So much for struggling car dealers: BMW of Minnetonka planned a January 11 opening for its new 223,000-square-foot, four-story showroom on Interstate 394 just west of 494. The dealership has left the space it shared with Sears Imports. In its new location, it can display 325 cars at once indoors, and has amenities including a fireplace, home theater, refreshment bars, and freshly baked cookies daily.
Like Fallon, ad agency Colle & McVoy is showing off its social-media savvy. It has released a Twitter aggregating and analytics Web tool called Squawq. Squawq allows users to track and analyze Twitter content about a topic (up to three terms) over time and includes a real-time search utility. For now, Squawq is available to agency clients and friends, but Colle & McVoy says it might release the application to the public.
Developer Kelly Doran of Doran Companies says that in photos dating back as far as 60 years, he can see the same damaged glass panes in the dome of his Dinkydome property that were there when he acquired it. Now, his company has completed renovation of the iconic dome on the edge of the University of Minnesota campus. Contractor Inglas replaced all 240 panes and found that each was a different size and had to be individually made to fit.
Further evidence that the Twin Cities remain a global center of the hearing-aid industry: Germany’s Hansaton, a maker of hearing devices including hearing aids with Bluetooth connectivity, has entered the U.S. market. The company is setting up new U.S. headquarters in Plymouth.
Fleet management software company Xata has raised $30 million in venture funding. The money, from California firms Technology Crossover Ventures and Trident Capital, will finance Xata’s $20 million acquisition of Turnpike Global Technologies based in Ontario. Xata expects to enter new fleet categories where Turnpike has distinctive PDA-based offerings.
