Recent content from Evan Ramstad
Ramstad: Building apartments in a factory saves time, attracts more people to construction
Rise Modular is building apartments in stackable modules at a factory in Owatonna, Minn.
Ramstad: The role of rage in American reinvention
Reinvention enrages people but is useful for driving the U.S. economy forward, says geopolitical forecaster and author George Friedman.
Ramstad: You had a lot to say about my first columns, especially on immigration. Here's my response
Readers pointed out some gaps in data and thinking this month.
Ramstad: No matter how bro-y and showy Tesla acts, it's just another car company
EV adoption, as Tesla's sales show, is actually getting slower. That's not what happened in the early years of smartphones.
Ramstad: Outgoing Carlson School dean wonders where all the American Ph.D. students have gone
At the state's premier institution of business education, a troubling trend is clear: Americans are shying away from Ph.D. studies.
Evan Ramstad: The health care drama between the U, Fairview and Sanford is going to cost us
This is a fight that shouldn't be happening, but it reveals a broken relationship.
Evan Ramstad: Minnesota company lost $1B in value as investors fled tech. Here's what it did next.
Sezzle has lost 96% of its market value since peaking in February 2021. But now, it makes money.
Evan Ramstad: UnitedHealth and CVS, the unexpected Goliath vs. Goliath battle
From vastly different starts, UnitedHealth and CVS see the same future.
Evan Ramstad: Minnesota lawmakers should take their time on sports betting
Though popular, there's little data on the effects of such pervasive availability to gamble, and no rush for the Legislature to act.
Evan Ramstad: Will Minnesotans be able to stay rich without growth?
The decline of the workforce is historic and will impose changes that Minnesotans are just starting to understand.
Minnesota businessman Marty Davis met Trump, pushed Meadows to fight 2020 election loss
In texts and a White House meeting, Cambria owner urged Trump to fight outcome, vowed 2024 support, a political news site reported.
Minneapolis offers accounting help to small businesses trying to comply with worker rules
In a test program, the city will use federal funds to equip businesses with software and professional advice.
It's FAFSA time: Why and how to apply for college financial aid
The federal financial aid application is at the center of one of the most important money decisions in a person's life.
Minnesota companies once dominated the supercomputer industry. What happened?
Control Data, Univac and Cray Research designed some of the world's fastest computers. But their success didn't last.
Nordstrom Rack will close at IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis
The store opened in fall 2017, a time when downtown Minneapolis was undergoing a surge of growth.
BMO ordered to pay $563M in Tom Petters fraud
The award represents the largest single amount recovered for people who were hurt in Minnesota's worst business fraud.
Coon Rapids publisher buys largest newspaper group in Montana
Adams Publishing picked up 13 newspapers in small communities across Montana in the deal for Yellowstone Newspapers, boosting its print holdings by 10%.
Star Tribune publisher Mike Klingensmith to retire after 13 years
The Star Tribune's leader built a partnership with one of the state's wealthiest people to preserve a large news operation.
Klobuchar's battle with tech giants reaches its pivotal moment
The senior Minnesota senator is trying to stop major tech platforms from giving priority to their own products — and they are fighting back hard.
Klobuchar, executives pledge expansions to Twin Cities tech factories
Firms will seek federal grants made possible by federal law that Congress negotiated for two years.
Minnesota maker of chipmaking equipment is sold for $380M
CyberOptics is being purchased Nordson at a peak valuation.
Minnesota now seeing derechos, haboobs — and higher insurance bills
Make an emergency plan and keep your insurance updated, because Minnesota is seeing natural disasters more often since the turn of the century.
Apartment building continues to rise in Twin Cities, but drop-off is steep in single-family homes
Homebuilding projects are starting to slow, the latest permit date in the metro area shows.
With new federal aid, Minnesota chipmaker expects to speed up expansions
SkyWater Technology has several projects on the drawing board that will accelerate, its top executive said.
U.S. Bank fined $37.5M for creating unauthorized accounts for sales goals
Tactics had included opening credit cards and other accounts in customers' names without their permission.
Best Buy tests small-format store in North Carolina
The store near Charlotte embraces smartphone checkout procedures seen at stores by Apple, Amazon and others.
