 Emily Ireland, Founder and Director of Brighter Minds Music
Brighter Minds Music offers music lessons and classes for kids,
teens, adults of all ages and abilities. Brighter Minds Music teachers
specialize in teaching piano, guitar, ukulele, and voice / singing lessons. In
addition to individual lessons, they also have award-winning music classes for
babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Founded by Emily Ireland in 2012, Brighter
Minds Music's mission is to use the power of music to strengthen individuals,
families and communities.
Brighter Minds Music currently has two Minneapolis locations and
one in St. Paul. It hires 17 teachers who serve around 200 families.
Currently, Emily Ireland is working to combine Brighter Minds Music's two
Minneapolis locations into one commercial space. To do so, Emily has received
technical assistance, including risk management counseling and lease
assistance, from the Small Business Development Center at St. Thomas
through the City’s Business Technical
Assistance Program (B-TAP).
In addition to lessons, Brighter Minds Music offers music classes
for birthday parties and childcare centers, workshops for teachers and parents,
and live music for special events and weddings. Brighter Minds Music students
often perform in the community at outreach recitals. As a teacher, Emily says she feels proudest when she’s watching her students grow their skills,
have fun, and develop a lifelong interest in music.
 Candlelighting at April 18th's groundbreaking ceremony for Downtown View
On Tuesday, April 18, a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off
construction for Downtown View, a 46-unit housing and supportive services
center for youth ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness. Developed through a
partnership between YouthLink and Project for Pride in Living (PPL), Downtown
View will provide support for the population of 6,000 young people who
experience homelessness each night in Minnesota. The center will be located at
41 N. 12th Street in Downtown Minneapolis and will be directly
connected to YouthLink’s existing Minneapolis headquarters.
Focusing on older youth ages 18-24, Downtown View will leverage
the services offered by the existing Youth Opportunity Center. The development
will also add a Career Pathways Center, resident fitness area, access to mental
health support, and employment/education navigation. The City of Minneapolis provided financial support to the
project through an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits, a deferred
loan through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and a grant for nonprofit
development assistance.
 Graduates of SEARCH’s Childcare Provider Training Program. Source: SEARCH
SEARCH (Southeast Asian Refugee Community Home), a Minneapolis
Employment and Training partner/service provider, has fostered the integration of immigrant and refugee
families to life in Minnesota since 1992. Immigrant and refugee populations
change and the agency is now providing services primarily to Somali, Bhutanese,
and Burmese populations.
SEARCH’s bilingual employment counselors help job seekers
build their marketable job skills and assist them in creating resumes and
preparing for interviews. They also educate employers on cultural differences
that may arise when hiring their clients.
The agency offers training for small electronics soldering
and hopes to expand customized training to accounting, interpreter training,
and cell phone repair over the next two years. SEARCH is launching a pilot
bookkeeping training program in May by working directly with an accounting firm
that needs more entry level bookkeepers.
In 2016, SEARCH served 198 clients across all programs - 165
entered into employment with an average wage of $11.80/hr. The 38 participants certified for small
electronics soldering were placed into jobs which averaged $12.80/hr.
 Future STEP-UP Intern participates in mock interview
The STEP-UP Youth Employment Program, a program of the City of Minneapolis in partnership with AchieveMpls, hosted its 14th annual “mock interviews” at the Minneapolis Convention Center over four nights the week of April 10. At the event, 1,500 Minneapolis youth preparing for STEP-UP internships gained real-life interview experience and feedback from over 400 Twin Cities business professionals. The event provided youth with insight on how to prepare and dress for an interview, communicate professionally, and network during a real interview.
Prior to the mock interviews, youth completed 7-14 hours of
work readiness training – depending on their level of work readiness. These
trainings focused on professional communication, problem solving,
professionalism, interview skills and resume writing.
The 1,500 young people who attended the mock interviews, as
well as over 400 middle school STEP-UP youth who do not attend mock interviews,
are now job-ready and will be placed into a position during the month of May. STEP-UP expects to place nearly 1,700
youth into paid job experiences this summer.
 Completed 800 West Broadway. Source: DEED
On April 28th, Lt. Governor Tina Smith, together
with the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), City of
Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Schools and NorthPoint Health & Wellness celebrated
the grand opening of 800 West Broadway, a collaborative center bringing
workforce, education and health care services together at one location.
800 West Broadway fosters an “open doors” culture that
provides a network of continued support tailored to the needs of each guest.
The center serves the entire community, providing access to health care,
community education classes, job skills training and other self-enrichment
opportunities.
