In the end, Matt Kramer’s departure from the University of Minnesota was a lot more low key than his hiring less than a year ago.With great fanfare, the school had hired Kramer in July 2009 to run what was then known as the Academic and Corporate Relations Center. The university had good reason to crow: [...]

Ever heard of the I-Q Corridor? Unless you’re an economic development geek, probably not.The concept, first penned in a little-noticed Wisconsin Technology Council white paper, envisions an economic superhighway of sorts connecting the Twin Cities, Madison, Wis. and Chicago along interstates 90 and 94. The “I” stands for ideas, innovation, investment, intellectual property while the [...]

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 [...]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the state’s top research university are not exactly close allies.At The Collaborative’s annual venture capital conference last year, Pawlenty criticized the University of Minnesota for being unfriendly to business just minutes before university spin-outs were to pitch investors. University sources say Dan McElroy, commissioner for the Department of Employment and [...]