Great River Energy News

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

We reached out to Minnesota employers and asked them why they specifically seek out veterans when they are hiring. Here’s what they said, in their own words: "We have had veterans from all branches of service on the Mason Brothers Team. (I served in the USN from 89-09.) I always enjoy meeting veterans and hearing their story. Often they have the knowledge, skills and ability we are looking to add to our team. Veterans have the efficiency to work alone and the respect for procedures to add to the team effort. They have received the leadership training and possess the integrity to get the job done."...

Tekne Awards Celebrate DEED as a Leader in Innovation

Thursday, November 21, 2019

DEED Commissioner Steve Grove attended the 2019 Tekne Awards, presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA). Nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs, policy makers, educators and business leaders from across the state gathered for the annual awards ceremony, which celebrates innovation in Minnesota. Since 1998, the Tekne awards have been presented to Minnesota’s leading advanced manufacturing, IT, health care and agricultural technology firms, and entrepreneurs. Commissioner Grove received an award for public service, along with Minnesota State Senator Eric Pratt, who serves as the Assistant Senate Majority Leader and Chair of the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee. Senator Pratt earned the Tekne Public Service Award for hi...

Launch Minnesota Education Grants Aim to Catalyze Our Innovation Ecosystem

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Last week, we invited startups and entrepreneurs to apply for Launch Minnesota Innovation Grants which target the most promising, innovative and scalable technology businesses in Minnesota. Now, we’re excited to announce that Launch Minnesota Education Grants are open to organizations who want to help catalyze our innovation ecosystem. This is a new opportunity for qualified organizations throughout Minnesota, including higher education institutions, who want to be part of building up a innovation ecosystem – a network to support startups and energize the exchange of great ideas. We’re looking for organizations who have experience and success providing educational programming to high-tech startups and conducting outreach an...

Launch Minnesota Innovation Grants Available for Startups

Friday, November 08, 2019

Minnesota tech startups can apply for funding to help their business take off St. Paul – Launch Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED’s) new statewide collaborative effort to accelerate startups and amplify Minnesota as a leader in innovation, is now accepting grant applications online. The Innovation Grants are designed to advance the most promising, innovative and scalable technology startups in Minnesota. “The leading businesses of today are the Fortune 500s of tomorrow,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “This program is an important investment in Minnesota’s future.” Click here to view the original article from MN DEED.

14 New Projects Funded by the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

The partnership will train more than 2,300 workers in high demand jobs throughout the state St. Paul – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded workforce development grants totaling nearly $3 million under the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership (MJSP), which works with businesses and educational institutions to train or retrain workers, expand work opportunities and keep high-quality jobs in the state. “There is no greater investment in our economic future than by investing in Minnesota workers,” said Governor Tim Walz. “And that’s exactly what businesses working with the MJSP are doing—investing in our workers.” Click here to view the origina...

Cold Spring Brewing could add 100 jobs in expansion

Friday, November 01, 2019

Cold Spring Brewing said it would expand its facility in St. Cloud, adding a third production line and hiring between 60 and 100 new workers. The St. Cloud Times reports on the announcement from the company, noting that the expansion could push Cold Spring's workforce to over 600. A few years ago, its total employment was just over 300. Click here to view the original article from Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

IMMIGRANTS BUILT MINNESOTA’S ECONOMY AND CULTURE. THEY STILL DO.

Friday, November 01, 2019

Let’s recognize the vital role Minnesota’s new immigrants play in the economy and cultivate their skills to take on the high-demand careers of the future, writes Hamse Warfa, deputy commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. ST. PAUL — I have a personal perspective on the many contributions of foreign-born Minnesotans. Like many of the more than 70,000 of my fellow Minnesotans, I was born in Somalia. My parents were entrepreneurs and we lived a good life in Mogadishu until the civil war broke out when I was 10. The violence forced us to flee and we spent mor...

Otter Bremer Trust exploring strategic options for Bremer Financial Corporation

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Trustees of the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT), the majority shareholder of Bremer Financial Corporation (BFC), announced that they have commenced a process to explore strategic options for BFC. Click here to view the original article from The Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

5 Minnesota companies in top 250 of Forbes 'World's Best Employers'

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Best Buy was the highest ranked. Five Minnesota companies have been included in the top 250 of Forbes' list of "World's Best Employers." The list of 500 companies is topped by Google owner Alphabet, followed by software and programming giants Microsoft and Red Hat. Forbes compiles the rankings based upon the feedback of some 1.4 million employees it surveyed, as well as public feedback across the globe. Click here to view the original article from Bring Me The News.

