It’s May, and the second week of the month is when Economic Development Week is celebrated each year. It’s a great time to recognize economic developers and to share information about what we do here at the Redwood Area Development Corporation (RADC).
RADC works hard all year round to support our six unique communities in the Redwood Area: Belview, Clements, the Lower Sioux Indian Community, Lucan, Seaforth, and Wabasso. We also provide assistance and create programs to help the many incredible businesses in our area to thrive and grow.
The staff at RADC has a lot of experience partnering with local communit...
Recently, Elon Musk announced plans for the Tesla Bot, a humanoid robot that stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall. Musk said the robot “probably won’t work.” I hope he is wrong.
Many people have an adverse reaction to discussions of automation and artificial intelligence. While I understand those fears, I believe we need to embrace automation. In fact, let’s put our foot on the gas — or set the autonomous electric vehicle at max speed. But as we accelerate toward automation, we must reposition our workforce for a successful journey.
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The way businesses in the industrial sector approach hiring new employees has changed. Companies can no longer rely on posting a job ad and sitting back to wait for resumes to flood in. With unemployment rates at an all-time low after the advent of the Great Resignation, the best candidates are already employed. So how do you locate the best talent, and what are the best-recruiting tools? Internal recruitment, agency software, HR recruitment software, and recruitment service providers are just a few of the options available to you.
Hiring Team-Focused Players in the New Normal
How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed th...
Governments, owners, investors, and consumers are demonstrating a steady commitment to net-zero, carbon-neutral, and other goals, with a focus on replacing fossil-based energy systems with renewable energy sources. Who is going to do the work of bringing us this new future? If you’re in the global energy sector…you are.
Leaders of manufacturing and power companies are faced with critical decisions on how to evaluate the best alternatives to fossil fuels and identify the pathways to make those alternatives a reality. So are electric vehicle manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and traditional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In addition to power and electrification companies, commercial...
Competing on a national and global scale for large economic development projects — and winning — is a sure sign of a community’s vitality. A community’s ability to position large-scale, shovel-ready land tracts for investment consideration exponentially increases its ability to secure desired jobs and capital investment at the local level.
For years, there has been a traditional understanding of megasite requirements. Originally created to meet the demands of the automotive OEM and allied industries, these sites were assumed to have consistent demands. Important factors have included fully contiguous land space; multimodal transportation, including access to rail; large-scale and redundant utilit...
Bowery Farming, a leading vertical farming company based in New York City, plans to open smart indoor vertical farms in Locust Grove, Georgia, and Arlington, Texas, it announced in January. Each facility will create more than 100 jobs, and they are to be powered by 100% renewable sources. The company supplies greens and herbs to more than 800 U.S. grocery stores and such e-commerce platforms as Amazon, Walmart and Whole Foods Market.
“We’re thrilled to announce our expansion beyond the Northeast and into the Atlanta, Georgia, area,” said Irving Fain, CEO and Founder of Bowery Farming, at the Locust Grove announcement...
What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is not controlled by any government or institution. Cryptocurrencies are not printed and are instead created using computing power.
Cryptocurrency is created through a process called mining. Mining involves solving complicated math problems with the use of computer processing power. The miner who solves the problem gets rewarded in crypto coins, which they can then spend on goods or services online.
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The Minnesota Legislature pushed through a bill to give bonuses to workers who were on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic and to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund following months of negotiations.
Gov. Tim Walz said in a Twitter post that he stepped out of his son’s volleyball game “to sign this important bill the minute we got it passed.”
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The LSIC celebrated the grand opening for the Cansayapi Wicoicage Oti on Wednesday, April 20. The purpose of this incubator building is to expand art and cultural awareness and skills and support business development through intergenerational learning, production and transmission at Cansayapi.
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Vicki’s Camp N Country Jam is a brand new camping and country music festival that will be held July 7-9 near Redwood Falls. Vicki’s Camp N Country Jam will provide a small, intimate camping and country music festival with a VIP experience for all attendees.
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There are few things more frustrating than gathering a team of skilled individuals who just don’t seem to be able to work together well. There is also nothing more fulfilling than creating a team that is supportive, cooperative and results-focused. Effective coaches know how to support teams in a way that will help them to strengthen relationships, improve their performance and reach their goals.
Understanding the coaching process and the desired objectives can help leaders create a culture that is empowering and growth-oriented. Learning to utilize the coaching tools that can best facilitate team growth and collaboration is an essential ste...
