Some low-income and ripe-for-redevelopment areas in St. Cloud could soon be injected with thousands — even millions — of dollars in private investments. 

They were on a list of federal Opportunity Zones announced by DEED earlier this month. The investment initiative was created by Congress in the 2017 tax bill to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities. 

We see this as a big deal, a huge opportunity for dramatic investment," said John Uphoff, executive director of the Benton Economic Partnership Inc. 

Summer is almost here and that means kids are antsy to get out of school and start having more fun. But many teens will be busy working this summer.

A DEED analysis found that teen job participation is up in the past five years from 46 percent to 52 percent. That compares to a national participation rate of 35 percent last summer. DEED also found that Minnesota's teen unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent as of March 2018.

The 12th annual Veterans Career Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. Participating employers have been encouraged to offer veterans full-time jobs with benefits and family-sustaining wages.
The DEED website has more details, including a full
list of companies that are attending this year.