Minneapolis-St. Paul once again tops on MarketWatch list

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/12/01/daily16.html

The Twin Cities area is once again at the top of MarketWatch’s list of best metro areas for business.

A number of other areas shifted in their standings, which are based on a variety of sources. But even though Minneapolis-St. Paul slid a bit in its overall scoring, it still outpaced the No. 2 metro area — Boston — by more than 20 points.

The Twin Cities also topped last year’s list, which was MarketWatch’s first annual survey of where companies tend to gravitate and create the most jobs.

The financial information Web site credited the Twin Cities for having a “baker’s dozen of public and private firms with sales of more than $10 billion, up from 12 a year ago.” The area also was tops as a place friendly to small business.

Despite the business-friendly environment, executives said the weather can still make it tough to recruit talent.

“Why is it hard to get people here? Because they expect snow to be blowing in July,” Douglas Baker, chairman and chief executive at Ecolab Inc., told MarketWatch.

After Minneapolis-St. Paul and Boston, the top metro areas were Denver, Washington, Richmond, Va., Charlotte, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn., Dallas, and San Francisco.

:toast:
:bounce:

what about all those times the Republicans have told us the taxes here make for a hostile business climate?

We must remember this survey and rub their noses in it whenever they bring up that tired old line.

That will turn MN into SD. For the large companies around here having culture (parks, orchestras, plays) is very important to the workers and executives of the companies. That and a hard working, educated population.