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Republican National Convention, The Twin Cities, Sept. 1-4

Convention Insider: Ustream.TV
Co-founder Brad Hunstable describes Ustream as "similar to YouTube, except we're live." The year-old website runs on a completely open platform, so anyone can join and let the world see what they're up to. The 22-person business has raised $14 million in venture capital and currently has 10 million unique visitors a month checking out the eclectic programming that's recently included graduations, weddings, funerals, music lessons, 50 Cent, the Dalai Lama, and all of the major presidential hopefuls. The RNC hired Ustream to handle all of the live-streaming at the convention, which was a thrill for Hunstable. "I'm a Texan who went to West Point, so it's not hard to figure out my politics," he says. "But we've had great success with people on both sides of the aisle."  The company is also live-streaming for the progressive website Daily Kos at the Democratic convention in Denver.

Local Hero: FLSConnect
This $25 million communications company works with Republican candidates and conservative advocacy groups. The business did extensive work on the 2004 Bush re-election campaign. CEO Jeff Larson is currently moonlighting as CEO of the convention host committee. In that capacity, he oversees a $58 million budget, 250 employees, and more than 8,000 volunteers. Larson says he's excited to see old friends (and meet new ones who need tickets for the convention), but he would have been equally happy, he says, to host the Democratic convention.

Place to Meet the Locals: Q Kindness Café
"Minnesota Nice" is a phrase locals use to describe Gopher State charm. Nowhere is that expression more appropriate than the Q Kindness Café, which first opened in 1961. Located two blocks from the convention center, they will be open for dinner during the event and serving "hot dishes" like Tater Tot surprise and tuna casserole. Husband and wife co-owners Lisa Cotter Metwaly and Jimmy Metwaly also started a pay-it-forward "kindness campaign" and hope to have seven businesses and 7,000 people smiling on their brother by September. The Metwalys walk the walk. Instead of wallowing after a $250 February burglary (it included $50 in waitress' tips), the couple bought $100 worth of hand warmers and handed them out to customers waiting in the cold at the bus stop.

Awesome Souvenir Shop: Urban Junket
The two former marketing executives who left Best Buy to start a fancy laptop handbag company in 2005 want your vote. Tracy Arnold and Tracy Dyer will be holding a sample sale during the convention and every purchase includes a free luggage tag with a red elephant or a blue donkey to match your party affiliation. When starting out, the women got financial tips and contacts from WomenVenture, a 30-year-old St. Paul non-profit that's helped some 90,000 clients. Last year, Urban Junket had sales of $550,000 through boutique stores and online retailers. Dyer says both entrepreneurs, "lean a little bit left, like most of the state."

Friendly Watering Hole: Nye's Polonaise Room
If the approval ratings of the GOP get you down, put some Oompah-pah into your step at this legendary bar, which first opened its doors in 1949. On Friday and Saturday nights, tuba aficionados can dance to local Polka bands while eating traditional dishes like spare ribs and sauerkraut. After dinner, guests can take their Zywiec beer to the side room to sing along to "Sweet" Lou Snider's piano ditties. The septuagenarian has been tickling the ivories here every day for the past 41 years. Alternatively, country club Republicans should check out the Grill at the St. Paul Hotel. Located steps from the Xcel Energy Center, it acquired four bottles of Macallan 55 for the convention, and boasts that it will be the only place whiskey drinkers will find it in Minnesota. Make sure a lobbyist is paying; each one-ounce shot costs $525.

Local Outfitter: Zubaz
The infamous zebra-striped pants of the late 1980s have returned just in time for 2,000 red, white, and blue pairs to be given away in the official convention gift bag. The creators of Zubaz, Dan Stock and Bob Truax, sold the fast-growing-but-cash-poor business in 1995. When it eventually failed, Stock and Truax decided to buy back the rights to the brand, which they relaunched last year. They've spent about $100,000 so far. The company is being run out of Press Gym, a 16,000 square-foot work facility owned by Stock that includes a mixed-martial arts studio and a tattoo shop. Muscleheads always dug Zubaz, and now, for $29.99, they have six colors to choose from. More hues and prints including snakeskin will be available soon. "Zubaz are tried-and-true and we have enough customers to last 100 years," Stock says, "it's been a blast coming back."

Headquarters for the Radical Extreme: Koscielski's Guns & Ammo
The last gun shop left in Minneapolis opened in 1995; it's the birthplace of the "Creditcard Shotgun" -- a weapon small enough to carry in your wallet. Owner Mark Koscielski says it took more than two years and seven prototypes to get the design right, and government approval on the weapon is still pending. But assuming the ATF gives the product its blessing, Koscielski plans to sell the four-barrel guns for between $150 and $195. The guns, which take special .25 ACP ammo only available to the licensed gun owners at the store, probably won't be available for the convention. But Koscielski still hopes that the convention will have an impact on his bottom line. "A lot of people have contacted me about buying mace," he says.

Updated version: The original version of this story was published just before Jack Weil, the CEO of Rockmount Ranch Wear, passed away.

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