Recent content from Brooks Johnson
Flexible schedules for manufacturing employees are paying off for Land O'Lakes
More manufacturers are chopping up and rotating shifts to attract and retain workers.
East Grand Forks sugar beet factory fined $350K for air quality violations
The American Crystal Sugar plant emitted high levels of particulate matter and hydrogen sulfide over several years.
Longtime downtown Fargo staple Zandbroz Variety closing in June
The iconic bookstore and gift shop helped rejuvenate the main shopping and entertainment district when it opened in 1991.
Minnesota marijuana sales could be delayed or in short supply if planting doesn't start soon
Growers need time to get cannabis planted, harvested, tested and processed — preferably before retailers open.
Hormel settles pork price-fixing suits for $11 million
The company will pay less than other major pork producers have to date to settle the antitrust cases.
Minnesota's struggling plastic film recycler facing eviction for $1.3 million in unpaid rent, bills
Myplas USA owes nearly $400,000 in back rent and faces an $895,000 lien for unpaid electrical work on the facility that was the first of its kind in the state.
Millennials: Is your financial reality not living up to expectations? Get in touch.
We're exploring income disparity and how it affects people's lives.
Where do MLB baseballs come from? Cargill cattle, of course
The Minnesota-based company supplies most of the Holstein hides that become the millions of prized pearls produced every year.
CHS earnings dinged by warm winter
The Minnesota-based ag co-op saw much-improved results in grain and oilseeds.
![GLEN STUBBE • gstubbe@startribune.com -- Monday, June 29, 2009 -- Minneapolis, Minnesota. -- ] General Mills Cheerios. Looking at the long hist](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/YXPJBNOW2EAWGXVDROTA2OPJJI.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
There may be something worse than pee in your Cheerios, say lawsuits alleging pesticide contamination
Lawsuits in New York and California allege the Minnesota company's flagship cereal contains high levels of chlormequat.
Post calls conspiracy allegations about Snoop Dogg's cereal 'completely false'
The rapper's company, Broadus Foods, is suing the Minnesota cereal maker and Walmart after poor sales of Snoop Cereal.
3M gets final court approval for $12.5 billion 'forever chemicals' settlement
The deal with public water systems addresses PFAS contamination.
3M just got a lot smaller. How did it ever get so big?
The company grew to $35 billion in revenue by taking risks for more than a century, but it has to pay off some of its bad bets and shrink before it can grow again.
It's a tough time to be a food startup. How Minnesota brands hope to reach the next level.
Food is a fickle business. Who gets to win?
Kwik Trip discontinuing beloved bagged milk this spring
The La Crosse, Wis.-based convenience store chain said demand has dropped for the product it has produced for more than 40 years.
Kraft Heinz earns federal money to decarbonize its Velveeta plant in Minnesota
The New Ulm plant makes Velveeta, Kraft Deli Deluxe Singles and Cheez Whiz.
Judge evicting MyPillow from a Shakopee warehouse over unpaid rent
Landlord says Mike Lindell's Chaska-based pillow company has failed to pay more than $200,000 in rent the past two months.
Enough veterans sign onto 3M earplug settlement, assuring $6B deal
It will likely be months if not years before many claimants are paid.
Work-from-home working for you? Feel free to keep doing that, 3M says.
3M's "Work Your Way" policy still allows fully remote work for many even as other companies announce in-office mandates.
Prairie Island Indian Community opening cannabis dispensary this summer
The tribal-owned dispensary near Treasure Island Resort and Casino will be the closest pot retailer to the Twin Cities yet.
Sugar prices keep climbing. Minnesota bakeries are suing sugar companies over it.
Edina-based United Sugar and Minnetonka-based Cargill are among the defendants in federal antitrust lawsuits.
Baby goats in Minnesota infected with bird flu, concerning officials
It's the first time the virus has been found in a ruminant in the U.S., though officials say the risk to humans remains "extremely low."
General Mills' two-ingredient ad campaign for Pillsbury boosts relevance of veteran brand
The baking products have grown significantly in recent years as shoppers look for easy, cheap meals.
At the country's biggest food industry trade show, everything is just for you
Expo West showcased thousands of brands hoping to break through to mainstream success or at least find their target audience.
Body of missing Rochester woman found in culvert
Authorities say there was no sign of trauma and no indication of foul play.
