Medtronic's Origin Story Retold at TheAtlantic.com

The website of The Atlantic magazine recently revisited the tale of how ., grew from a garage in Northeast Minneapolis to its expansive world headquarters in Fridley.

Writer Monica Smith's essay, first published at Bright Ideas, includes visits she made to local landmarks including the original garage site and the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights.

Her research was part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibit called Places of Invention that's now in development. It focuses on seven areas of the United States, including Minnesota's "medical alley."

An excerpt:

One of my favorite stories is about how young Earl [Bakken, Medtronic founder] ... was inspired to become an electrical engineer after seeing Boris Karloff's 1931 "Frankenstein" at the Heights Theatre on Central Avenue near his childhood home in Minneapolis. So in the pouring rain David [Rhees, executive director of The Bakken Museum] drove me by Earl's house and then on to the now-renovated theatre to take photos. He told me about how fun it was to help Earl celebrate his 85th birthday with a special screening of the 1931 movie there. Our next stop was at Medtronic's world headquarters where Earl still maintains an office even though he is nominally retired and lives in Hawaii. I got a kick out of seeing two Frankenstein figures on his desk.