OF NOTE

Irene Folstrom

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced Irene Folstrom as Tribal Affairs director. Folstrom is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, where she most recently led the band’s government relations work.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Imagine Group, a Shakopee-based provider of visual communications for business, announced that Don McKenzie has been appointed chief executive officer; McKenzie has been chair of the board since 2021 and assumed the role of acting CEO in September of 2023. … Goff Public, a St. Paul-based PR firm, announced the promotion of Sara Swenson to principal; Swenson is vice president of public relations and has worked at Goff Public since 2009.

AGRICULTURE

Midwest Dairy, a St. Paul-based checkoff organization representing dairy farmers in a 10-state region, announced Corey Scott of Marine on Saint Croix as CEO. She succeeds Molly Pelzer, who is retiring.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

Golden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm WSB, announced the hires of James Bainbridge as chief financial officer and Jupe Hale as senior director of municipal services.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Securian Financial, St. Paul, announced that Darryl Jackson has been elected to the board of directors. Jackson is vice president of Financial Services and Fixed Operations for Hendrick Automotive Group. … Nepsis, a Savage-based financial adviser and investment management firm, announced the hire of Trenton Hazen as retirement plan specialist. Hazed previously was with Northwestern Mutual. … The Minnesota Credit Union Network, the state’s trade association for credit unions, announced that Julia Havens, Riverview Credit Union, and Dan Stoltz, Blaze Credit Union, were inducted into the 2024 Credit Union House Hall of Leaders in Washington, D.C.

GOVERNMENT

Minnesota’s Department of  Commerce announced the promotion of Sydnie Lieb to assistant commissioner of regulatory affairs for the Division of Energy Resources; Lieb previously was Commerce’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.

HEALTH CARE

Elk Ridge, an Anthem Memory Care community in Maplewood, announced Rose Bullers as community relations director. Bullers previously was sales director for NorBella Senior Living in Savage and Prior Lake, and also was sales manager for Brookdale Senior Living in Edina.

HONORS

Enterprising Women magazine announced if has appointed Melissa Harrison, CEO of Allee Creative, a St. Michael, Minn.-based marketing consulting agency, to its Enterprising Women Advisory Board.

LAW

National law firm Spencer Fane announced the additions of Ian Rubenstrunk to the Financial Services practice group, and Kathleen (Kaela) Brennan to the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group as an of counsel attorney, both in the firm’s Minneapolis office. … Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, St. Paul, announced the following staff additions: Valerie Perkins, housing staff attorney in the SE Region, and Yousra Elkhalifa as a consumer law staff attorney in St. Paul. … Robins Kaplan, Minneapolis, announced that Anthony Froio has been elected chair of the executive board and managing partner. Froio succeeds Ronald Schutz, who has chaired the executive board since 2019, and Steven Schumeister, who has served as managing partner since 1997.

MANUFACTURING

SkyWater Technology, a Bloomington-based semiconductor foundry, announced the appointments of Dennis Goetz and Joseph Humke to its board of directors. Goetz is CFO with Pohlad Cos., Minneapolis; Humke is executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Graco Inc., Minneapolis. … Reell Precision Manufacturing, a Vadnais Heights-based maker of small-package motion control technology for business-to-business shipping, announced Dane Anderson as chief financial officer.

MEDIA

Artful Living, a Minneapolis-based lifestyle quarterly, announced Amy Synnott as editor-in-chief, succeeding Kate Nelson, who will transition to editor-at-large. Synnott has held senior editorial positions at ELLE Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, and Glamour.

SPONSORSHIPS

The Minnesota Twins announced Eden Prairie-based recreational vehicle and watercraft maker Winnebago Industries as “Official Outdoor Adventure Partner,” which will include displays of Winnebago products at Target Field.

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