Twin Cities Business

While the Twin Metals plan to dig for copper, nickel, cobalt and other metals within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) watershed gets most of the national attention, a lesser-known opportunity could be a game changer for Minnesota’s Iron Range. Minneapolis-based Niron Magnetics is considering the range for its third-and-largest facility that would replace hundreds of jobs lost by the declining iron-ore mining industry.

As executive turnover accelerates, organizations are rethinking how leadership transitions, onboarding, and employee development work together to protect institutional knowledge and reduce organizational risk. After all, “critical expertise may disappear overnight” when leadership changes happen without intentional planning, structured integration, or a long-term approach to continuity.

Trusts and estate planning might sound cold or clinical, but the best kind of plans are deeply human: thoughtful, personal, and designed to help families carry a little less weight during life’s hardest chapters. Sometimes peace of mind looks less like grand gestures and more like clear instructions, fewer loose ends, and a clearer path forward during an already emotional time.

The news last week that Rolls-Royce opened a new $24 million expansion of its Mankato facility probably has many people wondering: What is Rolls-Royce doing in a Greater Minnesota city of 45,000 people? For most of us, Rolls-Royce means fabulously luxurious automobiles. And those cars are still being manufactured. But there’s another Rolls-Royce that doesn’t make cars. Sound confusing? Here’s an abridged version.

Transwestern has acquired Forte Real Estate Partners, a commercial real estate firm based in the Twin Cities. The transaction adds 12 team members and a broad property management portfolio, bolstering the firm’s service offerings and market presence. “It was clear Forte and Transwestern share a commitment to personalized service and a dynamic, team-oriented culture,” said Emily Nicoll, Managing Director and Minneapolis market leader at Transwestern.

Sunrise Banks, based in St. Paul, welcomes Ethan McClelland as its new Vice President of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs. McClelland will advocate for policies and regulations that allow Sunrise Banks to be a force for good in the communities it serves. McClelland spent a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as Deputy Director of Member Services within Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership team and as Parliamentarian for the House Financial Services Committee.

Over the past year, I’ve spent a good deal of time traveling across the country, meeting with clients, partners, and business leaders in regions experiencing rapid economic growth. There’s a common thread in the communities that are gaining momentum; they are intentional about investing in innovation, developing their workforce, and building a high quality of life for people who live and work there.

A few years from now, Minnesota may be the best place in the country to test hypersonic rockets, make sustainable protein, build advanced semiconductors, trial bioindustrial manufacturing to replace synthetic chemicals and materials, create sustainable aviation fuel, and deploy innovative energy technology to transform our electric grid. At least, Minnesota is on track to become America’s testing lab in several key areas. The big question is, what happens after that?

The Minnesota Business Partnership conducted a lengthy search process in 2023 to find a successor for Charlie Weaver, who excelled at leading the organization for 20 years. Kurt Zellers, a former Republican legislator who served as Minnesota House speaker in 2011 and 2012, emerged as a leading candidate from that search process. The Partnership’s leadership hired Zellers, who began the CEO job on Sept. 1, 2023.

Today, Minnesota ranks last in defense spending per capita. But the state has a new defense technology player in town that’s aiming to help bring together a group of innovative local businesses to work alongside the federal defense industry. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense launched a Defense Innovation Unit in an effort to rapidly increase innovation in the defense sector.