 Adobe DeSigns Staff
After years of working under
managers and craving more autonomy, Vivian Guerra and Lisa Owen were inspired to
start their own business. With complementary backgrounds (Vivian bringing over
15 years of project management and construction experience and Lisa bringing
financial management and community development expertise), the two make ideal
business partners. So, they
opened Adobe DeSigns in June 2014, a company
that designs, installs and fabricates turnkey signage, architectural films, and
printing services.
In just three years, Adobe DeSigns
has amassed an impressive portfolio of work, creating signage for locations
including the U.S. Bank Stadium, CHS Field, the Duluth Transit Authority, and Hennepin
County Facility Services. They expanded operations in 2015 and moved to a
bigger location, hired more staff, and acquired additional equipment with the
assistance of the Neighborhood Development
Center (NDC) through the Business Technical Assistance Program (B-TAP). They were also awarded NDC’s New
Business of the Year Award in 2016. Both Native American women (Vivian is Tigua
Pueblo of the Ysleta Del Sur and Lisa is Flandreau Santee Dakota), Vivian and
Lisa say their ultimate goal as small business owners is to motivate more people
of color and women to achieve success.
On November 29th, City of Minneapolis Employment and Training and the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board presented awards to two agencies that have provided outstanding employment services to Minneapolis youth and adults in 2016. The ceremony took place in Minneapolis City Council Chambers during the meeting of the Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee meeting.
 Pictured left to right: Minneapolis Workforce Development Board Chair Laura Beeth, RESOURCE client Shekyia Kendrick, Minneapolis Workforce Development Board member Philomean Morrissey Satre, RESOURCE staff members Emily Schloesser, Becca Lopez, President/CEO Kelly Matter, and Debbie Ferry and Minneapolis Employment and Training Director Deb Bahr-Helgen.
RESOURCE
was recognized Youth Service Partner of the Year for delivering exceptional
services to Minneapolis youth and young adults ages 14-24.
In 2016 RESOURCE provided 95 young people with the counseling and
support needed to land a first job or to think through career choices. It also
operated a high quality internship project for 23 participants and assisted 30
young clients to obtain industry specific credentials.
 Pictured left to right: Minneapolis Workforce Development Board Chair Laura Beeth, JFCS staff members CEO Judy Halper, Leah Temkin, Margie Earhart, Sheilah Howard, Christina DeVries, Lee Truer, Sue Thompson, and Marah Johnson, and Minneapolis Employment and Training Director Deb Bahr-Helgen.
Jewish
Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis (JFCS) was selected as
Adult Service Partner of the Year for outstanding employment services to unemployed and underemployed adults.
JFCS offers outreach, intake, eligibility determination and assessment
through Minneapolis Employment & Training’s Individual Referral Program,
and provides case management services to low-income individuals with barriers
to employment.
JFCS’ thorough assessment process and strong relationship building with
clients has proven effective. They
currently have met or exceeded all of their performance goals.
Starting January 16th, the City of Minneapolis
will give away 200 free radon test kits, donated by the Minnesota Department of
Health, to encourage people to test their homes. Radon is the leading environmental cause of cancer deaths in
the U.S., killing more than 21,000 people each year. It is an odorless, colorless,
tasteless gas that occurs naturally in Minnesota soils and enters homes
primarily through cracks and openings in basement or foundation floors and
walls.
The
Minnesota Department of Health estimates that two in five Minnesota homes have
dangerous levels of radon, posing a potential health risk. Fortunately, radon problems in homes can be fixed.
Test kits will be available while supplies last at the City of Minneapolis Development Review, 250 S. Fourth
St., Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Once the supply of free radon test
kits runs out, they will be available at the same location for $9 each.
For more information on radon testing and mitigation click here or call the Minnesota Department of
Health Indoor Air Unit at 651-201-4601 or 1-800-798-9050. People interested in
mitigating their homes for radon should consult the Minnesota Department of
Health’s list of certified radon mitigation contractors here.
 Minneapolis Urban League LEAP program career fair
The Minneapolis
Urban League (MUL) has
partnered with City of Minneapolis Employment and Training for more than 20
years to provide one-on-one job counseling, resume preparation, interview
coaching, and other resources to help Minneapolis adults achieve meaningful
employment at a family-sustaining wage.
