Zeb,
The full name of the tree is Picea Abies 'Nimbiformus?' I think it is the slower-growing more compact cousin of the ones that grow in your area. Probably made so for landscaping. Yes, it gets pretty cold here in Chicago usually around 10-20° -- we are known as the windy city though and windchill brings us down below zero. Not as cold as our friends up in Minnesota have it though
I just kept it in the garage for a day or so to get it through the shock it may have gotten from repotting.
As for the air layering, I have two possibilities: one is off of the branch shooting left of the box of cigarettes. The other is the branch going up 75° toward the right. Maybe both, depending on what i have in that mass of needles in the center. I'll find out in spring (5 or 6 long months), when I can start cutting.
Thanks guys, i'll post an update next year.