04/29/2010 - Dakota County Tribune Business Weekly

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ERIN JOHNSON TAD JOHNSON KARA HILDRETH

Eagan businesses to tap into high speeds 2A Flower shop to bloom in new location 12A The Habitat goes into the wild 52A

dakotacountytribune.biz dakotacountytribune.biz

DATE ##, APRIL 29, 2009 2010

VOLUME 31, 30, NUMBER NUMBER 9 # VOLUME

Dakota County Tribune Since 1884

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From sketch comedy to national defense

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INSIDE BIZ FORUM

Burnsville company is helping to build unmanned aerial vehicles for the military

More state revenue should be raised from ending overseas tax havens and modernizing tax systems. 4A

by A.M. Vehling

“I was able to see the bigger picture than Flying around war zones if I had grown up in a worldwide are unmanned, reneighborhood of a few city mote-controlled airplanes armed blocks.â€? with cameras and Hellfire misBaldwin said he did encounsiles. ter some racism, but he used These 27-foot Predator his intelligence to disarm them. drones perform reconnaissance “I was able to have people and attack missions in such places look at me as Gilbert who hapas Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. pened to be Afro-American, inThey are responsible for the deaths stead of an Afro-American who of several top members of Al-Qaehappened to be Gilbert,â€? he said. da; and a part of them is made in Baldwin was as ambitious then as he is Burnsville. now. He was the first black capBecause of the esoteric natain of the football and track ture of the threats America facteams in high school in the es, these sort of smaller, robotic 1960s. machines are the future of deOne of the lessons fense, said Gil Baldwin, owner he took away from his of the Columbia Precision Mayouth, Baldwin said, is chine Corporation. The 21-perthat “it is not about the son custom manufacturer makes color of your skin, but the parts for a number of defense, character of your soul.â€? space and civilian implementaBaldwin’s father tions. may not have been able to “(The United States) used live out all his dreams, but to focus on tanks, subs ‌ big, Baldwin said his father’s heavy stuff,â€? Baldwin said. “Gosacrifice gave his son the ing forward are machines that ability to pursue his own focus on intelligence, surveildreams. After scoring well Photo by A.M. Vehling on a number of tests, Baldlance and reconnaissance.â€? Baldwin said a focus on the Gil Baldwin is owner of the Columbia Precision Machine Corporation, a 21-per- win found himself collegefuture and openness toward son custom manufacturer that makes parts for a number of defense, space and bound. adaptability are key in his busi- civilian implementations. Vaudeville and ness. “Success,â€? Baldwin said, loading docks “isn’t rocket science. It’s hard “We help to save civilian lives and It was 1967. Baldwin was work. You’ve got to be willing the lives of the people who at Macalester College in St. – Owner, Columbia Precision to research, to network and avail Paul studying sociology and Machine Corporation fight for us.â€? yourself of education.â€? English. He started mid-year These principles helped guide (in January instead of SepBaldwin to not only become the tember), which he said threw automobile manufacturing. first person in his family to athim off because all of the orientation was At the time, Baldwin said, Milwaukee’s auto tend college, but to carve for himself the life he geared toward the fall. parts factories paid well enough to bolster a has always wanted: He is his own boss, manuHe admits he could have done more to fit facturing tangible products and experiencing strong minority middle class. On the heels of in, but he was young and the spirit of new posgrowth despite a precarious economic situation. this, Baldwin’s parents decided they did not sibilities filled the air. He wanted to write comwant to raise their children in the inner city. edy for television. He saw it as an opportunity ‘The character of your soul’ “Dad borrowed money from an employer, he had to pursue. which allowed him to buy a house out in the Baldwin was born in the Everglades in the Baldwin compiled 10 pages of one-liners Jim Crow South of the late 1940s. A year into country,â€? Baldwin said. and sent them in to George Schlatter, a proHe credits having space to roam as incubathis existence, Baldwin’s parents moved to MilSee Baldwin, Page 9A waukee so his father could pursue a position in ing his desire for independence. DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Gil Baldwin

DANE SMITH FORUM

Longtime Lakeville grocer Jerry Enggren served the community to improve it in so many ways. LARRY 4A WERNER BUSINESS 101

CAM STOLTZ

Technical college’s investment in sports teams is paying dividends to students and the community. 6A

BEST PRACTICES

Conducting a successful job search depends on creating a routine to dedicate one’s resources toward the ultimate goal. FAITH 6A FITZGERALD

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