The state’s job market 90 percent of the way back to pre-recession levels.
via MPR News.
Minnesota Today from MPR News
March 6, 2013
IBM to move most manufacturing out of Rochester
IMB won’t say how many jobs will be lost. Industry insiders estimate that number of workers at the Rochester plant could be between 2,500 and 3,000.
IBM spokesperson Scott Cook said the reason for shifting these jobs to New York and Mexico is to “maximize efficiency.”
November 27, 2012
Duluth showing signs of economic revival
“After years of economic struggles and budget deficits, Duluth may be poised for a new era of prosperity. The city has announced several major industry investments in the area, the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.9 percent and the local economy is diversifying,” via MPR News.
November 21, 2012
No loans, weak earnings still dog Twin Cities banks
Performance by Minnesota and Twin Cities banks continued to improve in the third quarter but only slightly, according to a quarterly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, via Finance & Commerce.
November 19, 2012
HealthPartners data warehouse expands in downtown Duluth
“For seven years, HealthPartners has been operating its data warehouse in the Harbor Center in downtown Duluth. And quietly growing.
“So much so, that it’s outgrowing its current 3,000-square-foot space on the building’s third floor and moving to the nearly 7,000-square-feet space across the hall vacated by the U.S. Census Bureau,” via Duluth News Tribune
Canada looks to lure energy workers from the US
“Here in the western province of Alberta, energy companies are racing to tap the region’s vast deposits of oil sands. Canada is looking to double production by the end of the decade. To do so it will have to lure more workers _ tens of thousands of them _ to this cold and sparsely populated place. The weak U.S. recovery is giving them a big assist.” via Grand Forks Herald
November 16, 2012
Bioenergy could bring new life to shuttered mill
courtesy Itasca Economic Development Corp.
A Grand Rapids lumber mill that closed three years ago from the housing crash and recession has a new owner and could become part of an emerging bioenergy industry, via MPR News.
October 26, 2012
Mankato area economy looking up
“Unemployment remains considerably lower in the greater Mankato area than elsewhere in the state, home sales are stronger this year than last, new housing construction is up, and crop farmers are doing well.
A look at recent local economic reports show mostly good news for the area,” reports The Free Press.
October 18, 2012
Duluth area gains 2,000 jobs in September
“Good news on the jobs front for the Duluth area with a 1.8% increase in jobs from August to September,” reports Northland News Center.
September 26, 2012
Twin Cities home price recovery on firm footing
“The Twin Cities posted the second-highest increase in home prices among 20 major U.S. cities in July, as the local housing market continues to strengthen.”
via Star Tribune.
December 9, 2011
Greater Minnesota
Enterprising Johnson brothers got an early start in logging on North Shore
MinnPost photo by Steve Date
Colee Johnson (left) and his brother Skyler (right)
Skyler Johnson, 19, and his brother Colee, 21, own Johnson Brothers Firewood and Logging Company in Hovland, Minn. Surprising as that may sound, it’s not even their first business.
As a young child, Skyler learned how to buy and sell used vehicles by watching his dad. By age 14, he was having some success dealing vehicles himself. He says the key was to “learn how to read people.”
MinnPost photo by Steve Date
The brothers jumped at the opportunity to buy a logging company.
During high school, Skyler and Colee started a firewood business, buying and reselling hundreds of cords of timber from a local logging operation. When the owner of that company saw how hard they worked, he took them under his wing and gave them jobs working for him.
Later, when he decided to move to a warmer climate and sell the logging company, the Johnson brothers seized the opportunity. They bought the company on Skyler’s 18th birthday.
Tourism brings some jobs, but few careers, for young people in the little towns along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Many local residents take whatever work they can find to patch together a living. High-school graduates who go to college mostly don’t return to the area. Those who stay often end up in low-paying, dead-end or seasonal jobs.
Skyler and Colee Johnson, along with their younger brother, Clay, have, through hard work and shrewd business sense, found a way to carve careers and a business out of the north woods.
I recently visited Skyler and Colee as they cut timber near Grand Marais. In today’s video, they talk about the logging business, about employment opportunities for young people, and about life in a small town on the North Shore.
Greater Minnesota
Enterprising Johnson brothers got an early start in logging on North Shore
MinnPost photo by Steve Date
Colee Johnson (left) and his brother Skyler (right)
Skyler Johnson, 19, and his brother Colee, 21, own Johnson Brothers Firewood and Logging Company in Hovland, Minn. Surprising as that may sound, it’s not even their first business.
As a young child, Skyler learned how to buy and sell used vehicles by watching his dad. By age 14, he was having some success dealing vehicles himself. He says the key was to “learn how to read people.”
MinnPost photo by Steve Date
The brothers jumped at the opportunity to buy a logging company.
During high school, Skyler and Colee started a firewood business, buying and reselling hundreds of cords of timber from a local logging operation. When the owner of that company saw how hard they worked, he took them under his wing and gave them jobs working for him.
Later, when he decided to move to a warmer climate and sell the logging company, the Johnson brothers seized the opportunity. They bought the company on Skyler’s 18th birthday.
Tourism brings some jobs, but few careers, for young people in the little towns along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Many local residents take whatever work they can find to patch together a living. High-school graduates who go to college mostly don’t return to the area. Those who stay often end up in low-paying, dead-end or seasonal jobs.
Skyler and Colee Johnson, along with their younger brother, Clay, have, through hard work and shrewd business sense, found a way to carve careers and a business out of the north woods.
I recently visited Skyler and Colee as they cut timber near Grand Marais. In today’s video, they talk about the logging business, about employment opportunities for young people, and about life in a small town on the North Shore.
