CEBC IN THE NEWS

Inside Track

Published Monday, August 23, 2004 in the Star Tribune.

By Susan Feyder, Neal St. Anthony, Liz Fedor and Thomas Lee

MORE HEALTHIER THAN THOU: Minneapolis-based French Meadow Bakery, which has built an $8-million-a-year business with organic baked goods, is launching a new product aimed at the growing interest in slimming down.

Fat Flush Tortillas, developed by French Meadow founder Lynn Gordon and bestselling weight loss author Ann Louise Gittleman, recently went on sale at French Meadow's Uptown cafe. In a few weeks they'll be available in the refrigerated foods sections of area co-ops and supermarkets such as Byerly's, Lunds, Kowalski's and Whole Foods, according to Steve Shapiro, a partner at French Meadow. Like the rest of the bakery's products, they'll eventually be sold nationwide.

The package photo features an already-trim woman measuring her waist. The print touts the tortillas' health benefits, and for extra marketing punch it adds that the recipe is based on a verse from Ezekiel 4:9: "Take also unto thee Wheat and Barley and Beans and Lentils and Millet and Spelt ... and make bread of it."

Asked if the Old Testament says anything about putting cheese and salsa on the tortillas, Shapiro deadpanned, "I think that's in Jeremiah."

CLASS TIME: Federal prosecutor Hank Shea, who has tried or overseen many high-profile white-collar cases over the past 15 years, plans to volunteer half of his time this academic year as an executive fellow at the Center for Ethical Business Cultures, the sponsoring University of St. Thomas will announce today.

"Part of the mission of this office is to enhance corporate ethics and fight corporate fraud," said U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger. "This shared arrangement will provide an opportunity for Hank to transfer to the boardroom what he has learned in the courtroom."

Shea said the arrangement stemmed partly from forums and speaking opportunities to business groups, service clubs and schools in which he has been involved.

Shea also will work with the St. Paul-based Caux Round Table, a global federation of businesses focused on corporate ethics and ethics education.

"We've seen the devastating effects of white-collar crime on employees, families, customers, investors and businesses," Shea said. "Prosecution is the end of the road. This will give us an opportunity to focus on education for business people, business school and law school students -- the future CFOs and auditors and corporate lawyers -- and even high school students."

Shea, 48, will be paid only 50 percent of his Justice Department pay during the eight-month period. The former U.S. Army officer, who also has been in private practice, said it's been a personal desire of his to focus on education and that he and his wife, a corporate executive, have sufficient family resources to keep their four kids in shoes and tuition.

CHEAP HOMETOWN FARES: Terry Trippler, the Minneapolis fare watcher who often needles airlines about their customer service, is launching a new service for price-conscious travelers.

On Tuesday, Trippler will open a new business at http://www.hubcitymsp.com.

He will play the role of matchmaker in helping consumers find the best fares on Sun Country Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

Trippler's free site answers one basic question: "What is the lowest fare between two points, and what do I have to do to get it?"

He is launching the site with fares on Mendota Heights-based Sun Country and Eagan-based Northwest. "It's a hometown site for hometown people using the hometown airlines," Trippler said.

"It is the wave of the future," he said, adding that he will be the middleman operating a referral site. Sun Country will pay Trippler a fee every time somebody books a ticket after using his site. He has not inked a contract with Northwest, but the upbeat Trippler said, "I am confident we will cut a deal with Northwest."

BRING A COW, GET A DRINK: You can get milk from a cow. But how about a frozen blended coffee drink?

To promote its new MooLatte, Dairy Queen on Tuesday will give a free MooLatte to anyone who shows up with a cow.

That's right, folks, we're talking about the authentic, living, four-legged bovine variety. And don't even think of cheating.

"Our operators are savvy enough to tell the difference" between a real and fake cow, said Dean Peters, a Dairy Queen spokesman. "That means no wooden cows, stuffed animals, or costumes."

The cows won't be allowed inside the restaurant (after all, how would they react to a burger?), just on the driveway.

That didn't stop a health official in Iowa from quizzing company officials about the possibility of cow droppings.

"We told him it wouldn't be any different from consumers bringing their dogs," Peters said. "He replied: 'Yes, but a cow is much larger than a dog.' So we said, 'Fine, we'll clean up any cow poop.'"

And you thought your job stank.

© Copyright 2004 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Center for Ethical Business Cultures

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Phone: 651 962 4120 or 800 328 6819 Ext. 2-4120 ▪ Facsimile: 651 962 4042

Email: mail@cebcglobal.org

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Business Partnering with the University of St. Thomas - Minnesota