Ten New Grants Boost Nontraditional Careers for Women

Monday, October 21, 2019

I am pleased to announce that DEED has awarded 10 grants totaling $1,425,000 under the Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) Competitive Grants program. DEED received about $3.6 million in funding requests, and only $1,425,000 was available for grant awards in the SFY2020-21 funding cycle. Click here to view the original article from MN DEED.

Most & Least Energy-Efficient States

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Energy is expensive. In fact, it’s one of the biggest household expenses for American consumers. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average U.S. family spends at least $2,000 per year on utilities, with heating and cooling of spaces alone accounting for more than half the bill. In 2018, the average consumer spent another $2,109 on motor fuel and oil, up $141 from last year. The Department of Energy estimates that adopting energy-efficient measures in the home could reduce a family’s utility costs by as much as 25 percent. It pays to conserve, especially during a time of increasingly warmer temperatures. As for transportation, the agenc...

New Youth at Work Grants Help Young People Achieve Workplace Success

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

DEED has awarded $3,893,100 to 39 organizations to provide young people workforce development and training opportunities during the 2020-2021 state fiscal year. The Office of Youth Development awarded the Youth at Work grants to organizations providing services to economically disadvantaged or at-risk youth ages 14-24. Helping young people achieve workplace success is not only important for the Youth at Work program participants themselves, but for the future of our state. Their success helps to ensure that the next generation of diverse workers is ready to fill job openings as baby boomers retire and new jobs are created. Click here to view the original article from MN DEED.

Angel tax credit welcomed by entrepreneurs

Monday, October 07, 2019

2019 marked the return of Minnesota’s angel tax credit, an incentive program for investors to put money into growing Minnesota startups. The program, which offers a 25% tax credit to investors who put money into eligible startup companies, began in 2010 but disappeared for a year after its funding lapsed in 2017. Resuming the angel tax credit has been welcome news for Minnesota’s startup community, which on Wednesday kicks off a series of seminars, networking and other events for Twin Cities Startup Week. This year’s schedule includes numerous opportunities for founders to meet with investors, said Reed Robinson, executive director of Startup Wee...

Minnesota ranked 6th healthiest state for women and children

Monday, September 23, 2019

Minnesota is the sixth healthiest state for women and children, according to the United Health Foundation’s 2019 “America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children Report.” That’s a good ranking relative to the other 49 states, although it’s one slot lower than last year. Click here to view the original article from the MinnPost.

Announcing the Launch Minnesota Advisory Board

Friday, September 20, 2019

I'm excited to announce our advisory board for Launch Minnesota, our new statewide collaboration to support technology startups. Each of the 10 members of our advisory board come from unique backgrounds in technology and entrepreneurship. We believe their wisdom and guidance will help Launch Minnesota empower a stronger startup ecosystem for everyone. Launch Minnesota will provide financial incentives, training, and grants to people starting scalable innovative businesses in sectors such as aerospace, agricultural processing, nanotechnology and medical devices. The program provides special consideration for startups in Greater Minnesota, as well as businesses started by women, veterans and people of color. Th...

Exciting, Dynamic, Challenging Work: What Workforce Strategy Consultants Do

Thursday, September 19, 2019

I am one of the seven regional CareerForce Workforce Strategy Consultants. One of the things I love about this work is that every day is different. That makes describing a day in the life a bit tricky, but I’m going to try my best to break it down in this blog post. The typical day can start a few different ways. We could be reporting to the CareerForce location where we are based or we might be traveling to meetings throughout our region. The seven Workforce Strategy Consultants cover vast areas similar to the regional Labor Market Analysts or Business Developmen...

Rebranded CareerForce is all about finding the right job

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

What is the best way for governments to support unemployed workers – and get them back to work? From job-search and retraining assistance to unemployment insurance and other safety nets, state leaders seek a balance that offers tools and support needed to find the next job without letting people put off their job search indefinitely. Minnesota is retooling its workforce support system under the name CareerForce, and hopes to bring a new emphasis to getting workers into the right job, not just the quickest, said Mike Lang, job service director for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Click here to vie...

Twin Cities score high among places for best work-life balance (gallery)

Sunday, September 01, 2019

Whether it's disconnecting from your phone after clocking out or taking off early to get to a recital, everybody has their own ways to maintain their work-life balance. But based on a recent study, that balance could be harder to achieve depending on the city you live. Based on a ranking from the New York-based company Kisi, while U.S. cities often aren't the best in the world at helping workers achieve this balance, there are some where you won't burn you at quite as quickly. On a 100-point scale, only three U.S. cities achieved a rating barely over 50. Minneapolis/St. Pau...