North Oaks man dies in early morning I-94 crash in Wright County
Dennis Wendell collided with a tanker truck and was not wearing a seatbelt, authorities say.
Skid-steers, Softsoap and Nerf: 8 more Minnesota inventions that changed the world
One article couldn't hold all of the state's innovations that shape our daily lives.
After slogging through the pandemic and its lingering effects, Hormel sets up turnaround plan
Supply chains are back and the Minnesota food company is finally ready to regain growth.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures CEO: Cannabis grow facility may be first of many on the reservation
The tribe-owned company sees a $100 million opportunity.
Employees, tired of counting steps, gobble up new 'food is medicine' workplace wellness program
Minneapolis-based Launch My Health is teaching folks how to cook and eat better to take charge of their health.
U.S. ag exports are shrinking. Here's what can be done about it.
Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford is pushing a four-point plan to help farmers regain competitive advantage and undo the damage of President Trump's trade war with China.
Meet the Cargill chefs who made the Big Mac better
The Minnesota company's culinary team has built 'symbiotic relationships' with major restaurant and retail chains.
CHS buys back its headquarters building in Inver Grove Heights
$48 million purchase comes six years after CHS sold the campus for $55 million.
Mille Lacs Band building large cannabis growing facility on tribal land
Early foothold in the marijuana market could make the band a key supplier for Minnesota dispensaries with their expected opening next year.
Hormel stock has its best day in more than a decade as shoppers buy more of its products
Investors see signs 'the worst is behind the company' as more Spam, Planters and Jennie-O products fly off shelves, following a dip last fall.
Kellogg CEO criticized for saying more consumers could eat cereal for dinner as budgets tighten
While General Mills executives have also touted cereal's affordability through the years, there is potential for these comments to damage the category the Golden Valley company has led for years.
![Take and prepare food items are easy to locate in the grocery area of the Target in Minnetonka, as are the bulk food items in the foreground. ] JEFF W](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/AOV5ZWTNQN65MD62T7GUG34TGA.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Target joins antitrust lawsuit against Cargill and others over high beef costs
The Minnesota retailer is among the most recent to join dozens of plaintiffs alleging a price-fixing conspiracy by the nation's largest beef producers, including fellow Minnesota company, Cargill.
Minnesota's first plastic film recycling facility struggling just two months after opening
The Myplas facility had financial backing from several Minnesota companies, and others pledged to "evaluate" using more recycled plastic in their supply chains to make the facility viable.
3M's health care spinoff becomes Minnesota's newest public company on April 1
The new business, Solventum, will employ 20,000 people.
Sun Country adds new California, New England destinations from MSP
Direct flights to Monterey and Manchester begin in August.
We're addicted to PFAS. Can we adapt to live without?
As bans and other regulations come into effect, there still aren't replacements for the useful but damaging "forever chemicals."
Cargill invests in fungi-based mycoprotein company that makes meat alternatives
Scottish food tech firm Enough uses yeast to ferment grain sugars into a high-protein, meat-like biomass.
Hemp seed in chicken feed? A potentially huge market for Minnesota growers may be opening
Hemp seed meal becomes the first cannabis product to win initial federal approval for livestock feed in modern times.
![Fair State Brewing Cooperative. ] (SPECIAL TO THE STAR TRIBUNE/BRE McGEE) **Fair State Brewing Cooperative](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ABE5KKK2XWH52LT2LOIWNE6AZ4.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Minneapolis-based Fair State Brewing files for bankruptcy protection, will remain open
The Twin Cities brewing cooperative is looking for a way through high levels of debt.
Minneapolis-based pea protein maker Puris wins tariff case against Chinese imports
Tariffs of up to 270% will be assessed to address "dumping" of low-priced imports.
What every business needs to know about Minnesota's marijuana laws
Even if you don't work in the cannabis industry, you still need to make sure your company's policies reflect the state's new legalization laws.
Marijuana use has increased in Minnesota. So have poison control calls.
A new state report has provided a snapshot of cannabis use in Minnesota leading up to legalization.
Cargill buys two beef and pork plants to meet demand for pre-packaged cuts
The plants, in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, prepare 'case-ready' products meant to save time for meat departments at grocery stores.
Consumer Reports calls out General Mills for plastic chemicals in food
Several products, including cans of Annie's organic cheesy ravioli, had higher levels of phthalates compared to other brands.
