Biz Buzz

Menards appears to be on track for a mid-July opening.

Baxter building officials recently completed another walk-through of the completed building. Despite rumors of possible floor or wall problems in the Menards' building construction, Baxter building officials reported finding no problems, no cracks, no fissures, no failures. Inside Menards has shelving up and is ready to receive merchandise. The store recently announced it is now hiring.

Baxter city officials have been working with Menards and Best Buy regarding lighting. Menards was required to put shields on their lights to meet the city's ordinance in regard to light pollution and keep light from disturbing nearby residential areas.

Culver's restaurant is coming to the lakes area. The restaurant, which originated in Sauk City, Wis., with the Culver family, is known for frozen custard and "butterburgers."

Right now it looks like the groundbreaking for the new eatery is set in September. Culver's will open on the restaurant site next to the Applebee's that is under construction. Both restaurants are in front of Menards.

Construction on the Hawthorne Suites also is continuing rapidly on the former Twin Birch Motel site in Baxter along Highway 210.

Nature Vision Inc. will close on its purchase of the former Cimarron Printing plant on Fourth Street in Brainerd on Monday. Nature Vision is relocating from its current leased space on Dogwood Drive in Baxter. The move is expected to begin this week and be completed by the first week of July.

Nature Vision designs and manufactures underwater video viewing systems, such as Aqua-Vu, Game-Vu and Well-Vu. The move also will allow the company to consolidate its offices, warehouse space and storage trailers into one location in 25,000 square feet. It also will allow room to grow with another six people expected to join the company in the next couple months. Growth plans are to double in sales during the next three years to reach $20 million in revenue.

Nature Vision will use about two-thirds of the building. The 12,000 square foot space formerly occupied by Cimarron Mailing will be sublet.

Little Falls Courtyard, Mike Roach, applied for a building permit for apartments with a $2.8 million valuation on 1500 Hinckley Road S. near the Baxter Industrial Park.

Papa Murphy's restaurant, take and bake pizza, applied for a building permit at 1640 Fairview Road N. in Baxter with a valuation of $105,170.

Paul Bunyan Amusement Center added a ride this year called the Space Shuttle. The ride is an 18-passenger ship that rocks back and forth. Steve McFarland said the ride is for adults and children and grandparents. The ride is included in the center's general admission.

"It's fun but not scary and it doesn't go round and round or upside down," McFarland said.

Cuyuna Regional Medical Center started an outpatient treatment for heartburn with what is called a "minimally invasive" outpatient procedure to treat patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, the cause of heartburn and a number of other serious medical problems. The procedure is performed in 45 minutes and requires no hospital stay. Sedation is used and not general anesthesia. Side effects are reported to be minor and recovery is rapid. More than 18 million adults in the U.S. are affected by the disease.

Integra Telecom, with offices in Baxter, reached an agreement to acquire customers and assets of Advanced Telcom Group Inc. Integra provides local, long distance and Internet services for small and midsize businesses. Advanced Telcom, a telephone and Internet service company for small and midsize businesses, is based in Santa Rosa, Calif. The agreement includes operations serving customers in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Santa Rosa, Calif.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.