Ed MN calls on state lawmakers to provide funding for students, staff amid COVID
When lawmakers return to the State Capitol next week for the legislative session, Education MInnesota President Denise Specht is calling on them to focus on the well-being of the state's school workers and students. She says Minnesota is third-worst in [...]
Gas prices trending upward
Gas prices continue to rise across Minnesota. Patrick De Haan with Gas Buddy says early in the pandemic oil prices plummeted, demand crashed, resulting in oil companies cutting production: "But in the last year demand has come roaring back much [...]
Income tax filing season now open
The Minnesota Department of Revenue is now accepting income tax returns: "Which is the same day the IRS will open. And the filing deadline this year is Monday, April 18th, 2022." Assistant Revenue Commissioner Sarah Bronson says right now 90-percent [...]
Minnesota employers continue to add jobs
At the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, from February through April of 2020, Minnesota lost 416,300 jobs. DEED Commissioner Steve Grove says the bright news is: "We've now gained back about 74-percent of those jobs. About 307,400 of them [...]
Food shelf use remains high during COVID-19 pandemic
"It's been a heck of two years, and we're still in the thick of it as we start 2022." Allison O'Toole CEO of Second Harvest Heartland the state's largest food bank says all signs are pointing to another challenging year [...]
20 MN school workers have died from COVID since August 2020
COVID-19 complications are now blamed for the deaths of 12 school workers in Minnesota. The latest data includes one more school staff fatality, bringing the death toll to 20 since August 2020. Education Minnesota President Denise Specht (speck) says she [...]
Smith pushes for loan forgiveness to help retain public health workers and social workers
U-S Senator Tina Smith is sponsoring a bill to increase the retention of public health and social service workers. The bipartisan legislation would provide college loan forgiveness for those who stay in public health or social service jobs for a [...]
House DFL proposes $1 billion investment to take action on climate change
House DFLers this week laid out their proposal for a one-billion-dollar investment this session to help take action on the impacts of climate change in Minnesota. House Speaker Melissa Hortman says... "Climate change is one of the biggest threats to [...]
Top analyst previews upcoming state legislative session
The state legislative session begins one week from today. Lawmakers have to prioritize spending with a record $7.7 billion budget surplus and Carleton College political science professor Steven Schier says... "The Republican-dominated Senate and the Democratic-dominated House are going to [...]