McDonald's eggs are now 100% cage-free with assist from Cargill and a Minnesota grower
The fast-food chain hit its pledge early to use only cage-free eggs.
![The Malt O Meal line offers more value to larger families.] Its been two years since MOM Brands (Malt O Meal) merged with Post Cereal to become Post C](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/BLCXF7ANRKNNF7UNJWKCEXKW7E.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Despite complaints about the economy, consumers still not buying cheaper cereal
Lakeville-based Post Consumer Brands isn't getting quite the 'trading down' benefit from frugal cereal shoppers it might have in the past.
3M expected to net up to $12 billion with health care spinoff, ratings agency says
Estimated windfall comes from a Fitch Ratings report. The influx of cash will help pay PFAS and military ear plug settlements over the coming years.
Guatemalan chicken chain Pollo Campero eyes expansion in Minnesota
Demand from Central Americans and a reshaped Midwestern palate means more Twin Cities locations to come.
What Minnesota inventions have shaped modern life?
Many know the story of the pacemaker and Post-it notes. But creative Minnesotans have devised hundreds of other products we take for granted.
Yoplait tries again to answer consumer demand for more protein, less sugar
The General Mills yogurt brand's latest attempt adds protein while maintaining taste.
Minnesota company sells world's first regenerative organic vanilla extract. What does that mean?
The certification builds on organic standards to include human and animal health, economic fairness, soil regeneration and carbon sequestration.
Despite profit rebound, investors punish 3M's stock
Shareholders unimpressed by the Minnesota-based company's outlook, send stock plunging Tuesday, "There's more to do to reduce risk and uncertainty," CEO Mike Roman said.
General Mills is closing its on-site child care at headquarters
The company told employees there is reduced demand for the benefit at its Minnesota home office.
Minnesota-based CHS explores potential merger with ag co-op Growmark
Illinois-based Growmark and Inver Grove Heights' CHS are in early talks.
Minnesota cannabis agency wants streamlined laws for faster dispensary openings
The state's Office of Cannabis Management also asked the Legislature for a different social equity approach.
Blaine pet store fired woman after learning she was pregnant
Minnesota Department of Human Rights settled a discrimination case against Four Paws and a Tail.
3M's earplug settlement on track as veterans and service members opt in to $6B deal
An attorney for the plaintiffs, now numbering over 276,000, said they believe the 98% participation threshold to uphold the deal will soon be met.
The year just started, but plan your time off now so you actually use all of it
Take a breather — actually, take several — by using up all your vacation time in 2024.
'We don't set records every year,' CEO says ahead of CHS profits dropping 33%
The decline follows a record-setting first quarter a year ago for the Minnesota-based co-op.
Cargill appoints tech exec as new top lawyer
Rishi Varma from Hewlett Packard Enterprise has been hired as chief legal officer as Anna Richo retires.
In tug-of-war over prices, grocers seek to wrest some control from food companies
Retailers try to balance consumer resistance to price hikes with the power of brands to attract customers.
More than $135M worth of turkeys and chickens have been killed in Minnesota because of bird flu
That's just what the USDA has reimbursed the state's poultry and egg producers so far.
Minnesota hog farmers shoulder weight of adapting to California's law
Jan. 1 marked the deadline for banning sales in the Golden State of pork raised on farms where sows live in confined pens.
3M freezing pensions for nonunion employees in 2028
In 2009, 3M had closed the door on new hires joining the pension plan.
3M 'reintroducing' itself at major electronics expo in Las Vegas
The company travels to CES next week with an eye-catching exhibit.
Why mayo, chips and pop got so expensive so fast
Food inflation might be cooling, but it still burns. Just ask any grocery shopper.
From chicken guts to stevia, Cargill wants to be an 'innovation brand'
Projects involving chickens and sugarless sweeteners are examples of a growing focus on innovation at the Minnetonka-based agribusiness, which netted the company several accolades this year.
Consumers punishing General Mills for high prices after pandemic-era boost in sales
Company's outlook indicates it may not grow sales at all through next summer.
Bird flu cases slow in Minnesota, but egg producers elsewhere hit again
More than 16 million birds have been affected nationwide since October.
New Minnesota recycling plant wants your bag of plastic bags
Myplas USA plans to recycle 90 million pounds of plastic annually at the $30 million plant.
