue. Light-rail planners rejected that alternative years ago. ‘I’ll go to bat for Minneapolis any day of the week,’ he said. ‘But as a neighbor, as a Minnesotan, I can’t look my neighbors in St. Louis Park in the eye and say I support an option that would run new freight lines on 20-foot-tall walls of earth — berms — through their town.’ Winton acknowledged constructing rail on Nicollet could be a blow to the Eat Street restaurants, but says he would make sure to support them.”

The late Vince Flynn’s final book is on hold. Jennifer Erhlich writes: “Flynn’s  publisher posted this statement on Facebook today – and the publisher’s assistant noted that the spelling error in her title was left in as a tribute.”

STATEMENT FROM PUBLISHER ON VINCE FLYNN’S, “THE SURVIVOR” … The Survivor, Vince Flynn’s planned release this fall, is being postponed indefinitely. Vince had not yet completed the manuscript at the time of his passing last month. The reason it is “postponed indefinitely” as opposed to “canceled” is because it is too soon to know how much of the book was written or if Vince had plans or provisions in place in the event that he could not complete the book. As for Vince’s collaboration with Brian Haig, while it is still available for preorder, for the same reasons above, we ask for your patience concerning its publication.”