The wait is nearly over.Minnesota’s newly passed $60 million angel investment tax credit will officially debut the week of July 19. That’s when the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will start accepting applications from investors and start-ups hoping to be certified for the program.“DEED is developing and testing the back office systems [...]

One of the more intriguing races in Minnesota this fall concerns state District 40B in Bloomington, outside of the Twin Cities. There, Republican newbie Sanu Patel-Zellinger is challenging longtime Democrat incumbent Rep. Ann Lenczewski.Patel-Zellinger is unlikely to unseat Lenczewski- you don’t get re-elected five straight times without knowing what you’re doing. But Patel-Zellinger’s campaign could [...]

Boy, if only this Harvard University business school study came out before February, when Minnesota Tax Committee Chair Rep. Ann Lenczewski argued, somewhat nonsensically, that direct grants to startups were superior than angel tax credits.She even commissioned a much ridiculed report from the House Research Committee to back her claims.Fortunately, common sense prevailed and Minnesota [...]

The $50 million angel tax credit passed by the Minnesota legislature Monday will no doubt provide much-needed early stage capital for young start-ups. But the law’s biggest benefit may not be dollars and cents, but rather how outsiders see Minnesota and how Minnesota sees itself.By passing the bill quickly in the legislative year and with [...]

Passing an angel investment tax credit in Minnesota is not important just for the dollar amount but to signal to investors in the Midwest, and indeed the rest of the country, that our state is a serious place to do business; that we are ready to embrace (finally) a commonly accepted way to spur investment [...]

For all of her fierce opposition to angel tax credits, Rep. Ann Lenczewski (D-Bloomington) now has a more pressing issue to focus on: how to pay for them.Legislative sources say the question has moved beyond passing the bill to financing it. By one estimate, the credit enjoys the support of 100 lawmakers in the 136-member [...]

Sources say top business and political leaders in Wisconsin, including top Assembly Democrat Peter Barca, are lobbying hard for Miromatrix, which spun out of the University of Minnesota late last year, to establish its headquarters in the Badger State.

Rep. Ann Lenczewski’s opposition to angel credits flies in the face of evidence, experts, and the collective political and business will of Minnesota.

Last week, Rep. Ann Lenczewski and House Speaker Margaret Kelliher held a press conference to tout a jobs creation bill. First item on the 26-page bill: a three year, $9 million tax credit to investors and funds with a heavy focus on “green” companies. To receive the credit, regional investment funds must devote 50 percent of its money toward “qualifying green job small businesses.”