The Star Tribune’s Neal St. Anthony tells us, “Employment of people of color in the seven-county metropolitan area rose 50% to 430,520 between 2010 and 2018, according to the U.S. Census and Minnesota data, by labor-market analyst Tim O’Neill of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Meanwhile, total market employment grew 17% over those years to 1.98 million people. White employment grew 10.3%. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is a low 3.3%.”
Greg Stanley of the Star Tribune says: “Lawmakers may give cities throughout Minnesota the authority to ban some widely used pesticides as native bumblebee and pollinator populations continue to collapse. A measure introduced last week by state Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis, would essentially give cities their first chance in more than 30 years to have some form of local control over what pesticides can be used within their boundaries.”
MPR’s Marianne Combs writes: “TU Dance in St. Paul has reached a legal settlement with a former company member. The dancer had alleged that the company’s co-founder, Uri Sands, sexually assaulted her. And she said the dance company’s board failed to adequately address previous allegations of sexual misconduct. The plaintiff, who spoke to MPR News under condition of anonymity, said Sands used his position to pressure women for sex. … The plaintiff is one of four women who spoke with MPR News about their experiences with Sands. Their stories were strikingly similar.”
For the Pioneer Press, Bob Shaw writes: “Last summer, [Sheletta] Brundidge already had a résumé full of entertainment and media experience. … She already had started her first podcast, ‘Two Haute Mommas,’ featuring her and 20-year friend Lindy Vincent. But as a media insider, she was bothered by a lack of black employees in local radio and TV newscasts. … Last summer, she decided to do something about it. She envisioned a set of podcasts with an all-black cast. She favored podcasts because they give producers complete control, with no editors, bosses or marketing departments to stand in the way.”
Says an AP story: “Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar says her Democratic presidential campaign has raised $12 million over the past week, citing greater voter interest after her performance in New Hampshire. The Minnesota senator told ABC’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday that she is benefiting from a surge of people who have discovered her campaign after the New Hampshire debate on Feb. 7 and a better-than-expected third-place finish in the state’s primary.”
For Politico, Rishika Dugyala says, “After having a magnifying glass thrust on her prosecutorial record and her campaign’s viability, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday that building a diverse coalition is ‘going to be on me.’ … She received the endorsement from the Las Vegas Sun. A Nevada poll had Klobuchar with double-digit support, tied at fifth with former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 10 percent.”
In the Star Tribune, Tim Harlow says, “Earlier this month, Hennepin County traffic engineers put a couple of hidden cameras on France Avenue in Edina to record driver conduct. Residents who live on the bustling thoroughfare hope footage will show the problems they have been bringing to the attention of county and city leaders for years. Namely, that motorists are going way too fast and putting pedestrians and bicyclists in danger by illegally driving onto shoulders — and sometimes up on the sidewalks — to pass vehicles that have stopped to make a turn.”
An AP story says, “A trailer that contained equipment for a Twin Cities high school robotics team has been recovered after it was stolen early Sunday. The trailer belongs to the St. Paul Highland Park team. Dubbed the Automatons, they spent the first six weeks of the year building a robot from scratch. The robot was not in the trailer when it was stolen. The trailer was taken to an impound lot Sunday afternoon, and it was unclear who masterminded the theft.”
