MINNEAPOLIS, MN  Knutson Construction promotes Micah Vainikka to Assistant Project Manager and Ryan Christenson to Project Manager.

For more than two years, Micah Vainikka has worked at Knutson as a Project Engineer.

"Micah has proven to be a valuable member of the Knutson team and I am confident in his ability to take on this increased role," said Dave Bastyr, Executive Vice President of Knutson Construction.

Vainikka has played an integral role on the newly complete Roseville, Minnesota, park projects, part of the Roseville Parks and Recreation Renewal Program. The project consists of demolishing and reconstructing six park buildings, remodeling three picnic shelters, and completing site work at all nine Roseville parks.

"Micah was instrumental in the successful completion of the Roseville Park projects," said Mark Custer, Project Manager for the park projects. "He worked closely with the Park Board and community to ensure open communication was achieved allowing all projects to be delivered on-time and on-budget." 

Custer also worked closely with Vainikka on the Hennepin County Human Services North Hub facility, located in North Minneapolis, one of Finance and Commerce's Top Projects of 2014. The team met and exceeded the owner's 19 percent minority and six percent women contracting goals with participant actuals of 29 percent minority and 11 percent women. Knutson also exceeded the minority workforce goals reaching 36 percent with a goal of 19 percent and were able to hire three percent of its workforce from the North Minneapolis community.

"Micah worked closely with the Knutson team - including Ramona Wilson, Knutson's full-time Diversity Manager - to ensure all goals were met and properly tracked," said Bastyr. "This project was a huge success and represents Knutson's commitment to diversity on all of our projects." 

Currently, Vainikka working on the recently awarded Airport T2 Gate expansion at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, in addition to assisting with LEED coordination on the Ames Water Treatment Plant project in Iowa and the startup of the Prairie Winds Middle School project in Mankato, Minnesota.

Ryan Christenson has worked at Knutson as an Assistant Project Manager for more than two years.

"We are proud of the work Ryan has done with Knutson and are confident he will be successful in his new role as project manager," said Bastyr.

Since joining Knutson, Christenson has managed the $20 million Essentia Health Parking Ramp project in Duluth, Minnesota. The project started in July 2013 and is scheduled to be complete in the upcoming months. Working in Duluth has brought many challenges that the team has overcame, including blasting into solid bedrock directly adjacent to a fully operational hospital and one of the coldest winters in history - all while keeping the public and construction crews safe, and working on a tight site in a heavily populated area.

"Ryan's ability to effectively manage construction in unpredictable weather conditions, and to build relationships with Duluth subcontractors, LHB Architects, and Essentia Health, have been a huge asset to the Knutson team," said Bastyr.

In addition to the Essentia Health Parking Ramp project in Duluth, Christenson also is overseeing closing-out the Nordstrom at Ridgedale Mall concrete package project. Looking ahead, he will be the Project Manager on the St. Paul College Health and Sciences Alliance Center, which was recently funded by the legislature in a special session earlier this summer.