A&W Restaurant will reopen in Inver Grove Heights' Arbor Pointe

Inver Grove Heights’ Arbor Pointe retail area has seen more than its share of exits in recent years, but a restaurant owner thinks he can help turn it around.

The Pioneer Press reports on plans to reopen a vacant A&W Restaurant, which closed in 2011 after just two years. The restaurant was one of several retailers to quit Arbor Pointe recently — there’s a closed Rainbow Foods across the street; other storefronts used to be Walgreens and Advance Auto Parts stores.

City officials have commissioned…

Wunderbar! A big beer garden grows in NoMa, Dupont townhomes go condo

Let’s get this party started — with beer.

The permits are in for Wunder Garten, a temporary beer garden planned for a 22,000-square-foot lot at 150 M St. NE, a block southwest of the NoMa-Gallaudet University Metro station. TIAA-CREF acquired the lot in November, under the name The Flats 140 Residential LLC, in addition to the existing Flats 130 apartments at 130 M St. NE, for $295 million.

The beer garden is expected to launch in a matter of weeks, and run through the fall.

The lot will include…

St. Louis officials want stadium ruling before effort’s kickoff

Backers of a plan to build a new National Football League stadium in St. Louis are asking a court to rule that they can use tax money from the city without a public vote, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.

Their argument: The proposed stadium involves a “significant private financial commitment” and no tax increase, making another public vote unnecessary, the report says. Bills in the General Assembly would require voter or legislative approval for the use of any state money on the stadium.

The…

It’s not sci-fi: 3-D printing may help colonize space

A NASA research team is working on ways to use lunar dust and the sand on Mars as fuel for 3-D printers that will help build colonies on the moon or other planets, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The only readily available construction material on Mars is sand, and an engineering team is exploring how to use that sand as “ink” for a 3-D printer, the report says. The printer would manufacture bricks that could work for airtight and radiation-proof shelters.

And should humans ever try to colonize…

San Diego company is top bidder for $15M airport solar array

Borrego Solar Systems Inc. of San Diego came out on top in a competition among contractors to design, build and operate a solar array at Sacramento International Airport.

Some 14 solar companies responded to a request for proposals in the fall from Sacramento County to provide solar power at the airport at no cost to the county, which operates the airport.

A selection committee ranked companies by past projects, financing, terms and experience. County supervisors will pick the winning bidder at…