The Redwood Area Encompasses Six Unique Communities
The Redwood Area of Minnesota has six unique communities: Belview, Clements, the Lower Sioux Indian Community, Lucan, Seaforth, and Wabasso. In Part One of this series, we’ll share some of the special qualities found in three of these communities: the Lower Sioux Indian Community, Lucan, and Wabasso. We’ll feature Belview, Clements and Seaforth in Part Two of this series on the six communities in the Redwood Area.
Lower Sioux Indian Community
Many exciting things are happening in the Lower Sioux Indian Community. Robert Larsen, President of the Lower Sioux Community, shared that an Intergenerational Cultural Incubator...
Of the 44 Black-owned banks and credit unions in the U.S. with approximately $8.12 billion in assets, none are in Minnesota. That changes today, when Minnesota’s first known Black-owned bank, First Independence Bank, 3430 University Ave. S.E., Minneapolis, opens for business.
“We know that banks represent beacons of hope,” said Kenneth Kelly, chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank. “You can’t go to any major city in this country and not see the largest building in this city having a bank name on it.”
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Driving long-term progress in racial equity in Minnesota’s economy requires new thinking. While incremental changes are important, it’s the systemic changes that examine the root of how systems work and transform them for stronger outcomes that drives lasting change.
As we continue our series on DEED’s five racial equity commitments, today we turn to commitment #3: to reform programs to address systemic barriers.
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Housing continues to be a challenge in many rural communities. Attracting workforce housing development requires intention and a bit of creativity. We have looked across the country to find communities that are using unique strategies to develop workforce housing and are sharing these best practices. Some, all, or a combination of the below could be used to develop housing in our community. Learn more by downloading the whitepaper: PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR SOLVING HOUSING SHORTAGES IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA.
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In 2020, “stimulus check ” and “second stimulus check” were among the top 15 Google searches in the United States.
That same year, an Ernst and Young report estimated that across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, approximately $1 trillion of workers’ wages were sitting in employer coffers on any given day.
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Wind Turbine Service Technicians top the list of the fastest growing occupations in Minnesota over the next two years, according to projections from DEED's Labor Market Information Office. People working in this occupation install, maintain, and repair wind turbines and generally work outdoors, in confined spaces, and often at great heights. Most Wind Turbine Service Technicians work full-time and in Minnesota the typical wage range is between $24.07 to $34.04. You can find out more about this occupation and watch a short video on our Wind Turbine Service Technician occupation page here on CareerForceMN.com.
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Beth Bidinger, Supervisor of Career Advancement Services at Avivo in Minneapolis, recently started listing no cost training programs on the Training Program Finder on CareerForceMN.com. She’s seen a big increase in interest from people looking for training opportunities. Avivo even had to add a second class option for their pre-requisite courses because the first class session is nearly full.
“Approximately a week after I finalized the postings on the Training Program Finder, I noticed that I was receiving an increase in direct emails and phone calls to me,” said Beth. “Knowing that potential participants don’t normally access my direct email an...
Minnesota’s largest publicly traded companies are heeding calls for improved gender parity on their boards, though the number of women in executive roles is still falling behind the national average.
That’s according to the results of the 2021 Minnesota Census of Women in Corporate Leadership released Tuesday. The yearly report produced by St. Catherine University examined women’s representation at Minnesota’s 79 largest publicly traded companies. As of June 30, 2021, women held 177 seats on the boards of those companies. That means women held 26.6 percent of board seats, marking an all-time high in Minnesota, according to the report.
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In 2021, Minnesota’s total exports reached a record value of $23.5 billion, recovering strongly after a steep decline in 2020. International markets play a key role in helping Minnesota expand its diverse industry base, from agriculture and natural resources to equipment and machinery to semiconductors and medical goods.
Yet, the global pandemic and supply chain woes of the past two years have presented Minnesota businesses with unique challenges to getting goods to international markets.
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Commissioning a housing study is an economic development best practice that can ultimately lead to growth. Individual communities and regions are commissioning them to determine the total demand, the type of housing that’s needed, and the ideal price point for the market. Once complete, a housing study is the best tool for demonstrating to a developer that there is a true need and exactly what that need is. Download the whitepaper, "PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR SOLVING HOUSING SHORTAGES IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA."
