Q: What do you consider a good stock at the moment?

A: An area I don't think is getting enough attention is water, which is going to be a greater future crisis than the periodic oil shortages we have seen. And I am talking not only about the availability of water, but also the availability of clean water. The company here I like is Pentair [PNR], which is perceived by the markets as little more than a swimming-pool-filter play. It is that, but it is also much more. I think there is an enormous amount to the story that is not yet fully appreciated. Beyond providing pumps and filters to pools and spas, they provide a whole host of pumps to municipalities around the globe. And, unlike in the U.S., there are a whole host of places around the globe where people either aren't treating water yet or where they've got old, worn-out infrastructure. And these guys [at Pentair] are in a great position to help with that. They have filtration capabilities that allow them to provide clean water so that you can do it on a big or very small scale. Think about the fact that when you go to a hotel or resort or a spa, one of the biggest uses and wastes of water is the laundry. They have developed a system they have just started marketing globally that will allow for reuse of that laundry water, for -- among other things -- watering the lawn and plants and trees.

The $1.4 billion growth fund, holding 44 companies, is packed with Minnesota names like multinational manufacturer 3M (MMM), food giant General Mills (GIS), medical-device makers Medtronic (MDT) and St. Jude Medical (STJ), discount retailer Target (TGT), industrial-filter producer Donaldson (DCI), nuts-and-bolts distributor Fastenal (FAST), paint-sprayer supplier Graco (GGG), and water-cleaning-equipment firm Pentair (PNR). "The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the highest concentrations of large, multinational industrial and financial companies in the U.S.," Frels observes. "Local surveys claim that Minnesota public companies consistently have outperformed the general stock market, year after year, with the exception of the past two years."

A 5.90% increase to 0.18 from 0.17 a share. This is the 33rd consecutive year of dividend increases. The dividend is payable in the first quarter of 2009.

13%

Upgraded by Robert W. Baird from Underperform to Neutral

Water play

operates as a diversified industrial manufacturing company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Water and Technical Products. The Water segment manufactures and markets products and systems used in the movement, treatment, storage, and enjoyment of water.

Upgraded by CIBC from Sector Perform to Sector Outperform

Takeover play, thus a floor to the stock