IN THE NEWS
Minnesota has made a priority of preschool through an Office of Early Learning, a Children’s Cabinet and an Early Learning Council, which together ensure that the cradle-to-career continuum begins with a strong start. In addition, as a winner of a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant, Minnesota is creating systems and infrastructure that offer new ideas to other states.
That understanding did not emerge from Washington. Forward-looking states have led the way — including Minnesota, where Dayton this year signed a bill that invests nearly $200 million in early learning, helping tens of thousands more children attend high-quality child care, preschool and all-day kindergarten.
Tuesday, Gov. Mark Dayton, Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, and other leaders from business, the military, government and the clergy, joined a town-hall discussion at Kennedy Senior High School. At that town hall, parents, teachers, education leaders and others from throughout the state made clear that they have seen the power of early learning — and that they know we must reach many more children.
Arne Duncan is the U.S. secretary of education. [Read More]
These innovative solar power projects allow electric customers to invest in a large array off their property and own a share of the output, which gets credited to their monthly bills.
The first solar garden, a large ground-mounted system, is nearly finished in Rockford, next to the headquarters of its sponsor, the Wright Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association, which says it plans to immediately build a second one.
In Minneapolis, start-up company MN Community Solar said Thursday that it expects no shortage of investors for that city’s first planned solar garden atop a business on E. Lake Street. [Read More] 
The purpose of a new state grant program is to educate people about today’s more environmentally friendly methods of disposing of pharmaceuticals. The Department of Health plans to distribute $100,000 a year to local organizations with the funding coming through the Minnesota Clean Water Fund.
It will be money well spent if it means our waterways will contain fewer chemicals. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a report last spring that highlighted how common chemicals are in our water. Scientists studied 50 lakes across Minnesota chosen at random and tested them for 127 compounds. All but three tested positive with one or more chemicals. [Read More]
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July 23, 2013 | Official Newsletter
The Minnesota Department of Health commissioner made several stops in Rochester Tuesday to talk about the Statewide Health Improvement Program.
One of the stops was at The Village at Essex Park Apartments where they've been working to go smoke free. They were able to do so with the help of a grant from the Statewide Health Improvement Program or SHIP. Going tobacco free is just one of SHIPS’s many initiatives to creating a healthier communities.
Since going tobacco free at The Villages at Essex Park they have already seen big changes. "It feels cleaner, it smells cleaner, and it feels more healthy," said manager Eric Boline.
Commissioner Ehlinger also made a stop to talk with business leaders about workplace health, something Olmsted County has been working on with their worksite wellness program. [Read More]
While the national economy struggles, Minnesota’s unemployment rate just hit its lowest level in five years. But it’s not new news.
We’ve been consistently lower for the past 30 years…and June numbers show that the gap has widened even more.
“We are a relatively highly educated population. We have a highly educated workforce,” said Steve Hine, a research director with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
New numbers out Thursday show the state’s jobless rate fell to 5.2 percent last month. That’s compared to the national rate of 7.6 percent.
As the man behind the numbers, he said a recovering Minnesota economy and a highly-educated workforce are key factors. During the recession, a lot of Minnesotans went back to school. [Read More]
ON THE BLOG
This week, Minnesota’s economy and job market just got even better. Trucking and shipping company Valley Cartage completed a move from Hudson, Wisconsin to Minnesota – the result of a $940,000 economic development package from the state of Minnesota. Valley Cartage’s new headquarters occupies a 26,000 square-foot building located in the Eagle Point Business Park in Lake Elmo.
The move isn’t just good for Valley Cartage; it’s also good for Minnesotans. The move means an estimated 50 new jobs in Minnesota—paying an average salary of $52,000—with an anticipated $30 million economic impact for the state! [Read More]
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