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In April, we draw attention to the important role that Information Technology (IT) plays as a key driver of growth in our state and local economy. IT workers are employed across every industry in Minnesota and across the state – and demand and wages are high.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) projects employment in IT occupations to grow 12.2% between 2020 and 2030, while the average growth of all occupations in Minnesota is 5.7%.
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Retailers from Samsung to Disney are buying 'virtual real estate' sometimes in the millions of dollars to have a presence in the metaverse. Make no mistake, the metaverse is going to be huge and it will happen much faster than the dawn of websites, social media, and smartphones.
WHY JOIN THE METAVERSE NOW?
Economic developers should enter the metaverse because if they don't - they, and their communities, will be left behind. Put simply, economic developers cannot afford to sit back and watch as the metaverse becomes part of people's everyday lives. Take, for example, workforce attraction. People looking for a ne...
The challenges faced in 2020 were unlike any other confronted in our lifetime. The global pandemic wreaked havoc on our personal and professional lives and the U.S. and global economies.
The Commerce Department reports that U.S. GDP declined 3.5 percent in 2020, with the economy falling into recession in February 2020 — a month before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. The 3.5 percent decline is the worst year for the U.S. economy since at least the end of World War II, as reported by CNBC.
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Covid-19 has resulted in wild gyrations in the supply chain with the hard-hit semiconductor industry having a major impact on U.S. auto manufacturing. From its beginning, Covid-19 resulted in auto plants closing around the country while sales of computers and other consumer products skyrocketed. When automakers resumed production, they found fewer chips available to them. In addition, the pandemic and related supply-chain problems depressed sales and drove up prices for new and used cars. However, market analyst IHS Markit sees U.S. auto production stabilizing in 2022 and attributes this to a stabilization in the semiconductor supply chain.
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It’s no secret that the recipe for economic success usually includes generous portions of innovation and technology. That has been part of the economic development story for many years in such places as Boston, Seattle, the Research Triangle, and Silicon Valley.
But just as you can find more and more cutting-edge restaurants and exceptional craft breweries in sometimes surprising places beyond the most obvious locales, the innovation-based recipe for success is being served up in smaller communities, too, far beyond the places that may first come to mind. When it comes to building an innovation corridor or innovation district, the traditiona...
It seems like the ultimate good-news story. The shift toward electric vehicles will greatly improve the long-term climate health of the planet. It’ll improve human health, too, by reducing pollution. It’ll create thousands of jobs in new industries, with new manufacturing operations lifting local economies. What’s not to like?
Don’t forget that disruptive technologies are, well, disruptive. One person’s opportunity, one community’s economic development win, quite often means disruption for someone else’s livelihood and some other community’s economy. The story is only starting to unfold, but the transition to electric vehicles, or EVs, is shaping up to be the automotive industry’...
For nearly two years, the predominant COVID-19 driven incentive compliance issue looming over companies has been the difficulty to achieve and report on headcount performance as part of economic development incentive agreements.
The evolving workplace landscape precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic adds another wrinkle to this process. With the trend toward remote work — whether a hybrid scenario or fully remote — our clients, particularly those with an office-based workforce, are evaluating their long-term footprint needs. Seemingly nothing is off the table with respect to the workplace, including hoteling models, employer choice models, flex-worker models, or pure remote worker strategies. Al...
Don’t miss this incredible event from August 2 to August 4 celebrating agriculture in Minnesota
March is National Agriculture Month and it’s the perfect time to focus on Minnesota Farmfest, a three-day celebration of agriculture, farming and rural life that takes place from August 2 to August 4 in Redwood County, Minnesota.
Minnesota Farmfest brings together the best in agribusiness from across the state and around the country. Farmfest makes it possible for farmers to gather, network, and to learn about new products and services from the more than 500 vendors and exhibitors in attendance. There are live product demonstrations, educational classe...
Chances are high that if you’ve been traveling around various regions of the United States in the past few years, you have noticed a solar array where one was not previously. I have had a similar “ah-ha” moment.
You may have been struck by the fact that there are vast solar developments in more rural areas — where site selection for solar installations is more favorable, land is cheaper and larger land tracts are available. You might be further surprised to see that solar farms are popping up in most regions of the country. It’s not just your region.
