Minnesotans who got extra unemployment payments could see big tax bills this year
Minnesota did not withhold state or federal taxes from the $600 and $300 bonus unemployment payments, which are taxed as regular income.
Economy
Officials say Minnesota’s ‘angel’ tax credit program is crucial for the state’s post-pandemic recovery. It’s also long failed to meet equity goals
Though the program — which allows those who invest in early-stage Minnesota businesses to claim a 25 percent tax credit — has been popular, it has come nowhere near its goals for boosting startups by nontraditional owners.
Why federal grants may set rural broadband in some areas of Minnesota back for years
Companies that could quickly build out fiber optic internet have been squeezed out of areas covered by a federal grant to a company with limited resources and experience, something state funders said was necessary to avoid duplicate use of taxpayer money.
After the Capitol riot, Minnesota corporations are stopping their political giving. Don’t expect that to last
Some observers see the changes as “too little, too late.” And indeed, what good is it to halt political donations when there aren’t any major elections happening?
Minnesota Power pledges no carbon by 2050, zero coal by 2035
At the same time, the Duluth-based utility is pushing forward with plans to build a new natural gas plant, which would have to be shut down or converted by 2050 to achieve the carbon-free goal.
Facing competition from big boxes, Amazon and dollar stores, Minnesota’s small town grocers adapt
In a recent survey, roughly half of Minnesota’s small-town grocers feared they would go out of business in the next five years.
What Trump’s new executive order actually means for mining in Minnesota
In the short term, not much.
Minnesota unemployment claims have dropped faster in August than in any period since the pandemic began
In two recent weeks of data, continued unemployment claims dropped by 12 percent.
Why Trump’s promised $400 extra unemployment benefit won’t reach Minnesotans any time soon
Minnesota officials are still waiting for guidance on how to implement the new program — if it’s even legal.
The federal program that has been paying thousands of unemployed Minnesotans $600 per week is about to expire. Congress has no plan to replace it yet
Republicans have yet to come to an agreement inside their own party about what a new coronavirus-relief package should contain. And while it’s likely to contain an extension of the extra unemployment payment, the amount of the payment is expected to be much lower.
The number of concentrated-poverty neighborhoods in the Twin Cities has doubled since 1980
Once poverty is concentrated in a neighborhood, the neighborhood usually stays poor.
Greater Minnesota solar projects highlight utility plans for speeding up the green economy
“It was nice to see that they gave us a lot to work with,” said Joseph Sullivan, the utilities commissioner who first floated the idea for sped-up projects in May. “They really stepped up.”
Minnesota’s construction industry has been hit hard by COVID-19, and recovery may be slow
Construction work in Minnesota is always seasonal, with workers applying for unemployment during the winter months. But this spring, those unemployment applications only increased.
Caribou Coffee workers join in national campaign for better COVID-19 protections
Workers want hazard pay and better safety measures to be put in place.
How COVID-19 has affected the price of rent in the Twin Cities
COVID-19 has affected almost every aspect of life in Minnesota. The cost of rent, which had been going up for a long time, is no exception.
Can energy companies help Minnesota’s economy recover from the COVID pandemic?
MPUC Commissioner Joseph Sullivan challenged the state’s major energy companies to speed up the completion of projects that could put people to work.
Economic impacts of pork shutdowns will reach well beyond Minnesota farmers
A team from the University of Minnesota found Minnesota pork farms generated an average of $1.5 million in economic activity apiece and $33,100 in state and local taxes.
Minnesota isn’t going to run out of meat
Supply of specific meats and cuts may fluctuate, but a meat shortage is unlikely in the U.S.
Authentic coverage: Nine months in, Sahan Journal reports with nuance on Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees
During the pandemic, a report on Somali workers at an Amazon warehouse in Eagan was aided by Mukhtar Ibrahim’s ability to interview them in their native language.
‘We’re just in the second inning’: Kashkari, Osterholm offer bleak assessment of what is yet to be wrought by COVID-19
One day after Minnesota moved to further ease restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19, two Minnesota thought leaders — Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Michael Osterholm, director of the U of M’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy — had gloomy news for what is yet to come from the pandemic.
