Cargill Files Permit App for Pres. Island Storage

Cargill Corn Milling North America, which operates a wet mill on Presidents Island in Memphis, is planning work on a “flexi-container storage building” there, according to a $1.4 million building permit application filed with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement.

Chris Woods Construction Co. Inc. is the general contractor for the project at 2615 Channel Ave., according to the application.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s listing for 2615 Channel includes a 7,104-square-foot Class C warehouse built in 1971.

The parcel is about 15 acres at the southwest corner of Channel Avenue and Pier Street on the north side of McKellar Lake.

The assessor’s 2011 appraisal was $825,900.

Cargill Corn Milling is based in Minneapolis and has seven wet mills, which steep corn in water and separate it into starch, protein, germ and fiber. The company also operates two dry mills that grind corn into flour.

The company entered the Memphis market more than 35 years ago.

The Memphis mill produces corn sweeteners, corn starch, corn oil and gluten.

The Memphis City Council in December approved plans to apply for a $3 million state Fast Track Infrastructure Program grant as part of a rail expansion project for Cargill.

The city had already committed $3 million in local funding – agreeing to the terms when Cargill executives threatened to move the facility and its 370 jobs from the city if the company didn’t get the incentives.

The total cost of the rail expansion is $13.1 million, and Cargill is putting up $4.9 million.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

American Queen Runs Test Cruises

The refurbished American Queen made its first test cruise Thursday, March 29, on the lower Mississippi River at New Orleans.

Called builder’s trials, the process includes a series of test runs for new and renovated boats.

Thursday’s trial was the first time in five years the American Queen has used its steam engine to get up to 17 revolutions per minute.

The boat was bought by the Great American Steamboat Co. and will call Beale Street Landing in Memphis its home port.

Great American Steamboat Co. is a Memphis-based company.

The American Queen, the largest steamboat in the world, begins service on the Mississippi River again with an April 27 cruise and christening on the Memphis riverfront.

The boat is scheduled to depart New Orleans for Memphis on April 19.

– Bill Dries

HSA Files $6M Loan for Airport Industrial Lots

Memphis Air Trans LP, an affiliate of Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate, has filed a $6 million loan through The PrivateBank and Trust Co. for various lots in Airport Industrial Park Section L.

The loan will mature in September 2013.

HSA principals John Shaffer, Robert Smietana and Melissa Pielet signed the trust deed for Memphis Air Trans.

The entity bought the 336,000-square-foot, one-story warehouse at 4219 Air Trans Road for $8.4 million in November 2008 from TC Air-T Industrial LLC.

Built in 1977, the warehouse sits on 12.75 acres on the west side of Air Trans Road southwest of Pidgeon Roost Road and just south of the East Raines Road and Lamar Avenue intersection. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2011 appraisal was $6.8 million.

– Sarah Baker

MSO Assoc. Conductor Auditions Dates Set

A field of 106 applications from 21 countries has been whittled down to five finalists for the job of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s next associate conductor.

Auditions by those five will be April 15-16.

The MSO’s current associate conductor, Stilian Kirov, has been appointed assistant conductor for the Seattle Symphony, a job he starts in September.

The two-day audition process will involve staff, community and board interviews.

The applicants must also submit sample programs for MSO events.

The public can view the candidates’ performances April 16 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

– Andy Meek

Child Advocacy Center Holds Annual Memorial

Memphis Child Advocacy Center will host a ceremony at the plaza in front of Memphis City Hall on Thursday, April 5, at noon, in memory of local children who died in the past year as a result of child abuse.

Every April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the center honors children who died at the hands of their caregivers.

This year’s ceremony will memorialize three Shelby County children: Lennon Lancaster, 5 months old; Adrien Hickerson, 21 months old; and Anaya Jones, 6 months old.

Speakers will include Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.; Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell; Jennifer Nichols, chief prosecutor with the Special Victims Unit; Memphis Child Advocacy Center Executive Director Nancy Williams; and MCAC board member Chris Williams. Ephie Johnson, president and CEO of Neighborhood Christian Centers Inc., will sing at the ceremony.

The Memorial Flag Raising is presented in partnership with the city of Memphis and Shelby County government. The Memphis Police Department Color Guard, Holy Rosary Hand Bell Choir and Wings of Grace will also participate in the brief ceremony.

– Aisling Maki

Live at Garden Series Lineup Announced

Seal, Duran Duran and Lynyrd Skynyrd are among the artists performing in the 2012 Live at the Garden concert series at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

The annual series, now in its 12th year, begins with Chicago on June 16, followed by Seal on July 27. Duran Duran performs Aug. 17, and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Aug. 31. Bonnie Raitt ends the series Oct. 5.

Season lawn passes for all five shows go on sale Monday, April 2; individual show tickets go on sale April 23.

Held at a spot in the Garden with a 6,500-seat capacity, the series is the largest annual fundraiser for the Memphis Botanic Garden.

– Bill Dries

U of M's Herff College to Honor Alumni

The University of Memphis’ Herff College of Engineering will host its 2012 annual awards dinner Tuesday, April 3, at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis, 3700 Central Ave.

A reception and silent auction will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the dinner at 7 p.m.

Jim Dean, president of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island in Tampa, Fla., and Mark Askew, founder and president of Askew Hargraves Harcourt & Associates, will be honored as outstanding alumni.

Reservations can be made at www.memphis.edu/alumni/rsvp/engineeringawards.php or by calling Susan Armacost at 678-1537.

– Taylor Shoptaw

Unemployment Rates Fall in 29 US States

Unemployment rates fell last month in most U.S. states, including in some hit hardest during the recession.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates declined in 29 states and rose in 8. Rates were unchanged in 13 states and Washington, D.C. The improvement was broader last month: rates fell in 45 states in January.

Still, job growth was more widespread than in previous months. Employers added jobs in 42 states, the most in almost a year. Ohio, Texas and New York reported the biggest job gains.

Nationwide, the economy added 227,000 net jobs in February and has averaged 245,000 jobs per month since December. That’s helped lower the unemployment to 8.3 percent, the lowest level in three years.

– The Associated Press