Made (cool) in Minnesota

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Manufacturing Madness may not resonate like “March Madness,” but the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s bracket-style “Coolest thing made in Minnesota” contest compels nonetheless.

Products like 3M’s Scotch tape, Hormel’s Spam, Red Wing Shoe Company’s boots to seemingly everything but the kitchen sink (well, nearly that too, since Cambria countertops were included) squared off in an initial list of 64 state-made products. That list was whittled down to 32 on Monday; the public can vote until Oct. 4, with the winner announced on Oct. 8 at the 2024 Manufacturers’ Summit.

There already are winners, however: consumers, workers, their employers and the state itself. There are 8,625 manufacturers in Minnesota, according to data compiled by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). They employ over 325,000 Minnesotans, accounting for 11% of statewide employment and 12% of the state’s GDP. And it’s not just those in the North Star State who think these and other products are cool: $22.5 billion worth of state goods were exported worldwide last year.

That gives the world a clear window onto Minnesota. (As do window manufacturers Andersen and Marvin, whose products are part of the contest.)

That window was further flung open when Gov. Tim Walz was named Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, with some criticizing the state’s business climate under his watch. While lawmakers should indeed heed legitimate concerns, especially as Minnesota grows more distinct from neighboring states, it’s important to keep context in mind: Minnesota is the sixth best state in the nation for business, according to CNBC, and tops in “business survival,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Because we have a headquarters economy here and relatively low unemployment, we maybe have fewer startups than other parts of the country, but we have the best five-year survival rate,” said Jennifer Byers, vice president at the chamber. “So when companies start here we have an ecosystem to help them grow and survive and flourish.” The “strong talent base and strong workforce,” Byers said, provides a “strong support system for entrepreneurs.”

Minnesota has “this history of being incredibly innovative,” said Byers, adding that “We’ve continued to do that, but we don’t just innovate, we make products here.”

Not just any products. Life-extending ones, including those from competitors in the “coolest” competition like Medtronic and Minnetronix Medical. Life-enjoying products, like floating docks from Wave Armor, Lotzza Motzza Pizza from Bernatello’s Foods, Organic Rainbow Fruit Stacks from JonnyPops (or the three distilled spirits from Brother Justus, Phillips and 5Rocks Distilling Company). Or Life Fitness’ Symbio Runner and scores of other products — including one that keeps scores (and more): Daktronics’ LED video displays.

The state’s status as an innovation incubator has its roots in its isolation, said Lee Lynch, the author of “Amazing MN.” Replete with data-driven examples, the book opens with this statement: “With less than 2% of the nation’s population, Minnesota is a model for prosperity, creativity, and quality of life.”

Lynch (an innovator in his own right, founding the Minneapolis-based ad agency Carmichael Lynch), said that the early isolation “caused us to create our own arts groups, our own industries” and “we got accustomed to doing things ourselves and invented things.”

But that isolation, however once splendid, is history. And in fact, on Monday DEED and Explore Minnesota launched a campaign to tell the nation and even the world about the state. According to a statement about the campaign, it “captures the stories of leading businesses across key industries, including manufacturing and biomedical technology. The campaign features testimonials from Mayo Clinic Business Development, Microbiologics, Polar Semiconductor, and Rosenbauer America.”

Among the state’s attributes touted by DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek in the statement is Minnesota’s “powerful innovation ecosystem.” It also has a natural ecosystem that will only become more important as climate change intensifies, so it should be just as much an economic as ecological imperative that Minnesota’s manufacturers — as well as every citizen — preserve and protect the natural environment as they continuously expand the business environment. In fact, far from being an impediment to the business climate, the meteorological climate can and should be looked at as an asset.

That’s the way several of the “Coolest thing made in Minnesota” contenders seem to see it. These innovators include Arctic Cat, which manufactures snowmobiles (and many other products), as well as adaptations like TMX Technical Mountain XTreme Snowmobile Skis by Hutchinson-based C&A Pro and other Minnesota companies in the contest that improve maneuverability, like the Rubber Track Conversion System from Karlstad-based Mattracks. And one can only marvel at the breakthrough innovation from Marshall-based Action Manufacturing’s Trackchair, an all-terrain wheelchair.

In a word, cool.