Blog Archives

Thanking Public Servants

9/26/2022

It’s that time again – our annual Leaders in Local Government Awards, presented by Bremer Bank, is this Thursday, Sep 29. Why do we do this event? It’s simple. The importance of public services – and public servants – cannot be overstated. Public servants are the most under-appreciated and yet hardest-working (on our behalf) sector of our economy. I’m tough on our political leaders, because I expect so much from them. We need so much from them. Behind them, doing the yeoman’s work, are the servants within government. Police, Fire Departments, Economic Development, Permitting, Finance, Parks, these people devote more time and energy in service to use than we recognize – or honor. I love this awards luncheon because, at least once a year, we can say THANK YOU for the people who serve us every day.

This Awards Luncheon is being hosted by several chambers partners: Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Midway Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul Area Chamber, and Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce. Together we want to say “thank you.” I hope you’ll join us to honor the nominees and hear from retired St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, !

On another note: as I talk with members, people from across the region, the resounding theme I’m hearing is one of “too much.” People are really feeling pressure, the heat of too much on their plate. I get it. It takes me back to a challenging time in my life when I remember wishing that the merry go round would just stop for a minutes so I could sit in the quiet and figure out how I felt or what I thought. Recently I was introduced to a book that speaks to this, and wanted to share it: How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, by artist Jenny Odell. “To do nothing is to hold yourself still so that you can perceive what is actually there.” Be encouraged, find your stillness, take time for quiet reflection so you can figure out how you feel or what you think about a particular situation in your life.

See you in the trenches.
B

With 8 candidates selected for interviews, St. Paul police chief expected to be named by late October.
Good article by the NY Times on the shift in crime trends nationally: shootings nationwide have fallen 2% (still 30% above 2019 levels), but other types of crime are rising.

How steep Fed rate hikes affect your finances. Mortgage rates have jumped, home sales have slumped and credit cards and auto loans have gotten pricier. Savings rates are slightly juicier, though. As the Federal Reserve has rapidly increased interest rates, many economists say they fear that a recession is inevitable in the coming months — and with it, job losses that could cause hardship for households already hurt worst by inflation.
Big bank CEOs face 2nd day of questioning from lawmakers. The CEOs of the nation’s biggest banks were in for a second day of tough questioning from lawmakers last week, as Americans face inflation not seen since the early 1980s – and a midterm election is only weeks away. Their message thus far: “The U.S. consumer is in relatively good shape but faces threats from high inflation and rising interest rates.”

State

Early voting starts for November election. Early voting started Friday, Sept. 23. What you need to know.
Minnesota THC legalization puts workplace drug testing in limbo. Minnesota employers are on edge about potential liabilities stemming from their drug testing policies in the wake of the state’s recent legalization of consumable products containing the active ingredient in marijuana.

Regional

St. Paul City Council amends rent control: 20-year new construction exemption and 8% cap on vacancy decontrol.

Election season is ramping up. Be sure to reference our East Metro Voter Guide to learn more about your candidates!

Subscribe to our Chamber Advocacy Update to keep up with advocacy news.

This Tuesday, Sep 27, the Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District (SPDID) is celebrating their Street Team Ambassadors with a community event in Landmark Plaza. City officials and downtown leaders, including Mayor Melvin Carter and SPDID Board Chair Clint Blaiser, will share their thanks for all that the Street Team has done for downtown during its continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic — from picking up trash and removing graffiti to helping visitors with wayfinding. Full details are below. Please join them for this celebration!
Check out your Chamber’s calendar of upcoming events as well, which include:
1. Election Preview Issue Forum: Sep 28, 1pm. Register here!
2. East Metro Leaders in Local Government Awards featuring Todd Axtell, Presented by Bremer Bank, Sep 29. Register here!
3. Leadership Burnout: part of our Business Education Series: Oct 6, 9am. Register here!
4. Politics at the Pub: meet your candidates for office on Oct 6, 6pm. Register here!

Pay equity: who should be in charge? As organizations seek to rightsize their compensation packages, especially given the pressures of the so-called Great Resignation and trends like quiet quitting, the focus on pay equity is becoming ever sharper. While fair pay practices are increasingly viewed as a must for a strong recruitment and retention strategy, ideas about who should actually be setting those policies are less clear. What is clear: CEO buy-in, leadership from DE&I officers and action by managers and employees are all needed to generate cultural change needed to make DE&I work sustainable. On that note, Minnesota has the fourth-lowest job resignation rate.
Pohlad brothers selected as Twin Cities Business People of the Year. Bob, Bill, and Jim Pohlad will be honored for their commitments to alleviate poverty, bolster racial justice, and rejuvenate downtown Minneapolis.

