Recent content from Jackie Crosby
Steve Van Hale, former corrections officer who became 'essence of Santa,' dies at 63
"He was made to be Santa," said his wife, Penny Fastner Van Hale.
Rash of carjackings reported in south Minneapolis
Minneapolis police say six carjackings were reported Friday night, but it's too soon to know if any of the incidents were related.
New Northern Tool boss 'ready for the major leagues'
Suresh Krishna plots an aggressive growth strategy as the first outsider to become CEO at the family-owned retail chain.
Otter Tail Power plans to pull out of North Dakota coal plant
The Fergus Falls-based utility, which serves 137,000 people, pledges to cut carbon emissions from plants it owns by 50% by 2025.
South St. Paul-based Sportsman's Guide sold to Michigan investment firm
Northern Tool + Equipment purchased the Sportsman's Guide along with the Golf Warehouse in 2013 and sold them both to BHG Ventures this week.
Golden Valley home care agency to pay $483K in back wages, damages
Alliance HHC & Nursing Service agreed to the settlement for failing to pay 82 workers overtime.
Minnesota Human Rights Department finds St. Paul dentist engaged in age discrimination
Natural Dental owner denies charges, agrees to pay fired business manager $54,000 and take steps to prevent further issues.
Suit by fired Abbott Labs sales rep claims gender, age discrimination
Abbott Labs denies the claims, laid out in a lawsuit that alleged multiple instances of favoritism toward younger and less-experienced men in the sales of medical devices.
Pentair lifts 2021 profit outlook, shares hit an all-time high
Sales of its consumer solutions division helped power the company through a second quarter dominated by material supply issues.
How two colleagues of different races cut through tension at work
One Black, the other white, their own racial tension prompted two college professors to study the ways white people undermine people of color and prevent needed structural change.
Terms that Kwame-Ross, Finders created to cut through race discussions
Words and behaviors white people use to avoid talking about race, as described by two Augsburg University professors in their training program.
Minneapolis' Spyhouse chain sold to Missouri specialty coffee collective
The Minneapolis roaster and its six locations will remain based in the Twin Cities and keep the current leadership.
Pohlad Cos. to open Ferrari dealership in Twin Cities
The Golden Valley showroom will become just one of 45 Ferrari dealerships in the nation.
Worker expectations change at Minnesota firms as pandemic retreats
The key is seeking balance. Flexible work arrangements depend on the type of job, the workflow and needs of employees.
Two drown, child hospitalized in Minnesota water incidents
Three incidents came as region's heat wave continues.
Minnesota consumers, businesses deal with fast-rising prices
Some believe the fast-rising prices are temporary. Others worry the situation could spiral into something longer lasting.
Twin Cities' Abbott Labs tests all its workers for COVID every week
Device maker's experiment is unlike any other, testing all its workers for COVID-19 every week.
Minnesota businesses scramble to adjust as mask mandate ends
New CDC guidelines freeing vaccinated people from wearing masks is leading to confusion among some business owners.
Dear parents: This Minneapolis social worker offers advice on how to talk to your white kids about racism
Natalie Quiring-Oleson considered herself open-minded about race. But George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police exposed what she calls her "blinds spots" about racism.
Minnesota companies weigh vaccine mandates for workers
Mandates are too sensitive for governments, but businesses have latitude to impose them.
Minnesota couple's new 'adventure': Turning shipping containers into custom studios
A civil engineer and his design-savvy wife launched Latitude Studios to make shipping containers into backyard studios, lakeside hangouts and more.
Mother's Day bouquet prices rise as demand outstrips supply at Minnesota florists
Disruptions in supply and transport have led to scarcity and soaring prices.
In early evening, businesses in the Twin Cities scramble to close down
Businesses in the state's three largest counties had just a few hours to close up before a 7 p.m. curfew.
Star Tribune names Kim to lead business news coverage
Kim has held a wide variety of roles from copy editor to section editor in two decades at the newspaper.