Twin Cities score high among places for best work-life balance (gallery)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

University of Minnesota spins out a record number of startups

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The University of Minnesota's Venture Center announced that it had spun out 19 startups in the most recent financial year, its most ever. The class of 2019 includes a company that creates concussion recovery technology, a cancer therapy for dogs and a line of acne products for boys. "It was a really good year," Russ Straate said. Straate is the Venture Center's associate director. The Venture Center was founded in 2006 and is part of the University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization, aims to transform research done at the U into tangible products. Click here to view the original article from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Busines...

2019’s States with the Best & Worst Community-College Systems

Monday, August 19, 2019

University education is out of reach for many Americans, especially those from low-income households. But thanks to community colleges, higher education is more accessible than ever. Compared with public four-year institutions, where tuition and fees cost almost three times as much on average, community colleges offer many savings for students. Some states make community college even more accessible than usual. Multiple states and numerous cities across the U.S. have started “College Promise” programs that give residents free rides to community college. New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee are some of the states that have joined so far. Such initiatives are proving to be mor...

Minnesota’s startup ecosystem

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Tucked away in this year’s motley special session package at the Legislature was a bill authorizing the creation of Launch Minnesota, a $5 million public-private program to grow the state’s innovation economy. Amid partisan sniping over proposed increases to public education funding and the state gas tax, Launch Minnesota’s relatively modest investment drew low-key support from both sides of the aisle, emerging from the legislative gantlet with the broad strokes of Gov. Tim Walz’s original proposal intact — albeit with a slimmer budget. The passage of Launch Minnesota was hailed as an early win for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED...

Minnesota Maintains AAA Ratings

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Standard & Poor's and Fitch Affirm Minnesota’s Bond Ratings ST. PAUL, MN – Top financial analysts Standard & Poor's and Fitch announced that they are affirming Minnesota’s AAA, the highest rating awarded by the analysts. The following is a statement from Governor Tim Walz: “AAA ratings from Fitch and Standard & Poor’s is a testament to Minnesota’s strong economy and fiscal management. We are proud of the work we did this legislative session to help secure this rating. Now we need to work to pass a robust bonding bill to invest in the future and ensure our economy works for all Minnesotans.” Click her...

CareerForce Customer Video

Friday, August 09, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fF2nB-yVRU#action=share

Minnesota: Thriving in the North

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

From startups to Fortune 500 companies, Minnesota is the place for businesses to grow and thrive. With a top notch education system, great quality of life and a history of technological growth and innovation, anything is possible in Minnesota. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6_87_3hZg

Minnesota Business Firms Expect Stable Conditions in 2020

Monday, August 05, 2019

Annual survey by DEED, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis measures stability of business services ST. PAUL – Minnesota business service firms feel positive about the economy, with 86 percent expecting sales revenue to increase or remain stable next year, according to a joint survey released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Business services firms are less optimistic however that labor availability will grow or remain stable in 2020. Seventy-nine percent expect labor availability to remain stable, while 13 percent expect a decline. Only 8 percent of respondents anticipate labor availability to grow next year. Th...

How Minnesota's economy depends on small businesses

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Minnesotans around the state owe their paychecks to small business owners. The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) reported that in 2016, 60 percent of private jobs in greater Minnesota were with businesses that employed fewer than 500 employees. These businesses pay taxes and provide economic stability during even the worst economic times, according to DEED. Small businesses increased by 5 percent in spite of the Great Recession. They were a source of stability for rural parts of the state that saw large organizations shed workers. Now, though, small businesses need to keep up with wage growth if they want to continu...

DEED Names Assistant Commissioner for Workforce Services

Saturday, July 06, 2019

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced that Carol Pankow will serve as Assistant Commissioner for Workforce Services. Within DEED, the workforce services division helps individuals overcome barriers to employment and develop job skills by providing a range of programs and services for laid-off and unemployed individuals. Click here to view the original article from DEED.

Launch Minnesota: Come Help Us Grow Minnesota’s Startup Ecosystem

Thursday, June 20, 2019

One of the most exciting outcomes of the 2019 Legislative session for DEED was the creation of a new program called Launch Minnesota. Designed to nurture technology startups and entrepreneurs across the state, Launch Minnesota will work with private industry to create financial incentives and programming to demonstrate that Minnesota is committed to fostering an innovation ecosystem that draws global attention. The program concept grew out of a collaboration between DEED and the Minnesota Legislature – with legislators on both sides of the aisle making meaningful contributions. It is a joint initiative with private businesses and nonprofit organizations statewide. Click here t...

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