IT'S OFFICIAL! The Minnesota Startup Awards have been announced!
Bremer/Habitat partnership approaches 500 homes. And more are on the horizon. As of 2017, Bremer partnered to be the sole source of capital for the Home Loan Impact Fund.

Minneapolis: Sherman plans $400M downtown development. Planned for the site is a 25-story mixed-use high-rise, a 20-plus story market-rate apartment building, and a 10-story mixed-income mid-rise apartment building with an “amenity courtyard” and “feature restaurant plaza” in the middle, Sherman said.
St. Paul: Paster pays $1M for Highland Park development site. The plan: 4-story, 91-unit, market-rate apt bldg. on the site of a former church (2315 Highland Parkway).
Maplewood: Plans afoot to raze Maplewood’s Myth nightclub, built apartments.

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Can we make hybrid work, work?

9/19/2022

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In a word, yes.

Today, I’m thinking of the human element of hybrid work. I see the increased flexibility, thrust upon us during the pandemic, as having some real long-term benefits. Remote work CAN work. That said, we do still need to be together. Building trust without face-to-face human contact is way more difficult. We’ve adapted reasonably well, but so many of our relationships pre-existed. It is in the building of NEW relationships that we still need human interaction. Remember, we build trust “between the meetings.” Isaac Stern said, “music happens between the notes.” The consistency of human interaction, over time builds trust. And this is so challenging virtually because there IS no “between the meeting.” And brainstorming? We just don’t have the same flow of ideas, the same informal interruptions that spur more discussions.

What we hope for, I think, is more fluidity. Flexibility. And employers I speak to are thinking intelligently about how to support employees in this new normal. One fine example is Target. I recently had the pleasure of touring Target’s headquarters buildings in downtown Minneapolis. This company is committed to creating a culture of caring, winning, and growing together. All within a hybrid work environment. Of the thousands of employees at the downtown location, employees have flexible schedules that work with their team priorities. Leadership is intentionally responding to the human element of work, creating flex spaces, concierge tech support services, and team member meeting/working/lounging space. Their approach is, ‘flex for your day.’ And their investment in technology is intended to help offset the burden of off-site work spaces. Really impressive.

See you in the trenches.
B

I continue to serve on the St. Paul Police Chief Examining Committee. As you might imagine, this is a lengthy process but it continues to move forward. The committee is very engaged, finalists to be interviewed have been selected, and those interviews will happen yet in September. The committee is required to submit 5 candidates to the Mayor. More to come, but know that the candidate pool is strong.

The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting Tuesday, with a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday. While anything less than a 75-basis-point interest rate hike seems unlikely, some market watchers have speculated that a 100-basis-point increase isn't off the table. This against the latest CPI figures showing inflation growing at a rate of 8.3% year over year (Bloomberg)
August jobs report released: Minnesota lost 3100 jobs. Unemployment insurance claims haven’t increased; unemployment rose 1/10th of a point to 1.9% in August. Who’s not working and why? Great info from the Mpls Fed.
Consumer confidence rose by 5.5% in August, according to the latest Morning Consult U.S. Index of Consumer Sentiment. This is the largest increase since March 2021, as confidence levels increased in 44 of 50 states (yes, I checked – this does include Minnesota), the highest level of state increases since that same time period. "Consumer confidence is breaking out of a yearlong slump, thanks in large part to falling gas prices," said Morning Consult economic analyst Jesse Wheeler. "Improving sentiment will support consumer spending, which has faced headwinds from rapidly rising prices and monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve." Read more: Consumer Confidence Rose 5.5% in August, Breaking Yearlong Slump.

Federal

Government funding deadline is Sep 30, a week from this Friday.
Student loan debt forgiveness. No matter your position on it, it’s here. Here's what I read this evening:
- According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 8 million borrowers may qualify for automatic student loan forgiveness based on data the department already has. For the remaining roughly 35 million borrowers, an application is required to receive relief.
- You can register to be notified when the application is available through the Department of Education by filling out this form.
- Borrowers that are found to be eligible for automatic relief will be sent an email and a text message (if signed up for one via your FSA account).

State

St. Paul Area Chamber again is partnering with KSTP and other chambers on a statewide candidate debate (Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State). This debate will air on Sunday, October 23 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more details!

Regional

Rent control – yes, again! This time, the St. Paul City Council compromises on vacancy decontrol. From full vacancy decontrol to a cap of 8%, on top of inflation, when a rental unit is unoccupied. Look for a vote this upcoming Wednesday (?).

