OF NOTE – LAW
Former Minnesota attorneys general Lori Swanson and Mike Hatch have launched a downtown Minneapolis law firm, Swanson Hatch PA. Swanson and Hatch sequentially represented Minnesota as attorney general for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019.
OF NOTE – ORGANIZATIONS
Javier Morillo is stepping down as president of SEIU Local 26 after more than 14 years, the labor organization announced. Iris Altamirano was named to succeed him. Morillo will be joining the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization at the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations as a Minnesota-based program fellow. SEIU Local 26 is a Minneapolis-based labor union that represents service workers in the building maintenance and security trades.
ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS
Rocky Novak was promoted to chief executive officer of Fallon Worldwide, overseeing the creative agency’s Minneapolis and New York offices. Mike Buchner, a 35-year veteran of the agency who served in the CEO role since 2011, was named chairman as of March 1. … Colle McVoy, Minneapolis, announced that Tracy Richards has joined the agency in the new position of creative operations director. … Electric Advertising, Minneapolis, announced it has been selected as agency of record for LeaderOne Financial Corp., based in Kansas City, Kan.
AIRPORTS
Airports Council International named Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport the Best Airport in North America in its size category in 2018, along with Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING
The 2019 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects recently elevated Tom Hoskens, vice president and founding principal of Cuningham Group Architecture, Minneapolis, to Fellowship for his work with the Native American gaming and entertainment industry.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Entrepreneur Fund, Duluth, announced the addition of Sandi Larson to the strategic services team as a business adviser and Maggie Becker as development coordinator.
CONSTRUCTION
Novare Renovation & Design, a residential remodeling firm in Woodbury, announced it is celebrating 10 years in business.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Merchants Capital announced the hiring of two new vice presidents in its St.Paul office: Lisa Lundeen, vice president of government-sponsored enterprise; and Toni Gilbert, vice president of insurance compliance. … Certified Financial Planner Jesse Sell announced the launch of his independent Registered Investment Advisor firm, Prevail Financial Partners, in Woodbury. … Thrivent Mutual Funds, Minneapolis, announced it has been honored with seven 2019 Lipper Awards from Refinitiv. … First Resource Bank announced the opening of a location at the intersection of South Washington and Chicago avenues near U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis.
GOVERNMENT
Liz Boyer announced that she is leaving the Macalester-Groveland Community Council and that its new executive director will be Alexa Golemo. Macalester-Groveland Community Council is a neighborhood government office in St. Paul. … The Metropolitan Council announced it has received a Silver designation from the national SolSmart program for helping Twin Cities communities advance solar energy. The Metropolitan Council is an appointed body overseeing regionwide shared transportation and infrastructure issues.
HEALTH CARE
Health insurer UCare, Minneapolis, announced grants totaling more than $1.5 million for health improvement initiatives benefiting underserved populations across Minnesota. … St. Paul Radiology and Suburban Radiologic Consultants announced a merger the two organizations beginning April 1. … Pat Jones, CEO of Lakeville-based Superior Home Care, has been named to the board of directors for ProAct, an Eagan-based nonprofit serving people with disabilities.
HONORS
Northstar Meetings Group and Incentive Magazine announced MotivAction, a Plymouth-based performance improvement company, and Petco as winners of the 2019 Motivation Masters award in the Recognition Category for development and delivery of the MyPetcoRecognition Program. … Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Eagan, announced the winners of its ninth annual Women’s Leadership Forum Women of Excellence Awards: Partner of the Year: Cindy Haas, Gateway Bank; Women/Minority-owned Business of the Year: Jennifer Crowder, GR Promotions; Changemaker Award: Tami Phillippi, Frame MN. The organization also announced that its charitable foundation will be awarding five $1,000 scholarships to seniors attending high school in the Dakota County Region: Catherine Bauer and Ruby Filhart, Henry Sibley High School; Hanna Holmstrom and Brianna Kirk, Burnsville High School; and Caitlyn Storley, Rosemount High School. … Skyline Exhibits, an Eagan-based marketing consultant and provider of trade show displays, announced it received several awards at EXHIBITORLIVE, trade show in Las Vegas.
HOSPITALITY
Madden’s on Gull Lake, Brainerd, will celebrate its 90th anniversary this year.
LAW
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Milwaukee, announced the addition of Jenny Zhang in its Minneapolis office’s Employee Benefits Practice and Taft-Hartley Group. … Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, Mapelwood, announced that Letty M-S Van Ert has become a shareholder at the firm. … Eagan-based Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, part of The Barbri Group, announced Sandline Discovery as a Gold Level affiliate partner.
MANUFACTURING
Rockler Cos., a Medina multi-channel retailer, manufacturer and distributor of woodworking and do-it-yourself equipment and supplies, has named Steven Singer as CEO. … Stylmark, a Fridley-based designer and maker of architectural fixtures, announced the addition of Jim McCarthy to its leadership team, overseeing Stylmark’s financial initiatives. … Tennant Co., a maker of floor cleaners for business, announced it will move its corporate headquarters from Golden Valley to Eden Prairie in the first half of 2020. The new address will be 3 Capital Drive, Eden Prairie. The company also announced the appointment of Maria Green, senior vice president and general counsel of Ingersoll Rand, to its board of directors.
MEDIA
Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, has elected two new members to its board of trustees: Shawntera M. Hardy, co-founder and Strategy Lead at Civic Eagle, and Vivek Agrawal, senior partner with McKinsey & Co.
NONPROFITS
Matter, a Minneapolis-based organization that provides international nutritional relief, announced that Chipo Mtasa has been elected to the board of directors. Mtasa is managing director of TelOne, one of the largest telecommunication entities in Zimbabwe.
PHILANTHROPY
Wells Fargo announced it donated more than $14 million through 505 grants to Minnesota nonprofits, schools and community organizations in 2018. … The Medica Foundation, a charitable arm of Minnetonka-based health insurer Medica, announced it awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in 2018. … 3M Open officials announced that University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital will receive a portion of the proceeds from the golf tournament through the newly established 3M Open Fund. … Employees of Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, Golden Valley, have selected four charities to receive $100,000 in donations: The American Cancer Society, HopeKids, The Animal Humane Society and the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. Each organization will receive $25,000.
REAL ESTATE
Commercial real estate agency 45 North Group, St. Louis Park, announced the addition of Mike Zitelman as a senior project manager.
RETAIL
Bluestem Group, an Eden Prairie-based holding company for retail brands, announced the appointment of Bruce M. Cazenave as president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, effective April 1.
SERVICES
Regis Corp., a Minneapolis-based owner and franchiser of retail hair salon chains, announced the opening of its Technology Product Development Center in Fremont, Calif. … Jerald Stiele, owner of Hopkins Auto Body1 in Hopkins announced the acquisition of Collision Center, in Golden Valley. Both are part of the 1Collision Network. … Beth Mathison has been named director, member relations for MRA—The Management Association, a human resources consulting firm based in Plymouth. … Business payroll services provider ARA, doing business as Lone Oak Payroll, Eagan, announced the appointment of Kevin Standa as vice president of credit.
TECHNOLOGY
Code42, a Minneapolis-based cyber-security firm, was named a winner of the Cyber Defense Magazine 2019 InfoSec Awards in the categories of Next-Gen Data Loss Prevention and Next-Gen Insider Threat Detection. … Navitaire, a Minneapolis-based provider of technology to the airline industry, announced it has been granted ONE Order Capable certification from the International Air Transport Association.
EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.
