“There are two things that we know about the universe,” Abraham Algadi said. “We can only control the things we can control. The rest, we leave to a higher power.” Algadi is not a priest or philosopher, at least professionally. Algadi, the city administrator for Pine Island, Minnesota, was referring to the fate of the much maligned, often delayed Elk Run BioBusiness Park.

People often lament that Republicans and Democrats can’t accomplish anything because they have nothing in common. Nonsense. I think Republicans and Democrats can’t accomplish anything because they do have something in common: some politicians in both parties are equally clueless about how to promote high-tech innovation that creates high-paying jobs.

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 [...]

Battle-weary proponents of Minnesota’s historic $60 million angel tax credit had a simple message for the state’s entrepreneurial community:Now that we passed the darn thing, you better use it!“We’ve passed the baton onto you,” Sen. Kathy Saltzman (D-Woodbury) told the audience who gathered in Eden Prairie Monday to learn about the tax credit.var page_count = [...]

Investors rejoiced when Minnesota finally passed a five year, $50 million angel tax credit. Only one problem: the state’s largest angel group will be largely shut out.Under a last minute provision inserted into the bill, investors participating in angel deals through individual retirement accounts and family trusts will not be eligible for the tax credit [...]

Not to sound paranoid … but …Just when you think Minnesota has turned the corner in stimulating high-tech innovation, the nagging pest otherwise known as the budget has once again reared its ugly head. And it’s not pretty.Just weeks after Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill that established the Minnesota’s first angel tax credits, the [...]

To BIO or not to BIO? That’s the question confronting Minnesota as it ponders its economic future.In some ways, the answer is obvious. The state boasts a lot of expertise and money in medical technology. Lawmakers have already earmarked millions of dollars to build a “Biomedical Discovery District” in Minneapolis and an “Elk Run BioBusiness [...]

Fresh from passing a landmark angel investor tax credit, Minnesota lawmakers are advancing a bill that would, in time, radically alter high-tech economic development in the state by concentrating authority in a single public-private entity.The proposed Minnesota Science and Technology Authority, modeled after programs like Third Frontier in Ohio and The Ben Franklin Technology Partners [...]

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 [...]

The Minnesota House and Senate Monday overwhelmingly approved a five-year, $50 million tax credit designed to spur early-stage investment in high tech start-ups, including biotechnology and medical devices.Minutes after the House passed a jobs bill, which included the angel credits, 112-20, the Senate followed suit, 58-3. The lopsided vote capped an epic, seven-year struggle to [...]