 Trade MIssion Helps Open Doors to Mexico
St. Paul Pioneer Press-8/19/15
Gov. Mark Dayton's recent trade mission to Mexico brought together 40-some business, agriculture and education leaders. The caliber of the group "shows that the state is serious about doing business," said Kathleen Motzenbecker of the Minnesota Trade Office.
Data Center Openings on the Rise
Finance and Commerce-8/20/15
The Twin Cities is becoming a hotbed for new data centers. Several factors are driving the trend, including the state’s aggressive role in pursuing data center companies with tax breaks. Those include sales tax and property tax exemptions for data centers. ”You can’t underestimate the value of those tax benefits in bringing data centers in,” said Brett Severson of the Jones Lang LaSalle commercial real estate firm.
Making Broadband More Accessible
Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch-8/17/15
Participants in a recent panel discussion at Farmfest in Redwood Falls agreed that better broadband access is an important issue in Greater Minnesota. DEED's Lisa Hughes said today's businesses expect broadband to be a part of the community. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith added that she is hopeful more state funding will be available to expand broadband access in rural areas of the state.
Butter sculptures, Pronto Pups and more. Here are 32 reasons Minnesota has the best state fair in the country, according to BuzzFeed.
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Help on the Way for Iron Range Workers
DEED's petition for the extension of unemployment benefits for 200 workers who were laid off by Mesabi Nugget in Hoyt Lakes and Chisholm was approved last Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Workers in approved job training will have access to up to 130 weeks of unemployment benefits. Career planning, job search assistance and training opportunities also will be available.
Minnesota Loses 3,900 Jobs in July
State employers eliminated 3,900 jobs in July, according to figures released by DEED last Thursday. The agency said the decline was offset somewhat by an upward revision of 2,700 jobs in June, bringing total gains that month to 5,600 jobs. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed 0.1 percent to 4 percent in July. The U.S. unemployment rate in July was 5.3 percent.
Low-Income Training Grants Awarded
DEED last week awarded 33 grants totaling $9 million to help low-income Minnesotans overcome employment barriers. Part of the state’s new Pathways to Prosperity initiative, the job training grants will allow Minnesotans to quickly develop jobs skills needed in growing industries. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said the grants will help more than 3,000 Minnesotans get training for jobs in health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology and other fields.
DEED's Office of Broadband Development is accepting applications for the 2015 Border to Border Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program. More than $10 million is available for entities that need financial assistance to build out broadband infrastructure in their communities. Go here for application materials and other details about the program. The deadline is 4 p.m. on Sept. 15. |