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Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Laura Kelly of Kansas are covered extensively in this issue as the winners of the 2021 Governors’ Cups — the former for total qualified capital investment projects last year and the latter for total per capita projects. The governors of the other ranking states in these facilities races also deserve recognition. All governors are their states’ main salesmen and women when it comes to landing the transformative projects that add billions of dollars to their economies and create hundreds or thousands of jobs.
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“I wanted to go into a field to help people. It’s really rewarding for me.”
At age 61, Carol accomplished a career goal she had set for herself a 15 years ago. She earned her degree and now she is working in health care providing care to patients. Carol started her journey in 2007, attending school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), but stopped to work full time.
She returned to Pine Technical Community College (PTCC) in 2019 to complete her degree; changing career paths with the goal of becoming a Medical Assistant. Her previous LPN courses transferred, allowing her t...
Automation has been painted as a threat to employees, and the idea that robots will replace workers and lead to unemployment continues to circulate in some circles. The truth, however, is quite the opposite. According to McKinsey & Company, automation and AI technologies will boost business productivity and GDP growth and drive new levels of prosperity.
There are also many benefits for the workforce. Automation across multiple industries has already benefited the labor force in many ways. This includes increasing employment rates and improving workplace safety.
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Minnesota gained 10,200 jobs in the last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). This follows the addition of 2,500 jobs in December 2021 (revised). The jobs growth from December 2021 to January 2022 is the largest single-month growth since July 2021. The private sector gained 9,100 jobs, up 0.4%, continuing a four-month-long job gains streak.
The unemployment rate ticked down in January 2022 to 2.9% from 3.0% in December 2021. The decline was entirely due to people moving from unemployment to employment. The labor force participatio...
You’re evaluating a new site. It checks all the boxes when it comes to the property, local infrastructure, and business climate. You have one more box to check — labor supply. You’re presented with a hodge-podge of numbers. How can you make sense of it all? And what’s the bottom line?
Understanding Labor Data, Availability
Before considering the outside numbers, you first need to understand your own data. You should know how many workers you’ll need by job title as well as the estimated wages you can budget for each. Labor data are typically available by occupation, so you’ll want to translat...
Over the past two years, building occupants have become more aware of the health of the environment around them, especially indoors. Additionally, awareness of “Sick Building Syndrome” — the idea that building occupants become sick from the building they work in — has grown. Now, occupants expect the opposite: a smart, healthy building.
It’s not only building occupants. With the labor shortage expected to continue well into 2022, employees are also in the unique position to be selective in the company for which they choose to work. Looking ahead, building owners and managers are going to have to step up thei...
St. Paul – Xcel Energy is leveraging Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) expertise in training program oversight and grant management to issue a request for proposals (RFP) from Minnesota training providers. The Xcel Energy Power Up training program will provide a workforce training pipeline for a variety of energy-related construction occupations. Xcel Energy is investing $4 million in the initiative, $3.6 million of which will go toward two $1.8 million grants to provide apprenticeship readiness and basic construction skills training over four years. The RFP is slated to open at the end of March and be ope...
DEED’s agency-wide goal in 2022 is to drive an economic comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on people and businesses who face systemic barriers to growth. In order to do that, we need to know who was most negatively impacted and how systemic barriers play a role in that negative impact.
There is plenty of data to show that Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Minnesotans bore the brunt of job and wage loss during the pandemic. But a deeper dive into the data reveals additional information about what factors – like occupation, industry, part-time vs. full-time work status, an...
As a business looking to outsource 3PL (third-party logistics) services, you’ve most likely encountered an overwhelming list of companies vying for your business. Because the sheer number of companies is so large, it is extremely difficult vetting the various options to determine which would be the best for your specific scenario. There are a multitude of factors that should be considered, from fulfillment pricing to reviews and experience to technology integrations and location. At the heart of the 3PL selection process is choosing a long-term partnership that meets your:
Specific service needs
Volume, product, and technology characteristics
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In October, I found myself seated in an autonomous shuttle vehicle that’s part of the PAUL (Piloting Autonomous Use Locally) service launched by Site Selection’s home city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, in partnership with T-Mobile 5G and Beep, an Orlando-based company that creates “multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility solutions.” Detrick Traylor, a U.S. Army veteran who came out of retirement to apply for a position with Beep, was operating the shuttle with what amounted to an X-Box controller as he took passengers on short rides, temporarily overriding the autonomous operation. “I applied because the technology seemed interesting,” he said.
