The Twin Cities Business Show

Real conversations with the builders and leaders shaping Minnesota’s economy, from legacy industries to the frontiers of innovation. The Twin Cities Business Show is produced by the team at Twin Cities Business.

The Twin Cities Business Show is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 23 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Twin Cities Business Show, a business show with 23 episodes published.

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  Episode #22

  The $77 Million Business Behind the Minnesota State Fair

  Aug 12, 20261h 3mS1

  Every wondered how the Minnesota State Fair actually works? It's so much more than corn dogs, Sweet Martha’s cookies, and rides. It’s a $77 million operation that becomes Minnesota’s third-largest city for a magical 12 days every summer – with hundreds of vendors, thousands of workers, major concerts, livestock, overnight logistics that include hundreds of people spending the night, and millions of visitors. On this episode of the Twin Cities Business Show, we sat down with Renee Alexander, CEO of the Minnesota State Fair, to go behind the scenes of The Great Minnesota Get Together. Renee explains how the fair makes money, why Sweet Martha’s has become such a phenomenon, how the Grandstand lineup gets booked, what happens after the gates close at 11 p.m., how vendors are selected, and what it takes to run an organization that operates year-round for an event that lasts just 12 days. She also shares the story of how she went from her first State Fair internship (a job that she originally lost out on) to becoming CEO. In this episode: 00:00 Intro: The $77 million business behind the State Fair 00:51 Why Sweet Martha’s is so successful 06:09 How the State Fair makes money 06:38 The State Fair gets 15% of food sales and 18% of beer & wine sales 07:56 The State Fair is a $77 million operation 08:10 For 12 days, the fair becomes Minnesota’s third-largest city 08:28 How Renee measures a successful State Fair 09:45 State Fair ticket prices and affordability 11:00 How to experience the fair for less money 11:50 Renee’s guide to a great day at the State Fair 15:27 Who books the State Fair concerts? 16:40 How Rod Stewart, Salt-N-Pepa and other acts end up on the lineup 18:54 The story behind the TLC/Shaggy/Bone Thugs-N-Harmony lineup 19:54 Renee’s journey from State Fair intern to CEO 29:04 The business of the State Fair Midway 29:22 Why Minnesota has an independent Midway 30:46 The Great Big Wheel is getting even bigger 33:32 The business lessons of 4-H 35:18 Why Renee says 4-H looks good on a résumé 36:07 The “whole other fair” that happens overnight 38:46 What it takes to become a State Fair food vendor 40:46 How many people work year-round to make the fair happen 57:39 What makes a good CEO—and why leadership can feel lonely 58:14 How the Minnesota State Fair stays on top 59:34 The State Fair’s new recipe book

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  Episode #21

  BioMADE's Plan to Bring America's Manufacturing Supply Chain Home Using Corn, Fermentation, and More

  Jul 29, 202645 minS1

  You might not have heard of bioindustrial manufacturing, but it's time that you changed that. Biotechnology is poised to transform manufacturing, national security, and the global economy — and their Maple Grove facility will play a major role in that vision. She tells us how they can turn corn into cement that can be used to lay down a landing strip in hard-to-reach places of the planet. In this episode of the Twin Cities Business Show , we sat down with Jill Zullo , Chief Operating Officer of BioMADE , to discuss how microbes can turn corn, sugar, and other agricultural products into everything from plastics and chemicals to aviation materials and even cement. Before joining BioMADE, Jill had a long-running career at Cargill where she helped with the commercialization of scientific products and served as CEO of NatureWorks, a Cargill joint venture to help build plastics from petroleum-free sources. This episode also explores why the U.S. Department of Defense is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into bioindustrial manufacturing, how Minnesota landed one of the country's largest pilot-scale biotechnology facilities in Maple Grove, and what it will take to turn breakthrough science into billion-dollar businesses. Whether you're interested in manufacturing, startups, biotechnology, venture capital, supply chains, or the future of American industry, this conversation offers a fascinating look at one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. In this episode: 00:00 Introduction 00:28 How does a cucumber become a pickle? 01:29 What BioMADE does and why it matters 03:46 Why the Department of Defense is investing in biotechnology 06:23 How do you turn corn into cement? 07:50 What is synthetic biology? 09:00 Why even Cargill had to pilot new technologies overseas 11:22 Why Minnesota is becoming a biotechnology hub 13:19 What it will take to attract more bio-manufacturing to Minnesota 16:17 The airplane tire made from dandelions 19:53 How Minnesota landed BioMADE's flagship pilot facility 21:37 Why building pilot plants is so difficult 27:14 The race to replace petroleum-based plastics 30:52 What BioMADE hopes to accomplish over the next decade 33:00 Why America can't let these factories move overseas 36:39 Jill Zullo's career — from the University of Minnesota and Cargill to BioMADE 39:39 How to turn science into money 41:39 Building the biotechnology workforce of the future 43:03 What success looks like for BioMADE