Target's CEO explains how inventory bloat led to tough call
Just days after reporting disappointing quarterly results, Target executives began thinking they'd have to upset investors again.
Target remodels downtown Mpls. store entrance after period of 'disruptive activity'
The store on Nicollet Mall has been boarded up several times in recent years amid civic unrest.
Choice Hotels buys Radisson Hotel Group Americas, remnant of Carlson travel legacy
The $675M deal involving nearly 700 hotels cements a split sought by the Trump administration over fears about China.
Here are the first steps for seeking financial aid for college in Minnesota
The federal aid application, and Minnesota Dream Act one that matches it, represent the front door to paying for college.
Billionaire's family splits as they sell drug company that made them rich
Attorneys for a divided Evenstad family presented final arguments in a dispute with tens of millions of dollars at stake.
Minnesota's Tesla bull reins in some of his optimism on its stock
Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter lowered his near-term outlook and price target on Tesla shares.
St. Thomas taps entrepreneurship chief as next dean of Opus College of Business
Laura Dunham helped build the entrepreneurship school at St. Thomas into a nationally ranked program.
AT&T rolls out location tracking on emergency calls from Minnesota cellphones
The No. 3 mobile carrier will now use GPS signals to spot callers to 911 systems.
Bremer trustees not out to profit by trying to sell bank, judge says
The judge overseeing the Bremer Bank dispute opened the door for a new attempt to put the bank up for sale.
Clear marketing and white sheets: How Minnesota's top Airbnb hosts make things run
Minnesota's highest-rated Airbnb hosts offer their top tips for running a short-term rental.
There's talk about recession. What should you believe?
This spring, speculation abounds that another recession is around the corner, maybe late this year or next year.
U.S. Bancorp sees sharp gains in interest income coming this year
With interest rates rising, the Minneapolis bank expects the biggest boost to a key revenue component in more than a decade.
Minnesota economy in 2021 beat pre-pandemic level even with fewer people working
The state's GDP rose 5.7% last year, in line with the nation's recovery pace, and beat 2019's level in absolute terms.
Financial industry regulator, Twin Cities adviser settle probe with lifetime ban agreement
Paul Koch, a Wayzata-based financial adviser, agreed to a permanent bar from the financial services industry in a deal with FINRA.
Unilever moves its Minneapolis office to Dayton's Project
The personal products maker is the third office tenant in the remodeled department store building.
Even as Spirit, Frontier combine, the low-fare game at MSP is still shaped by Sun Country
Spirit and Frontier accounted for less than 3% of business at Minneapolis-St. Paul International last year.
State of Minnesota, Bremer Trust file final arguments for control of bank-owning charity
Attorney General's Office and Bremer Trust sum up a month's worth of court testimony in a pair of documents.
How a data system glitch spiraled into a holiday crisis for Sun Country
The system that kept track of Sun Country's crews and planes went down at the end of the busiest day of the holiday season. Over the next two days, several thousand of the airline's passengers paid a price.
Second day of canceled flights turns holiday travel into quagmire for Sun Country passengers
The Minneapolis-based airline faced a deluge of passenger complaints as the fix to technical glitch produced a second day of flight disruptions.
Network glitch disrupts Sun Country early-morning flights, causing scheduling bumps all day
All of its flights taking off before 8 a.m. were canceled, producing delays throughout the day Monday.
Amid surging demand, North Dakota oil production slipped slightly in October
New well completions are on the rise in the state in another sign of U.S. output catching up to the market.
How a Minnesota nonprofit became a lifeline for women business owners
The leaders of WomenVenture reflect on what the financial crisis of the pandemic has meant for women entrepreneurs.
Even at $1T, Tesla's value still likely to climb, Piper Sandler analyst says
Tesla will keep grabbing car market share and disrupt other industries, says Alexander Potter, the Minnesota analyst who predicted it would join the $1 trillion valuation club.
AG settles price-gouging suit with Sparboe for donation of 1 million eggs
The Litchfield, Minn., egg producer said it has never engaged in price gouging and offered the donation to resolve the state's lawsuit quickly.
A key subplot within the Bremer drama: How much trustees and bank executives are paid
Money is at the center of many disputes and the Bremer clash quickly put the spotlight on the pay of the main combatants.