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Investors are busy people, and many have seen thousands of pitch decks in their careers. They ultimately choose to invest in very few, however, regardless of how interesting some might seem to the average person. The truth is that a good idea isn’t enough; it’s only part of the equation. It’s necessary to convince an investor that you have the right idea, that you’re the right person and that this is the right time.
That last factor is vital: Venture capitalists won’t invest in something which seems to have little urgent need in the world, and wouldn’t have gotten to wher...
A prerequisite for a high-quality workforce is people. To upskill employees, attract remote workers, or fill a skill gap through a community college program, you first need people. That may be rather obvious, but talent attraction and retention efforts have been built on the assumption that when it comes to people, the harvest will always be plentiful. But what happens if the supply of people to attract to, or retain in, a community isn’t increasing? Or what if it’s decreasing?
In The Demographic Drought, Emsi Burning Glass raised the alarm bells about the pending sansdemic (sans-without, demic-people). Due to an increas...
As we near the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota’s economy remains in unusual territory. In one sense, the state has crossed the full recovery mark, with economic output (GSP), state exports, new business applications, and unemployment levels all returning to their pre-pandemic baseline or better. Like the rest of the U.S. economy, however, Minnesota faces substantial labor market and supply chain challenges that are slowing job recovery and pose new risks to the economic outlook going forward.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Minnesota GDP rose to $345.5 billion in the third quarter of 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the second consecutive quarter.
State exports reache...
Jeremy had worked for many years in the hospitality industry, but when COVID hit and the corporate travel business dried up, he was let go from his hotel job in December of 2020. He had grown accustomed to making a good living with his previous employer and he was feeling a bit depressed and scared at the idea of starting over in a new career. After he filed for Unemployment Insurance, he learned about of the Highway Heavy Construction Training & Placement (HHCTP) Program from DEED’s Sylvia Garcia and thought it could be a good fit for him.
“It felt lik...
Recently, the Minnesota Chamber continued its return to in-person events with another chapter of the Women in Business series. The event held at the St. Paul Hotel featured President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Dana Erickson, in her first public event in her new role. Dana shared how her community-oriented upbringing led to a career in health care as a registered nurse and now the first female CEO in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota history.
"I worked as a labor and delivery nurse for several years at a suburb of Milwaukee where I actuall...
The superlatives are accumulating as fast as the shipping containers: Industrial real estate, largely focused on logistics, keeps setting new records, to the point where the pop-up distribution center might soon be as common as the pop-up retail spot once was.
It’s gotten to the point where even a defunct driving range has potential to trade in the Big Bertha for an entirely different kind of driver.
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RCLCO, partnering with CapRidge Partners, recently produced the fifth annual STEM Job Growth Index (“STEMdex”), highlighting the leading metropolitan areas for both the current presence and future growth potential of STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
Not coincidentally, the top STEM market areas include the 10 regions of the country which exhibit the highest location quotients for technology jobs. The location quotient [LQ] is a measure of a metropolitan area’s concentration of jobs within a given industry as compared to the national average. In this case it shows which areas have a greater share of technology jobs relative to the res...
At DEED, our agency’s mission is to empower the growth of the Minnesota economy, for everyone. Every year, our agency leadership creates goals – and metrics for success – that provide a roadmap for how we can best meet that mission. Today we’re sharing our 2022 goals with the public, so that you know what we’re focused on – and can hold us accountable.
This planning process is grounded in the Governor and Lt. Governor’s vision of One Minnesota, and is informed by the thousands of conversations DEED leaders and staff have with job seekers, business owners, industry leaders, labor representative...
There were a few common threads to all state legislative sessions in 2021: The seated legislators all had to wrangle, wheedle, cajole or otherwise out-maneuver one another as they redrew legislative and congressional districts in accordance with new U.S. Census numbers. Throughout the year, state leaders also had to figure out how best to distribute monies from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress. And when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act finally achieved passage in the nation’s capital, those same state legislators knew more money was coming for vital projects from highways to rail t...
In 1892, at the age of five, Bertha Berglin Moller immigrated to Minnesota with her six siblings and her parents, Magnus and Brita Berglin, from Storåsen, in Jämtland, Sweden. Her family began farming in Rock Creek, Pine County, and she attended high school in Rush City. Christened Brita, she used Bertha in the U.S. and attended Duluth Normal School, obtaining a teaching degree. Berglin began teaching in Pinewood, Beltrami County, where she met and married Swedish immigrant Charles Moller in 1910. She continued to teach after her marriage, which was unusual at the time.
