Beyond the Skyline

Kelly Veit took a hammer to the proverbial glass ceiling last month when she became the new CEO of Veit Cos., a Rogers-based specialty contracting firm. In announcing her new role, the company noted that Kelly Veit is the first woman CEO in the 90-plus year history of the family-owned business, and one of the few women to hold that title among big companies in the U.S. construction industry. Kelly...

Along with partners Brendan Dillon and Dan Rogers, Julian White started their company, Nokomis Energy, around four years ago when they noticed a shift in the solar energy industry — a change that came with a business opportunity. Larger solar developers were pulling out of the industry due to narrowing revenue and increasing project difficulty. White had experience doing this work on a national sc...

As president of Eagle Ridge Partners, Kristin Myhre oversees a Minneapolis-based development, acquisition and asset management company with a portfolio of more than 3 million square feet of space in the Twin Cities. Myhre joined Eagle Ridge in 2012. During her time with the company, she has completed 2.6 million square feet of acquisitions and 1.3 million square feet of dispositions. In the follow...

As brokers on Colliers’ multifamily team, Ted Bickel and Jeff Budish have first-hand knowledge of who’s investing in the Twin Cities real estate market – and, most importantly, why. Investors view the Twin Cities metro region favorably compared to other metros of its size, thanks to the region’s stability, numerous transit-oriented developments, a general pro-development climate and more. However,...

TKDA’s bridge group has a new manager and a heavy workload as the 2021 construction season ramps up. The St. Paul-based engineering, architectural and planning consulting firm recently promoted Lindsey Lawrence to lead the group. At present, the group includes 12 employees with another coming soon. A senior registered engineer and experienced bridge inspector, Lawrence is a member of the Minnesota...

Elevating and expanding diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) efforts is gaining prominence for many organizations, including those in Minnesota’s Medical Alley. Medical Alley companies are not only undertaking internal DE&I reflection and initiatives, but they’re also looking externally to help their communities achieve better equities in health. To ensure this DE&I work is successful and mean...

The past few weeks have a whirlwind for Karla Henderson, Bloomington’s new director of community development. Henderson joined the city in mid-March. Since that time, she has been getting acquainted with new colleagues in Minnesota’s fourth-largest city and finalizing her move from Michigan, where she had similar jobs in recent years. Most recently, Henderson worked as a department director for th...

Deb Hilmerson began her 30-year career in construction by setting precast concrete on the Mall of America parking ramps. Mortenson then recruited her to join in a safety role after funding additional education certification. During her career, she worked in numerous roles at several construction companies, learning to manage finances and operations, before setting out to establish her own company....

The CEO of Sunrise Banks, David Reiling, was recently named chair of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values — the world’s premier value-based banking organization. Reiling is succeeding Peter Blom, who founded the GABV and served as chair since its creation in 2009. It’s made up of 66 financial intuitions across Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe, the combination o...

Like offensive linemen on a football team, roofers tend to go unnoticed until something bad happens. “People only think about their roof if it’s leaking, right?” says Jason Stock, chief financial officer of Central Roofing, a longtime roofing contractor in Minneapolis. “Out of sight, out of mind. If water is staying out, it’s good. If it’s coming in, it’s the end of the world.” Central Roofing has...

After a 42-year career — during which she founded one of the state’s first women-owned architecture firms and impacted some of the Twin Cities’ most notable buildings — Linda McCracken-Hunt has retired from her architecture career. She started her career after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1978. She spent time at Cuningham Architects; Architectural...

It may come as a surprise to some that the market for buying and selling businesses has remained strong. Are you thinking about making a change in 2021? In this special episode of Beyond the Skyline, our experts will discuss considerations for selling or buying in the current economic climate. You'll learn what to look for and what to expect in the process, including legal considerations, valuatio...

Golden Valley-based Mortenson has long played an active role in a renewable energy sector that’s been around — as the company points out — a lot longer than some people might think. For proof, look no further than Mortenson’s own experience. Just last fall, Mortenson celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Wind Energy Group, which was launched in the mid-1990s with a “single wind turbine project in...

