Star Tribune
Bloomington chip maker Polar lands more federal funds for its expansion
The U.S. Department of Commerce finalized millions in federal dollars for Polar Semiconductor, including adding additional funding to support a larger workforce.
The Bloomington-based company announced the preliminary agreement for up to $120 million in May as part of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed in 2022 to bolster domestic manufacturing and make the U.S. more competitive globally in an industry Asia mostly dominates. Tuesday’s announcement added another $3 million to aid in Polar’s expansion and upgrade, particularly to “recruit, train and retain” workers, per a Department of Commerce news release.
“We expect the funding will allow the company to double its U.S. production capacity,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Polar’s total project budget is more than $525 million, and the project should create more than 160 construction and manufacturing jobs.
“Polar’s new facility will also be completed under a Project Labor Agreement to support its construction workforce, creating good-quality union jobs in Bloomington, Minnesota,” Biden said in a statement.
The CHIPS Act — which called for $53 billion of funding — has been a priority for the Biden administration, with Biden saying this first investment in Minnesota marks the initiative’s next phase.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has also helped bring CHIPS money to her state.
“This landmark federal investment in Polar Semiconductor’s Bloomington facility is a major step toward strengthening domestic production of advanced semiconductors,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “I worked closely with Polar Semiconductor to secure this grant and ensure Minnesota continues to be a premier destination for business investment.”
Two “sensory rooms” are planned for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — “calming spaces” for stressed-out travelers who may be experiencing “sensory overload.”
The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP, announced the new rooms on Tuesday and said in a news release that it will partner with Fraser, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, to design the sensory rooms as part of two terminal expansion projects slated for completion by 2028.
“This is another major step to create a more accessible and inclusive airport experience, to help passengers with sensory sensitivities, or those who just need a quieter space to decompress before a flight,” MAC CEO Brian Ryks said in a statement.
Sensory or quiet rooms are an increasingly popular amenity at airports. More than a dozen airports across the country feature them as air travel surges post-pandemic. Condé Nast Travel called the sensory room at Houston’s George Bush International Airport an “airport dreamscape, complete with plush lounge chairs, calming teas, and neck warmers to melt away any tension from the TSA line.”
At MSP, one of the new sensory rooms will be part of the Terminal 2 North Expansion project opening in early 2027. A second sensory room will be added the following year during the renovation of Concourse G at Terminal 1, between gates G8 and G18.
The MAC said the sensory rooms will feature dimmable lighting, comfy seating and “sensory-friendly furnishings.” The MAC didn’t specify how much the rooms would cost to build.
Fraser already works with MAC as a partner of the Navigating MSP program, which aids travelers with special needs, and the organization participates on the airport’s Travelers with Disabilities Advisory Committee.
“We are so honored to partner with MSP Airport to bring sensory friendly spaces to individuals who need a different experience at the airport in order to travel,” Fraser President and CEO Diane Cross said in a statement.
Star Tribune
Child care has long been a vexing problem in rural Minnesota. One county may have cracked the code.
MORRIS, Minn. – Jade Michaelson moved to this west-central Minnesota town a year ago when her husband bought an auto-repair shop here. Immediately, she confronted two problems. One was employment; how could a preschool teacher find work in a county with one child-care center? The other was finding child care for her two young kids. She certainly didn’t want to open her home to in-home child care chaos.
Like anywhere in Greater Minnesota, Stevens County, home to University of Minnesota Morris and three major dairies, has a long, stubborn child-care problem. The problem has only deepened in recent years. A decade ago, the county had 34 child-care providers. When Michaelson moved here, there were 15 — the center plus 14 in-home providers — meaning the county of 10,000 people had lost 220 childcare spots in 10 years.
But just as Michaelson’s family moved to town, Stevens County launched an ambitious experiment in solving its rural child-care crisis. It was Michaelson’s perfect solution: An in-home child care outside of her home.
The county took $1.28 million of its $2 million in federal COVID relief money to build six child-care “pods” — a nearly 6,000-square-foot building of six rowhouses with capacity for 84 child care spots. The long, thin houses look like suburban starter homes, with spacious living rooms serving as play areas and learning centers.
“The space we have is perfect,” she said on a recent morning, holding a crying toddler who just stubbed her toe. “If this wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have started a day care. No way.”
The county also, with the help of a Minnesota Department of Economic Development grant, doubled the size its one child-care center, from 42 spots to 84.
The child-care problem is a vexing issue in both rural and urban areas across the state. A Duluth task force this month termed it a “near-crisis” in Minnesota’s fourth-largest city, where four child care centers closed last year and three more this year. The report said the city has about 3,000 child care slots — but 4,200 kids age 6 or younger with parents who are part of the workforce.
Minnesota lawmakers have discussed a child care affordability scholarship program.
Star Tribune
Rikki Lee Kor of Marshall, Minn., accused of bilking money from KHC Construction via forged checks
MARSHALL, MINN. – The former accountant of a family construction company skimmed more than $95,000 from the business and spent it on gift cards, a Spotify subscription, and trips to casinos among other things, county prosecutors said.
Rikki Lee Kor, 49, of Marshall was charged with 24 felony counts of fraud in connection with the embezzling that spanned about a year until this summer.
Kor was charged Friday and is scheduled to make her first court appearance Oct. 1.
According to the criminal complaint:
Kor stole the money by issuing checks to herself and misusing business credit cards while working at KHC Construction, located in Marshall.
The company’s owner Kim Christensen, described in the complaint as “not great with technology,” told a detective he hired Kor through a staffing company known as PeopleReady. The plan was that the company would screen recruits and he would pay them to pay the new hire. He offered Kor a job in June of 2023.
Christensen said he hired an outside accounting firm to help his business as they were moving offices, which is when they began to find suspicious transactions.
Christensen said the company began to find checks that were signed by him, but didn’t match his signature. Investigators found 12 checks for KHC Construction issued through First Dakota National Bank between Nov. 16, 2023, and April 12, 2024, all cashed at Prairie’s Edge Casino in Granite Falls.
