CAREER

■ Walz-Lund Enterprises
receives DPS certification

Walz-Lund Enterprises was recently certified by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to design and produce its own permit-to-carry training materials.

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Laughs were as common as knitting needles at Utrinkets in downtown Brainerd.

“We laugh a lot,” said Ann Lanz.

Lanz and Nancy Carlson, both of Nisswa, were turning hand-painted yarn into washable socks, sharing stories and, perhaps most importantly, laughing as they worked on their projects. The women were gathered inside Utrinkets in downtown Brainerd during an open knit and crochet time Wednesday at the store.

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Pet North received a recommendation from the Baxter Planning and Zoning Commission for a conditional permit approval.

Recommended conditions include additional ventilation, that cages be cleaned daily and the shop comply with Minnesota animal statutes regarding disposal of waste. The matter will now go to the Baxter City Council Tuesday.

Other issues before Baxter’s planning commission also had business ramifications. The commission voted to recommend a zoning ordinance amendment to allow tobacco specialty stores as a conditional use in the commercial 2 district.

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Minnesota exports of agricultural, mining and manufactured products set a record for the second consecutive year in 2012, climbing 1.2 percent to $20.6 billion, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

According to DEED’s 2012 Export Report, state exports increased last year by $246 million to break the previous record of $20.3 billion set in 2011. Among all states, Minnesota ranked 20th in export sales in 2012, with manufacturing exports supporting nearly 115,000 Minnesota jobs.

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The Brainerd Lakes Chamber is accepting nominations for the 2013 Business Excellence Award.

This program, presented by DE Media, is designed to recognize area businesses for their entrepreneurial spirit and business accomplishments.

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About 10 years ago, JOBZ, the Job Opportunity Building Zones, were all the talk in economic development circles.

Cass County offered to participate in this statewide program by signing the regional application.

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CAREER

■ Atomic Learning gains award

LITTLE FALLS — The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) presented the 2013 CODiE Awards in education technology on May 6, during SIIA’s annual Ed Tech Industry Summit.

Atomic Learning’s Tech Skills Training Plus solution was named best postsecondary learning solution in its entry category, as well as being awarded two of the top overall awards, best postsecondary solution and best education solution.

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Jimmy’s Pizza isn’t moving to Crosby after all.

The parties involved say the deal fell apart.

Brad Klein, who purchased the franchise from Charlie Johnson, franchise owner of Jimmy’s Pizza, said the deal to move the pizza restaurant to Crosby is not going forward and he is closing his franchise.

“We chose to back out of it,” Klein said, adding he didn’t want to go into all the details.

Klein bought the restaurant in January of 2012. He said business was good for the first six months but then they struggled with many pizza competitors in the area.

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Crow Wing County residents may now apply for permits online, the county’s Land Services Department reported.

The new permitting software was designed by RtVision out of Little Falls and provides an opportunity to apply for permits without having to come to the county offices in Brainerd.

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