As businesses think about the pandemic's end, a new job is emerging: Director of Remote Work
The year away from the office highlighted the need to put someone in charge of supporting remote workers and coordinating a long-term strategy.
As 'normal' life in Hutchinson returns, businesses tally losses
As the central Minnesota city comes back to life as pandemic restrictions ease and the rollout of vaccines continues, there's optimism for the year ahead amid the wariness.
Minneapolis' JB Hudson sold to Gunderson's Jewelers of Iowa
While the Hudson name will stay for now, the location of the Minneapolis mainstay will be reviewed after an expected March 31 deal closing, said Gunderson's CEO.
Eagan truss and pallet maker to pay $90K over 'blatant gender discrimination'
Eagan company will pay $90,000, agrees to change hiring, training practices.
How Minnesota companies can make 'hybrid' workplaces work
As more companies consider having remote and office-based employees, leaders are wondering how to play fair.
Hazelden Betty Ford promoting its medical director to chief executive
Dr. Joseph Lee — who will be the first physician and person of color to lead the addiction treatment organization — specializes in child and adolescent addiction.
Herbivorous Butcher prevails in trademark fight with Nestle over 'vegan butcher'
Sibling owners of the Minneapolis shop are glad the battle is over and all vegan butchers can now use the term.
Out of riots and rubble, Medica brings 50 jobs to new St. Paul office
Response to Floyd's death moved execs of health plan to take steps to combat disparities with St. Paul call center
Why some Minnesota companies are ditching the office and going remote, forever
New model has upsides when location's irrelevant.
Air travel at MSP plunges 62% in pandemic year, largest drop in history
Before the pandemic, MSP had 10 consecutive years of passenger growth, and was on pace to hit a new record in 2020.
Minnesota nonprofits getting creative to crawl out of COVID-19 financial hole
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc for the nonprofit world, from large health systems to small arts and social service agencies and colleges. These organizations must now figure out how to rebuild after vaccines allow public spaces to open and people form new habits.
Minneapolis workplace strategist shares her thoughts on the post-COVID workplace
An interior designer and workplace strategist says the work-from-home experiment has focused attention on what people appreciate about this option, what they miss about the office and the importance of social connectivity to both.
Minnesota's child care providers await federal COVID relief funds as they fight to stay open
The state expects to receive $137 million in aid from the latest federal pandemic relief package.
Minnesota's fitness industry pushes officials to reopen gyms
With Minnesota's 800 gyms closed at least through next week — and Gov. Tim Walz expected on Monday to say whether they will stay closed into January — many other fitness club owners and operators fear long-term damage.
Amazon employees in Minnesota are building bridges to a more diverse management team
A group started by Somali managers at Amazon has helped more East Africans land top jobs and bridge cultural misunderstandings.
Work from home brings new freedom, new distractions and new definition of 'the office'
At businesses around the Twin Cities and Minnesota, the adjustments are ongoing.
Twin Cities customers still shopped on Black Friday — just not as many as past years
With a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, numerous big box stores like Twin Cities-based Target and Best Buy decided to close this Thanksgiving and offer their sales early online and in stores to discourage large crowds visiting stores on Black Friday.
Businesses in Minnesota, around U.S. make it easier for employees to vote
Companies allow time off, provide information.
Target HQ employees won't go back downtown until June 2021
Target is downtown Minneapolis' largest employer, with more than 8,500 corporate employees. The company is working on a long-term model that will combine telecommuting with remote work, executives said.
NovuHealth and Revel Health merge to create formidable wellness platform for insurers
The combined company will work with some of the largest health insurance firms.
Twin Cities downtowns on hold as big employers monitor coronavirus
A vast ecosystem of businesses and people who support office workers remains disrupted. For the people who come into their offices, the experience is strange on many levels.
Minnesota prods firms to share jobs rather than lay off workers
Businesses and employees alike support the program, and it's one of the few economic stimulus tools about which Republicans and Democrats can agree. But so far, this deal-sweetener hasn't drawn more takers in Minnesota or elsewhere. The take-up rate nationally now hovers around 1%.