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These Interest-Free Loans Help Redwood County Students Pursue Secondary Education
Students living or attending school in Redwood County who want to pursue higher education have an incredible opportunity to apply for an interest-free loan from The Martin & Winifred Ehlers Student Loan Fund, a division of the Redwood Area Communities Foundation.
History of The Martin & Winifred Ehlers Student Loan Fund
Martin Ehlers moved to Redwood Falls in 1937 and started the Ehlers Department Store the following year in 1938 with the motto “It can be done” as his driving force. Eventually, Martin would own 21 department stores in 21 different towns, ...
St. Paul – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) today announced that Launch Minnesota has awarded nearly $440,000 in matching grants to 17 local startups who were competitively awarded over $8 million in federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer funding (SBIR/STTR). Of the 17 grantees, 10 are BIPOC, or woman-owned businesses and/or are located in Greater Minnesota.
“We believe in the importance of fostering these technologies, which is why MN-DEED financially supports the Minnesota SBIR/STTR Accelerator and startups through our innovation grants,” said Kevin McKinnon, DEED Deputy Commissioner for Economic Development.
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Networking is one of the most important business skills to master in the franchise industry. It’s equally as important for a franchisor as it is for a franchisee. Developing and nurturing a network of professional peers is vital to career success and can give you a competitive edge in various stages of the entrepreneurial process. Franchisors use networking to enhance their lead-generation and sales strategies, while franchisees and candidates can use networking to build valuable contacts who can help them advance their own interests of owning and running a successful business operation.
But, networking isn’t a quantity over quality proposition an...
As businesses throughout the country struggle to fill job vacancies, EDCs are stepping up to the plate. EDCs are working with community partners to develop innovative programs, connect talent with employers who are hiring, upskill the local workforce, and grow a pipeline of next-generation workers. Here are some of the best practices Golden Shovel is seeing throughout the country. Bonus Content: DOWNLOAD THE UNDERSTANDING CURRENT WORKFORCE SHORTAGES WHITEPAPER HERE.
BEST PRACTICES FOR INCREASING WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION
ATTRACT WORKERS WHO ARE COMMUTING OUT
An initiative developed by the GREATER SPRINGFIELD PARTNERSHIP (GSP), CLARK COUNTY JOBS is inviting residents to reconsider Clark County as a destinatio...
Labor force participation rates drop when fewer people of working age are either employed or actively looking for work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of working-age people between 25 and 54 years old peaked in 1995 at 72 percent, and it has been on a steady decline since. The St. Louis Federal Reserve, in a 2016 report, stated, “Simultaneously, nationwide the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds not working is at 13 percent, the highest since WWII and the percentage of those 55 plus not working is at 23 percent, the highest since WWII (Restrepo-Echavarria, 2016)...
With so much of the news today about workforce shortages, attracting a strong and stable workforce is a critical need for local businesses, and for the larger Redwood Area community. As the unemployment rate continues to fall, there are fewer workers in the market for a new position, making it necessary for companies to do more than simply post a job opening when they’re looking to hire new employees. Redwood is no exception to this trend, and workforce attraction and retention is a major focus of the Redwood Area Development Corporation (RADC) team. Redwood Area communities and businesses must demonstrat...
As the U.S. economy continues its recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are encountering an increasingly difficult talent landscape fraught with challenges related to the attraction and retention of the talent upon which their business relies. This is particularly true for the most advanced technical job roles. Amid this environment, companies are relying on their site selection consultants to develop talent-based location strategies that help ameliorate these challenges. Utilizing market data in more creative ways can help companies gain competitive advantage by identifying new pools of accessible technical talent.
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I'm mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” declared the longtime news anchor Howard Beale in the 1975 film classic Network.
A similar debate is raging across the world about the future of work, and there is a lot more at issue than how often to commute. The way of working that is emerging could alter the basic elements of our work life.
A whopping 65 percent of employees said they are looking for a new job, according to a PwC survey;
And 88 percent of executives said their company is experiencing higher turnover than normal.
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To address local disparities and help struggling areas thrive, governments at all levels have spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the past 40 years on a range of geographically targeted, or “place-based,” economic development programs — mostly in the form of financial incentives — designed to boost job creation and business investment, incentivize real estate development, or increase property values in specific places. But decades of research have shown that governments have struggled to effectively target these programs to the people and places most in need.