Amy Fredregill brings ample experience to her new role as senior director of sustainability at WSB, a Twin Cities-based provider of engineering, planning, environmental and construction services. Most recently, she was managing director of the Sustainable Growth Coalition, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that works with public, private and nonprofit clients on everything from clean air and water ini...

After spending nearly two decades working in Twin Cities real estate, Josh Budish has launched his own industrial real estate company. Budish founded Endeavor Development at the start of this year, and he serves as principal. Endeavor is solely focused on industrial properties in the Twin Cities market — a market that’s healthy and ripe for growth, thanks to limited supply and pent-up demand for t...

Lindus Construction traces its history back to the late 1970s, when company founders Kevin and Emily Lindus made the transition from raising farm animals to improving homes. Following in the footsteps of his father, Andy Lindus owns and operates the second generation family business, along with brothers Adam and Alex. The Baldwin, Wisconsin-based company, which serves the Twin Cities area, offers...

Duane Carter has been with the Northwest Area Foundation since 2016, and in his second year as chair of the nonprofit’s investment committee he manages the investing capital for the foundation’s endowment. The Northwest Area Foundation, based in St. Paul, supports efforts by people, organizations and communities to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable prosperity. Its region includes Oregon, Wash...

The Greater Minnesota Partnership has selected Scott McMahon to serve as the nonprofit’s new executive director. McMahon is a former lobbyist with government relations firm Flaherty & Hood P.A., and has been with the GMNP since 2017. He will lead the organization in its goal of advocating for economic development policies and resources that benefit greater Minnesota. More than 60 businesses, chamb...

Minnesota’s single-family homebuilding market turned conventional wisdom about the state of the economy on its head in 2020. While it may be a stretch to say that homebuilders are sorry to see 2020 go, residential contractors had a surprisingly strong year. Todd Polifka, owner of Custom One Homes in Woodbury and the newly installed 2021 president of Housing First Minnesota, a homebuilder associati...

The new leader of Rochester’s Destination Medical Center is optimistic about the new year — and the organization’s ability to position the city as an attractive place for remote workers. Patrick Seeb stepped into the DMC’s executive director role at the start of 2021. He’s taking over for Lisa Clarke, who retired after spending six years leading the organization. The DMC is a 20-year project to co...

In December, Sherman Associates announced that Chris Sherman would take over as president of the company founded by his father. Chris Sherman first joined Sherman Associates when he was a teenager and later joined as a full-time employee after earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State Smeal College of Business. Most recently, Sherman held the role of senior vice president of operations...

During his 35 years as a Twin Cities-based real estate attorney, Jim Walston has served a wide range of clients on everything from commercial real estate purchases to public transportation projects. Walston, a partner with the Ballard Spahr law firm in Minneapolis, has stayed busy of late representing his clients’ interests as states and cities renew restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19. In...

From project manager to director of supply chain operations, Chad Rempe has worn a number of hats for Kraus-Anderson during his 20-plus years with the Minneapolis-based construction company. Rempe recently took on an additional role: manager of Kraus-Anderson’s preconstruction design services, a newly created position. In his new role, Rempe works closely with the preconstruction department’s tech...

Business uncertainty. Unprecedented events, from pandemic and business lockdowns to social unrest. 2020 has been a year like no other. In part two of our podcast from the Beyond the Skyline online festival, reporter Brian Johnson speaks with an expert panel on the tumultuous legislative session and ramifications of the bonding bill. Our Panelists: Rachel Robinson, Deputy commissioner, Minnesota Ho...

On December 15, we gathered online, for our first Beyond the Skyline Festival, a live event where listeners could connect with business leaders, commercial real estate professionals and other experts to discuss the tumultuous legislative session and ramifications of the bonding bill, and take a look at what lay ahead in the Twin Cities commercial real estate market in the midst of pandemic and eco...