Carlo Castillejos, a builder of social bridges, dies at 44
Raised in Fridley after his parents moved from their native Philippines, Castillejos had a winning smile that could disarm anyone.
Minneapolis nonprofit helps folks who are starting over figure out 'next step'
UpWorks minister works with people fresh out of addiction treatment, prison or other residential care programs.
COVID-19 surge in young adults a challenge for contact tracers
More than 924 COVID-19 cases this summer have been tied to two dozen bars and restaurants. The median age in those cases is between 23 and 24.
Laid-off Minnesotans face a financial cliff with end of extra $600 payments
About one-sixth of the state's workforce are among the Americans whose immediate future is tied up in the battle about how to rescue the U.S. economy.
Minnesota institute at 'epicenter' of training on racial restorative justice
Requests for training from Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute have skyrocketed since the death of George Floyd.
Getting your hair cut or heading to the gym? Get ready to sign a waiver
Lawyers don't advise relying on waiver forms, but they're popping up amid the pandemic, asking customers not to sue if they get sick.
Will this be the moment businesses get serious about racial bias in hiring?
George Floyd's death and its aftermath has become a moment of workplace reckoning.
Out of work? Looking for a better job? The state will pay for online classes
Residents must enroll by Sept. 30 for online classes paid for by the state.
Furloughed workers don't have much recourse if they fear returning to work
But job protections do exist for those with health conditions or who report workplace hazards.
Minnesota fitness centers add marketing muscle in effort to reopen
Industry contends it can work within health guidelines to contain spread of coronavirus.
Twin Cities businesses reel from nights of violence while on guard for more
Hundreds of buildings have been damaged by rioters, looters.
Minnesota fitness execs shocked by Walz decision to keep gyms closed
"They didn't have any great reasoning for their decisions," said the chief executive of Anytime Fitness.
![joel koyama•jkoyama@startribune.com open0528 00008096a] Burger Jones in Minneapolis, MN.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/GYNIVFC7BPWPT475GMY3S6KTHY.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Burger Jones won't reopen near Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis
But Parasole plans to open its other restaurants for takeout and curbside pickup next week.
For Minnesota businesses left in limbo, June 1 is the next date
The shutdown order still hangs over hair stylists, fitness centers and others whose work is still deemed too risky.
Many endure frustrating wait for much-needed stimulus check
Congress in late March earmarked $300 billion in direct payouts to Americans hit by the coronavirus pandemic, providing tax-free rebates to help buy groceries and pay rent. But millions are still waiting.
Small-town Minnesota tries to balance lives and livelihoods
As Gov. Tim Walz begins to relax restrictions on some businesses and return as many as 100,000 Minnesotans to work in the week ahead, the calculus of gently reopening the state's economy has begun.
Business leaders say Walz's next move could make or break them
The Star Tribune last week interviewed decisionmakers in businesses around the state about when and how to start the next chapter of the crisis.
This Minnesota business got back to work but it wasn't business-as-usual
New workplace protections abound at Indigo Signworks, which brought workers back on Monday.
ShopHQ gets $4M infusion from Invicta as losses swell
The announcement came amid deepening financial strains and uncertainty from the coronavirus
For a Twin Cities family of six, life has become a hazy frenzy
The past four weeks have been busy for Minnesota families, and many now realize it's a long way from ending.
ShopHQ cites virus as it slashes another 152 jobs
Host Laura Duffek is among those let go at Eden Prairie-based TV shopping network.
Profiteering off the pandemic? Minn. officials 'are coming after you'
Minnesota has no law against price gouging, but the widening coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented number of complaints and actions by state officials against businesses seeking "unconscionably excessive" profit.
Some tips now that Minnesota is mostly a telecommuting state
Workers, businesses adapt to landscape of technology overload, isolation, child care demands and anxiety of the unknown.
Minnesota businesses praise flexibility in Gov. Tim Walz's stay-at-home order
As some companies retool, that definition could change; others may challenge status.
