Will there be enough workers for the State Fair?
With a shortage of workers across many industries, some fair vendors are behind pace on hiring for the fair, which is just under a month away.
Economy
Minnesota’s pandemic-driven bike boom is showing no signs of slowing down
A combination of high consumer demand and a crunch on suppliers has made bikes and their parts difficult to come by.
Still rolling in it: Latest report show Minnesota tax revenues continuing to surpass projections
In just the last three months of the 2020-21 two-year state budget — April, May and June — collections were 28.7 percent, or $2.12 billion, more than was expected in February.
Prices are higher for all kinds of goods in Minnesota lately. Is it a pandemic blip or permanent?
For consumers in the Twin Cities, some of the biggest year-over-year increases in the Consumer Price Index are in the price of fuel for vehicles, of used cars and trucks, and of gas for heating and cooking at home.
Too much or not enough: Latino workers in Minnesota describe one pandemic, but two very different economies
More than any other group, Latinos in Minnesota remained in the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. But many found themselves on divergent paths.
During the pandemic, rents went down in New York and San Francisco. Why not the Twin Cities?
Rents have been on a slow, steady rise in Minneapolis and St. Paul for years.
Is $300 extra per week in unemployment benefits actually stopping anyone in Minnesota from taking a job?
You know we’re going to say: It’s complicated.
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.
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.