As a 90-year old civil rights organization serving the African American
community, MUL offers a culturally specific service approach that encourages,
equips and empowers clients to effectively navigate complex challenges and
barriers to employment. MUL also
supports and advocates for its clients after they have been hired to help
smooth their transition to employment.
MUL is particularly proud of its new Urban Tech Jobs Program (UTJP), an accelerated technology training for unemployed adults ages 18 and over who
have a high school diploma or GED. UTJP
includes free classes and training at MUL and at partner agency sites. The classes offer training in technology
programs from Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, and others. The program also provides
job readiness and personal resiliency development workshops, counseling and
paid work experience.
 Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat/25392653883
Are you a small business owner looking for new ways to get
contracts with the City of Minneapolis? The City’s Target Market Program is for
you. Through this new program, businesses located in the 13-county metro area
with sales that do not exceed certain limits for their industries will have the
opportunity to compete for City contracts under $100,000 against other small
businesses – not larger, more established businesses. This is a great
additional opportunity for current City suppliers, and an opening for new small
businesses to get a foot in the door. To learn more about the Target Market
Program’s eligibility criteria, and to enroll, click here. If you have questions, please
email the City of Minneapolis Procurement Office or call (612) 673-2500.
On
December 30, 2016, the City processed its final building permit and closed with
a total of $1.757 billion in construction, making it the fifth consecutive year
the City has approved more than $1 billion. The hotel and housing industry saw
a large increase in new construction, proving that Minneapolis is a great place
to visit, work and live. In preparing for Super Bowl LII and other future event
opportunities, Minneapolis is adding 1,244 new hotel rooms. This includes the
construction of the AC Hotel Minneapolis, the Hampton Inn and Suites, the Hewing
Hotel and the Radisson Red, as well as an addition to the Depot Hotel.
Housing developers kept up with the rising demand with an
increase in new apartment construction compared to 2015. In total, Minneapolis
permitted a total of 2,645 new dwelling units this year. New apartment
buildings currently under construction include 365 Nicollet by Opus, NordHaus
by Lennar and Rise at Prospect Park by Harlem Iriving. Development
will remain strong in Minneapolis in 2017, with trends predicted to rise.
News Release
On December 21, the White House brought together more than 100 educators,
IT employers, and business and community leaders from across the country to
celebrate the success of TechHire to date and to share best practices. The goal
of the TechHire initiative is to close the workforce skills gap in the high
tech economy by building a path for diverse workers to access training, support
and tech jobs.
Tammy Dickinson, from CPED’s Employment and Training team, represented
Minneapolis Saint Paul TechHire. “I was able to talk to city leaders and
employers to learn what IT professional training and recruitment strategies are
working in their communities,” said Tammy. “The experience was invaluable and I
learned several best practices we can implement in Minneapolis.”
Minneapolis has already trained nearly 500 people through MSP TechHire
since May of 2015.
Learn more about the program on the Minneapolis Saint
Paul TechHire website.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)
and ECHO, a Twin Cities Public Television program, teamed up to produce videos
on applying for unemployment insurance in Hmong, Spanish and Somali. The videos
are available on the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance (UI) website.
The website also offers print materials, online services, and an
interactive voice response self-service phone system in Hmong, Somali and Spanish.
In addition, UI offers interpreters in over 100 other languages through a partnership
with the AT&T Language Line.
A north Minneapolis neighborhood that hasn’t had a supermarket in a decade is expected to get one in 2017.
North Market, a project of nonprofit Pillsbury United Communities, is scheduled to set up shop this fall at 4414 Humboldt Av. N. The site is in the middle of a federally designated food desert — a low-income census tract where a significant portion of the population lives more than a mile from a supermarket.
North Market will offer both food and health services. The area is home to nearly 70,000 people, 30 convenience stores and just one supermarket, according to Pillsbury.
Source
The Minneapolis Foundation has awarded almost $5 million to 87 Minneapolis organizations, it announced Jan 3.
The grants will go toward organizations doing work around civic engagement, economic vitality and education, supporting partners such as Minneapolis Public Schools, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and the Northside Economic Opportunity Network. All of the organizations are working to create a community where racial, social and economic equity thrives, the foundation said in a press release.
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