President Obama Visits HIRED Project Care Participants
 President
Obama paid a special visit to an unsuspecting group of HIRED participants
during his June trip to Minnesota. ProjectCARE, the focus of his
visit, provides customer service training to young mothers on public assistance.
President
Obama asked the young women what they’ve learned in class and then told his own
story of growing up with a single mother. “We all start in different places,”
he shared before encouraging them to continue with their career goals.
ProjectCARE is
a collaborative effort funded by the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program, State of Minnesota, and Greater Twin Cities United Way
Women’s Giving. Additional partners include the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency
and Intermediate School District 287. For information about HIRED’s employment
and training programs, call 612-529-3342 or visit website.
President Barack Obama visits
HIRED, a community-based job training center in Minneapolis, Minn., June 27,
2014 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).
This photograph is provided by THE
WHITE HOUSE as a courtesy and may be printed by the subject(s) in the
photograph for personal use only. The photograph may not be manipulated in any
way and may not otherwise be reproduced, disseminated or broadcast, without the
written permission of the White House Photo Office. This photograph may not be
used in any commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails,
products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the
President, the First Family, or the White House.
 Named after the Minnesota state motto “L’Étoile du Nord” or
The Star of the North,” Du Nord Craft Spirits is a new Minneapolis distillery
owned by husband/wife entrepreneur team Chris and Shanelle Montana. The pair got the idea for their business in
February 2013 when Chris discovered that the taproom law change led by Surly allowed
micro distilleries to have tasting rooms too.
Fast forward to May 2014 and their first products were being sold.
Today, over 200 liquor stores and several restaurants carry
their gin and vodka. A leave of absence
from Fredrikson and Byron, a lot of hard work, and some help from Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD),
a City of Minneapolis Business Technical Assistance Program provider, helped
make it happen. The MCCD worked with
Chris to finalize Du Nord’s business plan and put the pair in touch with Seward Redesign where they were able
to borrow $60,000 from the Hiawatha Revolving Loan Fund to purchase equipment.
Looking back at the last year, both Chris and Shanelle are
surprised by how far they came in such a short amount of time. They credit the support they received from
the MCCD, Seward Redesign, and the City as well as the micro distillery community and local food
producers. The Montanas are dedicated to
local sourcing; the corn they use comes from Shanelle’s parents’ farm. Look for Du Nord’s tasting room to open in
October as well as the launch of an apple brandy and bourbon to come soon.
Visit Du Nord Craft
Spirits online
 Nearly 900 STEP-UP employers, interns, and their families packed
the Guthrie Theater on August 14 for the annual end of summer STEP-UP Celebration. The event kicked off with drum, dance and spoken word
performances by current STEP-UP interns. Mayor Betsy Hodges delivered the welcoming address. She talked
about the importance of the summer employment program for Minneapolis young
people and pledged continued support for the program. STEP-UP co-chair, founder, and former mayor R.T. Rybak, and co-chair
Richard Davis offered congratulatory speeches to the interns and their
employers. STEP-UP interns and alumni also stepped into the spotlight to share
their experiences and reflect on what they had learned while in the program. Little Earth of United Tribes and the State of Minnesota
received "Employer of the Year awards." Awards were also presented to four
STEP-UP interns and four supervisors for outstanding achievement. The event was sponsored by long-time STEP-UP employers Thrivent
Financial and Allianz Life.
Nearly 1,650 Minneapolis young people worked this summer
thanks to 230 employers. Since 2004, STEP-UP has provided over 20,000 STEP-UP
internships.
STEP-UP website
In 2012, the City of Minneapolis launched the Business Technical Assistance Program (B-TAP) to provide business consulting services to new and existing businesses located in Minneapolis. Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) is one of the City’s providers located in North Minneapolis.
Onyx Cycles, Customized Bikes
Brandon Brown has always been mechanically inclined. At North High, he was a one man robotics team. So, at 19, it was no surprise that he became interested in designing customized bikes. Today, Brandon owns Onyx Cycles, a North Minneapolis business that develops customized pedal and motorized bicycles for outreach and promotional activities.
To date, Brandon has been commissioned to create four customized bikes including three for Juxtaposition Arts, and one for Northside Residents Redevelopment Council (NRRC). The bikes are commissioned for special activities and require Brandon to include features like sound systems, room to carry games and activities, the ability to blow bubbles or glow in the dark based on how they will be used.
Last year, Brandon decided to take his business to the next level. Through the B-TAP program at NEON, he was able to take entrepreneur training, register his business, and obtain assistance writing a business plan. He also received assistance developing an Onyx Cycles brand identity.
While working with NEON, Brandon shared an innovative idea he had for a solar powered bike. Quickly, NEON realized that he had a unique concept that could be massed produced not only locally, but abroad as well so they worked with Brandon to submit a patent. At present, the patent is pending, but one day soon, we could see solar Onyx bikes on the street that go 28 miles per hour for up to 30 miles on one charge.
 Jamaican
Kitchen, Catering Delivered
A native and former restaurateur in Jamaica, Merlene Henry was tired of
not being able to find the savory oxtail, spicy jerk chicken, rice and peas, or
escovitch fish that she grew up with so she decided that she would make it and
serve it herself. In April, with the
help of her daughter Alecia, Merlene launched Jamaican Kitchen.
The catering company is run out Morning Star Church’s commercial
kitchen on Friday and Saturday evenings.
To generate business, Merlene placed advertisements on KMOJ radio. That
is how NEON heard about them. Soon, Jamaican Kitchen was enrolled in B-TAP
where they received assistance with food service licensing, business
registration, business banking set-up, branding including: logo design, menu
development, social media, and website design (under construction).
Merlene is happy serving customers on the weekend, but would like to
have a full service restaurant in the future.
Currently, she has her eye on the empty Golden Plump restaurant space on
West Broadway. For now, you can enjoy
one of her authentic plates for around $8 by calling 612.709.4571 on Friday or
Saturday and picking it up or requesting delivery. Jamaican Kitchen also
provides catering for special events.
 Sixteen students from Minneapolis and St. Paul, eight of
whom were STEP-UP interns, spent a week at technology camp in Silicon Valley July
13-19, 2014. There they met with technology professionals from some of the
top tech companies and start-ups in the world to learn about technology and the
Internet.
The trip was sponsored by Silicon North Stars, a non-profit
organization whose mission is to give Minnesota youth the opportunity to
imagine exciting careers in technology through experiential learning. Silicon
North Stars is the brainchild of Steve and Mary Grove, both Google executives
with Minnesota roots.
The week's activities included:
- Campus visits and talks at Google, Facebook, Apple, Stanford
University, TaskRabbit, Indiegogo, the Target Innovation Center, and more
- A day spent with early-stage startup companies
- Career coaching and mentorship from technology professionals
- Team-building activities and group projects
- A design-thinking workshop at Google
- A student pitch for their own startup companies
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