Why home prices in the Twin Cities keep going up
The rise in housing prices is nothing new, though prices weren’t rising quite this steeply until the pandemic hit.
Economy
More Minnesotans are getting back into the workforce. But the state’s labor force participation rate may never be what it once was.
The shortfall is being felt by employers, who are still struggling to hire staff, but also by consumers.
Make that $9.25 billion: Minnesota budget forecast increases an additional $1.5 billion
The increase in the surplus for the current two-year budget grew from $7.75 billion to $9.25 billi0n.
Wisconsin bill would grant utilities a monopoly on building transmission projects
The legislation makes Wisconsin the latest state to push back against a 2011 federal order promoting competition.
Four years after a contentious fight over short-term rentals, how have the regulations played out in Minneapolis and St. Paul?
Although there were initially concerns about enforcement and restriction of an already strained housing supply, neither city has seen a major uptick in complaints.
Ice cream, HVAC and pickleball: what Minnesota towns are doing with their old Shopko spaces
Three years after Shopko declared bankruptcy and shuttered all its stores, many of the buildings have been put to new use.
When dangerous strains of salmonella hit, the turkey industry responded forcefully. The chicken industry? Not so much.
Consolidation in the poultry industry may be fueling widespread salmonella outbreaks. Turkey companies worked with researchers to eradicate one. So why can’t the chicken industry do the same?
Online retail sales are way up. So are local sales tax collections in Minnesota.
A report from the Center for Rural Policy and Development showed some counties’ local sales tax collections up 20 to 30 percent since 2015.
Why Land O’Lakes’ CEO pushed so hard for rural broadband in the infrastructure bill
CEO Beth Ford led a three-year advocacy drive to push for high-speed internet service for rural and underserved communities.
The worker shortage is affecting every corner of the state. But it’s hitting Greater Minnesota especially hard.
While the tight labor market isn’t new, it has gotten worse since the onset of the pandemic. Minnesota’s labor force participation rate has dropped to a point it hasn’t seen since the late ’70s, when fewer women were in the workforce.
Consumers are still seeing higher prices for goods. Is it more than just a lingering effect of the pandemic?
In recent months, the cost of groceries, clothing, housing, gas and cars, among other goods, has been increasing, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
EPA nixes Minnesota Legislature’s bid to relax feedlot regulations
The federal agency said the 2021 law would be an “improper modification” to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s authority around clean water rules.
Target is from Minnesota — but is Minnesota the most Target-y state?
Are we the true center of the bullseye?
Why California’s new pork rules could mean big changes for Minnesota hog farmers
Minnesota is the second-largest hog producing state in the nation, and a lot of that meat is sold in California, where voters recently changed the rules on what kind of pork can be sold in the state.
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.
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.