Tax increment financing (TIF), enterprise zones, community development block grants (CDBG), and other program...
The $222 million replacement of the Merchants Bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis reached a milestone in September with the installation of the first of three new trusses. Dating to 1890, the Merchants Bridge serves six Class I railroads and Amtrak in the nation’s second largest rail hub by car interchange volume and third largest by gross tonnage.
Work began in 2018 and, when completed in early 2023, the new double-track bridge is expected to provide an alternative to more congested rail regions like Chicago.
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We all know that in the past two years, the only constant for small business owners has been change. Thousands of businesses changed their business model at the onset of the pandemic, introducing new products or services and embracing new channels to reach their customers. Thousands more launched new businesses altogether, spotting untapped opportunities in our collective “new normal.”
Now, as we head into 2022, we see the impacts of the past two years crystallizing and new trends emerging, like the beginnings of the metaverse to changing how we define small businesses and how small businesses operate — online, offline an...
Congratulations on an amazing year of successes, learning opportunities and improvements for you and your business. It’s no easy task running a company, and it can take a toll on you. As the year comes to an end, let’s talk about how to keep you energized in the coming year.
Here are eight New Year's business resolutions to help you achieve just that.
1. Get your business processes down on paper
You have an amazing brain, and it holds a lot of the information your business needs in order for it to run smoothly. You need to put all of that information o...
Will those who ditched their jobs as part of the Great Resignation find new careers in 2022? Is returning to the office even on the table at this point? How do we build company culture for a hybrid future? As work winds down for the year, we asked leaders in the business of cultivating work culture to make some predictions and suggestions for 2022.
The labor shortage will continue. “We don’t have as many people as we think we have,” said Lisa Brezonik, CEO of Salo, a national staffing and consulting firm based in Minneapolis. “Boomers are retiring early. Birth rate...
It’s a lot, but it could have been more.
State budget writers, policymakers and frankly anyone or any group with a need for something out of Minnesota’s next state budget are still gushing over the record $7.75 billion state budget surplus reported earlier this month.
The state spends about $2.16 billion a month, and while surpluses have been common over the last two budget cycles, they usually hover in the $1 billion to $1.6 billion range, an amount that tends to set off political fighting between those who want to spend the money on government programs and those who want to giv...
The Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation (EDC) both play an important role in a community, but, what's the difference between the two? This is a question that is frequently asked by businesses in the community as they try to divide where to invest their membership dollars and how to spend their volunteer time.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHAMBER & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Below we break down the differences in how the two organizations generally operate, though each chamber and EDC may have unique programs and focuses based on the needs of the community.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Department of Employment and Economic Development announced 5 Transportation and Economic Development Infrastructure (TEDI) projects across Minnesota. The program targets transportation infrastructure projects that create economic development opportunities and jobs, through a collaboration between MnDOT, DEED, and local government and private sector partners.
"This investment in transportation projects will broaden economic development possibilities," said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. "These projects will retain or create more than 3,000 jobs while improving critical pathways to businesses and opportunities in communities across Minnesota."
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Minnesota gained 8,600 jobs in November, up 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The private sector gained 10,200 jobs, up 0.4%, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The state unemployment rate ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.3%, due to people moving from unemployment to employment. The labor force participation rate declined slightly, to 67.7% from 67.8% in October, as 2,575 Minnesotans left the labor force.
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In today’s candidate driven market, employers find themselves competing with industry and non-industry companies for the best talent. Unlike talent recruiting of the past, employers are going the extra mile to entice candidates – making a case for why their company is the right company for them. In this market, it is the candidate that holds all the cards.
The first opportunity to impress applicants and stand out from other employers is with the job posting. Employer job postings are the first line of communication between the employer and potential employee. It’s important an employer’s job posting catches and keeps th...
President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law one of the largest infrastructure packages in U.S. history after months of bipartisan negotiations and tense political infighting, shoring up $1.2 trillion in funds, including $550 billion in new investments for the nation's bridges, airports, waterways, public transit and more—here's what you need to know about where the massive new spending will go.
Roads and bridges: Headlining the 2,702-page bill’s spending, roughly $110 billion of new funds would go toward improving the nation's roads and bridges, and investments in other major transportation programs.