Bremer case lays bare a relationship that goes back decades — but may have reached its limit
Nowhere else in America does a charity like Bremer Trust own a bank like Bremer Financial.
Minnesota added 17K jobs in September, one of biggest jumps of the year
The biggest gain happened in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector.
Bremer combatants have spent $36 million on legal battle
Bremer's CEO testified she wanted to preserve founder's vision for a "community" bank.
Bremer Trust conflicts 'always understood' as deal discussions began in 2019, bank CEO says
But for months in 2019, bank executives and leaders of the trust that owns the bank appeared to be on the same page.
Bremer Financial CEO Crain: Trustees chose 'most destructive way' to try to sell bank
The October 2019 announcement that thrust the Bremer dispute into the public eye likely "destroyed value," CEO Jeanne Crain said.
Bremer Financial CEO says her job is not a factor in dispute with trustees
Jeanne Crain, who has led Minnesota's No. 4 bank since 2016, rejected allegations that the company's conflict with trustees shaped by her job and finances.
U.S. Bank's profit leaps after releasing more pandemic rainy-day funds
But its revenue fell as big businesses scaled back loans and consumer borrowing remained light.
Bremer Financial execs appeared to favor a merger in early 2019, trustee says
In early 2019, Bremer Bank leaders held talks with South Dakota-based Great Western Bank and planned for the combined firm to take the Bremer name.
Bremer trustee Lipschultz saw 'once in a lifetime' chance to sell Bremer bank company
Through summer 2019, Otto Bremer Trust trustee Brian Lipschultz tried to attract buyers for Bremer Financial and do it in a way a skeptical trustee could accept.
Calyxt, firm that edits genes in plants, will offer its technology to other firms
The Roseville company until now has focused on using gene-editing technology to develop its own products, including a soybean that had a trans fat gene taken out.
Cargill buys Blooming Prairie business that turns soybean oil into chemicals for home products
The agribusiness is spending about $40 million to buy the epoxides business of Arkema, the Dutch chemical conglomerate.
At U.S. Bank under Cecere, doing a giant deal takes 'discipline'
The Minneapolis banking giant waited years to join the industry's latest dealmaking wave as CEO Andrew Cecere applied a tough standard for making a big move.
U.S. Bank buying West Coast's MUFG Union Bank for $8B
The deal gives a strong lift to U.S. Bank's presence in California, where it will rise to fifth in market share from 10th.
For Minnesota businesses, higher costs are 'coming everywhere'
Inflation is causing disruptions to workflow, threats to profits and tough decisions about passing rising costs on to customers.
Pet-food maker buys former Del Monte canning plant in Sleepy Eye
The plant will become a central cog in the rapidly expanding pet-food businesses of entrepreneur Stephen Trachtenberg.
Lerner will distribute books from publishing startup Soaring Kite
Soaring Kite Books, a startup publishing house in Washington focused on minority authors and diverse audiences, will have its books distributed by Lerner Publishing Group,…
U.S. Bank adds to small-business services with acquisition of Bento Technologies
Bento, since 2014, has built a platform that simplifies the way employees keep track of business expenses.
Star Tribune chair Jean Taylor will become MPR's new CEO
She has chaired the Star Tribune's board for the last three years.
Electromed reveals data breach, offers identity theft protection to customers
The maker of products for chronic respiratory conditions said the breach occurred in June.
SkyWater shares rise 20% as execs explain move to expand production capacity
The company's capital spending plan will erode short-term profit margins but set it up for sustained revenue growth, executives told investors Wednesday.
Land O'Lakes profit rose 22% as crop-related businesses drive more growth this spring
Demand for butter and milk surged in spring 2020, giving a boost to the farmers' co-op when the broader economy was contracting.
Sun Country nearly back at prepandemic operation levels
The Twin Cities-based airline's third-quarter revenue could exceed 2019 levels, executives said.
The businesses that needed cleaning changed this spring, Ecolab's results show
As the pandemic started to come under control, more restaurants and offices reopened. And they bought Ecolab's cleaning products again.
Brooklyn Park's Clearfield expands as broadband demand soars
Executives at the fiber-equipment maker cite a "once a generation" moment to grow in key rural markets as pandemic makes customers realize necessity of broadband and government investment pours in.