“This WorkForce Center will connect residents of the
Northside with economic opportunities, job training and educational programs,
and quality health care,” said Lt. Governor Smith. “It is a testament to what
we can accomplish when state and local government and the public and private
sector all work together. “
Learn more about the services available at 800 West Broadway
by visiting the Minneapolis
North WorkForce Center, Minneapolis Public Schools and NorthPoint
Health & Wellness websites.
Read the whole story here.
 IT-Ready classroom
This summer Creating
IT Futures, Minneapolis Urban League (MUL) and the City of Minneapolis are offering the
award-winning IT-Ready career program in North Minneapolis.
The free eight-week class for Minneapolis residents is run by
Creating IT Futures and will be hosted and funded by Minneapolis Urban League's
Urban Tech Jobs Program, with additional funds from City of Minneapolis
Employment and Training and The
Minneapolis Foundation. Class begins June 12 and runs until August 4 at MUL
located at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis. Applications are due by May
19. Apply
online.
IT-Ready trains and certifies information technology (IT)
workers and helps place them into their first paid IT role. IT-Ready is part of
the City of Minneapolis' MSP TechHire initiative.
To close the workforce skills gap in the high-tech economy, the MSP TechHire
initiative enables diverse workers to access training, support and tech jobs
across the Greater Minneapolis Region.
Click
here to learn more.
On Saturday, April 22, more than 350 teens attended the
eleventh annual Minneapolis Teen Job Fair.
The pre-event Prep Rally invited early arrivers to refine
resumes, apply on-line, and sharpen their interview skills. Hiring tips
continued during the opening interactive workshop facilitated by the Youth
Coordinating Board's employment committee. Five panelists answered questions
and shared employer insights, encouraging the young jobseekers to be bold, to
emphasize extracurricular and volunteer experience, and to display
self-discipline at work.
Multiple sectors were represented, including retail,
nonprofit, entertainment, health care and the public sector. Home Depot, TJMaxx,
Wendy's, UPS, Valley Fair, North Memorial Health Care, Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, and Hennepin County were among the exhibitors. Volunteer, education and internship
opportunities were also promoted.
City of Minneapolis Employment and Training thanks Hennepin
County for financial support and Lunds/Byerlys for providing refreshments and
snacks. The event was made possible with planning and event management support
from Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis WorkForce Centers, the Youth Coordinating
Board, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
 Downtown Minneapolis Farmers Market
The first farmers market of the season is open, and the City
of Minneapolis is making it easier to find them with a new interactive map, which
will be updated as the schedule information becomes available. Clicking on the pins will show the address,
season dates, and opening times for each market. The map will be updated as
information becomes available on the 2017 schedules. Nearly 30 farmers markets, mini markets, and
farm stands are expected to operate in Minneapolis this year.
The first market of the season – the Lyndale market – is now
open daily for the season. Due to construction, the Nicollet Mall farmers
market has returned to the Hennepin County Government South Plaza at 300 S.
Sixth St. downtown. Most farmers markets “electronic benefits transfer” cards
as payment to give residents on federal food assistance easier access to fresh
food. In addition, many farmers now accept credit cards for payments or for
market tokens.
 May is National Historic Preservation Month! The City of
Minneapolis department of Community Planning and Economic Development
Department (CPED) is excited to invite you to participate in a photo contest to
celebrate the historic resources that make our city a special place to live.
Minneapolis has 170 locally designated landmarks and 15 historic districts. We
want to see how you capture the character of these places!
CPED is encouraging individuals to share their best photos
of Minneapolis landmarks or scenes from historic districts to celebrate the
benefit of these places to our city. To enter the contest, snap a photo and
post it on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook with the hashtag #MPLSpreservation
by May 31, 2017.
The winners will be announced in early June and three
winning photos will be featured in the Heritage Preservation Commission’s
annual report, the City’s Heritage Preservation webpage, and other City of
Minneapolis department of Community Planning and Economic Development webpages.
NOTE: Photos should not contain identifiable people.
Submissions may be used by the City of Minneapolis in future print and digital
publications, with proper credit to the photographer.
Minnesota's first cat café could open in South Minneapolis by the end of the year if the owners can leap a legal hurdle. And yes, cat cafés are a thing, just not here yet. They emerged in countries like Japan and Taiwan, then popped up on the West and East coasts of the United States several years ago. The cafés tend to have two separate areas, a traditional café and cat room. Guests order a coffee or tea in the cafe and enter another room to drink their beverage and hang out with cats.
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