Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced this week that 2012 saw the second highest number of new business filings in the state’s history. Ritchie says that a total of 60,827 new businesses were filed in 2012 in Minnesota. That’s an 18% increase over the previous year. Ritchie says that the near-record number reflects the state’s great business climate, and expects that new filings will remain strong this year as well as Minnesota’s economy continues to improve in 2013.