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The world of real estate is making significant strides toward adopting the latest and most innovative technologies. But with more tech comes heightened risk. One of the latest ransomware attacks this year impacted up to 1,500 businesses globally by targeting U.S. IT company, Kaseya. Brazilian meatpacking company, JBS, also experienced a cybersecurity attack that forced the company to shut down operations, which could have been detrimental to its supply chain and to the U.S. food supply. In January 2021, a hacker was able to break into a water treatment plant system (by stealing an employee’s username and password) in a...
In 2010, Michigan’s economy was reeling. The Great Recession had hit the state hard and U.S. automakers were struggling to survive. Seeking to ease the pain, state officials authorized tax credits under the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) program as part of long-term deals with distressed automakers. But the program did not include fiscal protections to control the state’s costs. This would prove to be a damaging misstep years later when Michigan had to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap with spending cuts after automakers began claiming credits in larger amounts than expected.
How did this happen? When developing the agreements, th...
Minnesota's unemployment rate in October 2021 is back to where it was immediately before the global pandemic was declared in March 2020 at 3.5% (revised), down two-tenths of a percentage point from September, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The decline in Minnesota's unemployment rate in October was primarily due to people moving from unemployment to employment, although the size of the labor force shrank slightly by nearly 1,000 people. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.6%.
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There are those who describe the current, faster-and-faster-moving marketplace as a fourth industrial revolution, and the best entrepreneurship programs are those that help students appropriately speed up and, when necessary, scale up their ideas, from unicorns to innovative business models. Students who enroll at these schools will find themselves at the forefront of innovation and development, and often with an interdisciplinary focus that acknowledges the interconnectedness of today's economy. Perhaps more importantly, they will also get opportunities to enrich themselves and their communities, adding economic and social value through innovation, team building, and leadership.
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The Department of Employment and Economic Development is announcing recipients of the Small Business Partnership Grant Program: non-profits and public entities who will provide and facilitate business development and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses. This program was increased by $7M to $9.8M by the legislature and signed by Governor Walz to provide resources to businesses across Minnesota who have faced unprecedented challenges over the past two years.
The purpose of this grant is to support the start-up, growth, and success of Minnesota's entrepreneurs and small business owners through the delivery of high quality free or low-cost professional business developmen...
Today is Veterans Day, a day to thank the veterans in your life for their service and to remember veterans past and present throughout this country who have made great sacrifices when their nation needed them. I urge you to take a moment to thank veterans you know. There are 304,000 current and former military members who call Minnesota home.
At the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development we work hard every day to offer veterans the priority employment services they have earned.
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Industries and businesses have continued embracing the inevitable digital transformation ever since the Industrial Revolution 4.0 gained momentum. But, the publishing industry is one area that has experienced the transformational impact of digitization up close in the last year as the approach to content gets more transparent and focused on human interests.
But, how much truth does this statement hold in the current scenario?
Digital publishing has been in full swing for the past few years and is significantly driving every industry now at a critical crossroads.
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Follow these actionable steps to do business in a virtual world whether your audience includes site consultants from overseas or stakeholders in your own backyard.
How To Do Business In A Virtual World
If you aren’t already doing so, now is the time you need to learn how to do business in a virtual world. With or without a pandemic, you’re going to need to be able to meet in a virtual setting. Technology is rapidly growing and organizations are adapting to meet this change.
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Planning is the key to sustainable, managed growth, and choosing the best type of strategic plan is equally important. When a community grows too quickly, or haphazardly, resources and infrastructure are strained. When it grows too slowly, the seeds are planted for a steady cycle of decline. Different communities, at different phases in their evolution, need different plans.
The best plans begin with introspection. When was the last time your EDO took a careful look at your overarching vision? How recently have you explored what the members of your community need and want by way of surveys or town hall meetings...
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit entity organized for the welfare and benefit of Redwood County residents and organizations. The RACF’s focus is on those who live or have their principal place of business in Redwood County or within a 10 mile radius. The RACF was established in 1988.
Redwood Area Communities Foundation works hand in hand with the Redwood Area Development Corporation to improve the quality of life for local communities and their residents, to benefit public school districts and any charitable organizations operating in Redwood County and to provide scholarships and loans to students living here.
"Our approach is that the entity is the expert in the subject matter, and we’re providing expertise to help them be successful with the grant application process."
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