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  Episode #20

  College Is Changing Forever – Here's Where the Best Jobs Are | Dunwoody President Scott Stallman

  Jul 22, 20261h 5mS1

  Scott Stallman, President of Dunwoody College of Technology, joins the Twin Cities Business Show to discuss why higher education is facing generational challenges, what Minnesota needs to build the workforce of the future, the careers that have salaries that might surprise you, and where the economy is headed.Dunwoody partners with corporations across the state to help build a pipeline of skilled workers. While many colleges have seen their enrollment drop, Dunwoody's is up 45% since 2015. From the coming enrollment cliff in higher education to artificial intelligence to automation to skilled trades to young people today, , Stallman explains why Dunwoody is taking a dramatically different approach to preparing students for high-paying, high-demand careers.In this episode:00:00 – Introduction00:42 – What makes Dunwoody College unique?03:48 – The highest-paying careers people overlook04:08 – The $80,000 surveying job (plus a signing bonus)06:43 – How Dunwoody partners directly with industry09:58 – Why higher education is undergoing a seismic shift17:20 – Why many colleges will become smaller or disappear18:24 – The tough decisions that transformed Dunwoody19:28 – Why today's engineers need to know how to use a wrench22:40 – The real return on investment of a college degree23:46 – Do electricians really make as much as lawyers?25:30 – Why technical education costs so much to deliver28:36 – How students build real products not just classroom projects34:48 – Student inventions solving real business problems37:48 – The future of AI, automation, and Minnesota's workforce41:35 – The one thing Scott would change about American high schools

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  Episode #23

  From Apprentice Carpenter to CEO with Greiner Construction's Josh Helgesen

  Jul 15, 20261 hourS1

  Greiner Construction CEO Josh Helgesen started his career counting nuts and bolts at his family's lumberyard in small town Wisconsin. After dropping out of college and becoming an apprentice carpenter, he worked his way up at the company until becoming a CEO and part-owner.Josh joins the Twin Cities Business Show to discuss the future of commercial construction, where downtown Minneapolis is headed (he's optimistic), the biggest trends shaping the industry, how technology is changing the job site, and what it takes to lead a company with more than a century of history.The company has several exciting new projects in the works, including the remodeled 20 Washington and the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame.Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:34 Growing up around construction 05:58 Becoming CEO of Greiner 11:47 The state of Minnesota's construction industry 18:26 The future of downtown Minneapolis 24:53 Building great company culture 31:40 Labor and workforce challenges 38:18 Technology on the job site 45:21 Tariffs, costs, and the economy51:46 What's next for Greiner Construction56:18 Getting to know Josh; Green Bay Packers

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  Episode #20

  The Minnesota Company That's 3D Printing Rocket Fuel

  Jul 8, 202658 minS1

  What if the future of rocket propulsion was printed instead of molded?On this episode of the Twin Cities Business Show, we sit down with Cora Leibig, founder and CEO of Chromatic 3D Materials, a company based in Golden Valley that's pioneering advanced 3D printing technologies for industrial applications — including a breakthrough approach to 3D printing solid rocket fuel.Cora explains how Chromatic went from printing industrial rubber parts and medical components to working with the defense industry, why 3D printing could reshape American manufacturing, and how Minnesota is becoming a hub for defense and advanced manufacturing innovation. Topics covered in this conversation include: 00:00 Introduction: 3D printing rocket fuel in Golden Valley 00:31 Why 3D print solid rocket fuel? 02:40 How Chromatic entered the rocket fuel business 05:35 Pitching breakthrough technology to the Department of Defense 07:26 Minnesota's growing defense and national security ecosystem 09:21 What is additive manufacturing? 13:23 From Dow Chemical to Minnesota entrepreneurship 16:09 Founding Chromatic 3D Materials 19:29 Why 3D printing can transform manufacturing 23:27 Can 3D printing rebuild America's manufacturing base? 25:09 Why Chromatic pivoted toward defense applications 27:52 America's manufacturing capacity and defense readiness 29:04 Why U.S. manufacturing slowed compared with China 33:03 Operating a technology company in the U.S. and Germany 34:27 Chromatic's future growth plans 38:01 Solving impossible problems: the future of rocket technology 41:19 Testing rocket technology at Camp Ripley 42:17 Cora's path from MIT to entrepreneurship 45:20 Lessons learned from Dow Chemical 48:00 Building a deep-tech company in Minnesota 52:16 Investing in people and the future of Chromatic 55:06 The technical problems Cora loves solving 56:27 The science of baking sourdough bread

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