urbanMSP

Bizjournals reports they want to start moving in by this summer.


https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... tures.html

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Don't want to be a target for terror and war or support that. nope.

I don't think this substantially increases the risk for a terrorist attack. This would be a pretty small office.

As for the moral part of the equation...to each their own. I suppose I'd want to hear more about what they'd actually be doing in this office before making a judgment. The media descriptions have been vague enough that we don't know what they'll be doing. Given the way warfare is evolving (and the fact that most countries do not use chemical weapons), biomedical and chemical expertise could be sought to find methods to help injured soldiers in the field or antidotes to chemical attacks.

Seems to me like they want a location that helps them to recruit from/collaborate with the private sector and academia. The first thing that comes to my mind is cybersecurity.

When I saw this, I thought "this is exactly what Fort Snelling's Upper Post needs".

When I saw this, I thought "this is exactly what Fort Snelling's Upper Post needs".

Smart idea! Like this!

That would be good, but if they want to start moving in by this summer, they're presumably looking for existing vacant office space. Which, well, downtown does have a huge pile of.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Don't want to be a target for terror and war or support that. nope.

I don't think this substantially increases the risk for a terrorist attack. This would be a pretty small office.

As for the moral part of the equation...to each their own. I suppose I'd want to hear more about what they'd actually be doing in this office before making a judgment. The media descriptions have been vague enough that we don't know what they'll be doing. Given the way warfare is evolving (and the fact that most countries do not use chemical weapons), biomedical and chemical expertise could be sought to find methods to help injured soldiers in the field or antidotes to chemical attacks.

Yep. Lots of companies in the area already do work like this for DoD and DoE. It makes a lot of sense to put something like this here.

In addition to chemical/bio countermeasures and cyber security mentioned above, communications, big data analysis, AI/ML and materials science would all fit right in here.

Was in Las Vegas last month and stumbled upon this painting at McCarron International Airport. They had a number of US cities displayed according to local elementary students. Sure enough, Minneapolis was one of them. The children of Jo Mackey Magnet School in North Las Vegas are very creative to say the least.

Hey, they got Spoonbridge and Cherry and the Basilica. The Maze Runner wall is a nice touch.

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I initially thought they included the convention center, then I saw the scrawled "Macy's"...oh man.

Would have been a nice touch to include the City Hall clock tower and incorporate the actual clock.

StarTribune on the Twin Cities as a finalist for the US Army’s Futures Command.

http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities- ... 481875611/

Expectations are high this would be a significant federal research incubator.

MinnPost on the possibility of landing the army’s Futures Command.

https://www.minnpost.com/politics-polic ... ures-comma

Didn’t see the business thread...there goes another Fortune 500....

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... orida.html

While it's never great to see a company leave, they didn't have much of a presence here to begin with, and their HQ was only here because they were once part of Cargill. The Twin Cities won't miss 150 jobs, especially not these days. I doubt even Plymouth will feel much impact.

Useful context from MPR's Brian Bakst:

Yeah, there was no reason for Mosaic to be here once it spun off of Cargill. None of the operations are here.

Yeah, I didn't even realize they had that few employees here!

Minneapolis ranked a very close 2nd for most fit city in the US, behind Arlington, VA. (Minneapolis once took top in 2014, 2015, and 2016)

St. Paul tied with Denver at 7th/8th

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/201 ... 591610002/

Polaris, Securian join ranks of Fortune 500 companies; UnitedHealth moves into Top 5

St. Paul-based Securian Financial Group and Medina-based powersports company Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) are the newcomers to the list, ranking No. 462 and No. 496, respectively. That gives Minnesota 19 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Minnesota — one more than last year, though Mosaic, (No. 382 this year) has said it's moving its headquarters soon.