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Duluth News Tribune | October 23, 2018
The region's unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since the state started keeping track in 1990.
The jobless rate in September was 2.7 percent in St. Louis, Carlton and Douglas counties, the Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Tuesday, as the economy remained on pace to show us what full employment really looks like.
"You might think 2.7 percent is as low as you can possibly go, but the data shows that we are still gaining jobs," said Cameron Macht, a labor analyst with DEED. "The near-term forecast shows it will continue to be a very tight labor market."
The big prize from this kind of job market is increased wages. Macht said entry-level jobs are seeing notable pay gains as employers compete with one another for help.
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 WCCO | October , 2018
More than 40 volunteers from Rock County Pheasants Forever, Beaver Creek Sportsmen and the Luverne High School trap team helped prepare the parcel for public use.
Darin Kindt, Rock County Pheasants Forever President, said the project wouldn’t have been possible without the state’s legacy fund, a willing seller, members of the local PF chapter and Beaver Creek Sportsmen’s Club and the DNR.
“Wildlife Management Areas like this are for all Minnesotans — for those who can’t afford property,” said Rick Peterson, chairman of the host committee for the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. “Opportunities like Rooster Ridge allow us to walk and hunt this land and enjoy nature and see wildlife.”
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Star Tribune | October 23, 2018
All Minnesota State colleges and universities are waiving application fees this week in an annual push to spur applications, and some have waived fees throughout the entire “College Knowledge” month of October — a movement to raise awareness about college access.
The system, which has seen its overall enrollment dip in recent years, says the promotion brings a yearly uptick in applications. Minnesota State has offered the waivers since 2011, and its colleges and universities receive about 40,000 applications during October, said Jessica Espinosa, the system’s director of college transitions.
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Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal | October 18, 2018
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MPR | October 24, 2018
Temperature and rainfall are the two biggest climate change indicators in Minnesota. As the state continues getting hotter and having more heavy rain events, cities need as much detail as they can get regarding how every little piece of land will respond to extreme heat and flooding.
To give the Twin Cities metro area a start, the Metropolitan Council has released a tool it's calling the Climate Vulnerability Assessment. Essentially, it's detailed maps showing how at-risk different spots are to flooding and extreme heat.
Studying how vulnerable cities are to climate change is a "dollars and cents issue," said Met Council senior planner Eric Wojchik. Many cities are already feeling the effects of the warmer, wetter world.
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Star Tribune | October 25, 2018
Without ceremony, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced last week that it had convened a final “public review and comment period” in advance of construction of proposed 13½ miles of the Minnesota Valley State Trail, from the Bloomington Ferry Bridge to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, all in Bloomington.
Meanwhile, to the north, in the Carver Park Reserve, also without pomp or marching bands, preliminary work continued on sections of the Baker/Carver Regional Trail, which is eventually supposed to run 17 miles north from the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail to the Lake Independence Regional Trail in Baker Perk Reserve — and along the way intersect with both the Dakota Regional Trail and the Luce Line State Trail.
These quiet events were certainly celebrated elsewhere — probably with clinked beer steins over unfolded maps — by the region’s extended bike path adventurers. For they know that these two projects will plug significant gaps in the region’s network of bike paths and in the process create untold opportunities for extended cruising.
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Red Lake Nation News | October 24, 2018
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has awarded Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grants (SADG) to eleven farmers and researchers across Minnesota. Projects will explore sustainable agriculture practices and systems that could make farming more profitable, resource efficient, and personally satisfying. The program has been supporting Minnesota farmers for 28 years.
“Farmers know best when it comes to profitability, resource and asset management,” said Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. “Innovation does cost, and by helping reduce the cost of testing new ideas and innovations, we are hoping the partnership will produce sustainable agricultural practices for the future.”
Projects, which last two to three years, are located in all regions of the state and involve a number of innovative topics that include cover cropping, irrigation, grazing, fertigation techniques, and poultry production techniques.
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The Republican Eagle | October 24, 2018
Red Wing is now a Purple Heart City.
During the City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 22, 18 men and women from four local veterans organizations presented the Purple Heart signs that will be placed on roads leading into the city. The four groups, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, VFW, American Legion and the Marine Corps League, purchased the five signs.
On May 14, 2018, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill into law authorizing municipalities to become Purple Heart cities or counties.
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