Election season is ramping up. Be sure to reference our East Metro Voter Guide to learn more about your candidates!

Subscribe to our Chamber Advocacy Update to keep up with advocacy news.

Because she has been unfailingly helpful for me: heads up on a new podcast, featuring Goff Public’s crisis coach (and President) Jen Hellman: The Crisis Files.
MSPBJ’s 2022 CFO of the Year Honorees announced. Special shout-outs to: Dennis Power, Opus Holding; Patrick Nolan, Gillette Children's Specialty; John Reutter, Uponor North America; Kevin Valois, Sunrise Banks; Warren Zaccaro, Securian Financial Group.
Check out your Chamber’s calendar of upcoming events as well, which include:
1. Equity Leadership Series, Presented by Bremer Bank, September 21. Register here!
2. Workforce Solutions: Utilizing Alternative Ways to Recruit Employees, Presented by Roseville Business Council, September 28. Register here!
3. Election Preview Issue Forum, September 28. Register here!
4. Leaders in Local Government Awards featuring Todd Axtell, Presented by Bremer Bank, September 29. Register here!

Twin Cities Startup Week (TCSW) began last Friday! Incredible events are happening in Saint Paul throughout the week. Share your photos with us by tagging us on Twitter @fullstackstp or LinkedIn!
Because I love him, and I know you will at least learn something from him: subscribe to Simon Sinek’s Youtube channel. And when next you have a free moment, while you’re driving, pull up his channel (here is link to his podcast, “A Bit of Optimism,” as well) and be inspired. Thanks again, Ken Smith, for introducing me to him!

National rail strike averted. Few states shuttle more freight than Minnesota – from iron ore and taconite to farm and food products. And about 80% of the state’s roughly 4300 rail workers are unionized (per John Apitz, legislative counsel for Minnesota Regional Railroads Association). According to the American Association of Railroads, Minnesota is fourth-highest in the country by volume.
Two Black-owned businesses are first to open at new development in St. Paul’s Frogtown. Frogtown Crossroads, at University and Dale, now houses Urban 29, a clothing store, and Flava Café. Special shout-out to NDC for its work in the development of a portion of this building.
Xcel Energy gets final approvals for state’s largest-ever solar project, in Becker MN.
UofM’s startup pipeline helps drive state’s innovation economy. In FY2022 alone, the U launched 22 companies.
Congratulations to Bremer Bank, recognized and awarded: 2022 SBA Minnesota Lender award!

Numbers to watch: On Tuesday, the Census Bureau releases figures on new residential construction, and on Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors updates its data on existing home sales.
Home prices up, closed sales down in August. Rising interest rates and inflation chilled Minnesota home sales in August as sales and new listings were down by double-digit margins, while the average price of a home ticked up to more than $380,000, according to a recent Minnesota Realtors report.
Viking Mississippi makes its inaugural departure from St. Paul to New Orleans. This is really big news for St. Paul, a date that has been more than 7 years in the making. Congrats to the Parks Dept and the St. Paul Port Authority for yeoman’s work to make this happen. If you’d like to partake, I advise you look into it soon – these cruises are filling up fast, into the years ahead!
Minnesota exports hit record high: $6.7B worth of goods in Q2 2022, reflecting a 12% increase from this time last year. More opportunity ahead, because this increase is still below the national average.
The state clears M Health Fairview’s plan for new psychiatric hospital in St. Paul. A $62M project on the site of the old Bethesda Hospital.

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Remembering and Honoring Service

9/12/2022

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A week of memories, some of them deeply grievous. Remembering 9/11 and our very serious charge to “never forget.” Pausing to honor the lives and impact of Queen Elizabeth II and Mikhail Gorbachev. A week of reflections, indeed. I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. And I remember Gorbachev’s visit to Minnesota on June 3, 1990. And, of course, we all remember that just this past Thursday the world lost its second-longest reigning monarch on record.

Just around the corner is an opportunity to honor public servants in our lives today. On Thursday, September 29th, the St. Paul Area Chamber and East Metro Chamber partners will host the annual Leaders in Local Government Awards. This year’s event features retired St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, and is our opportunity to elevate and celebrate public servants who work on our behalf every day. I hope you’ll join us to thank the nominees, all who exemplify and demonstrate innovation, excellence, and success in local government!

Thinking back on Mikhail Gorbachev and his visit to Minnesota (highlights and memories): I had just gotten back to the U.S. after my tour of duty in West Germany. We had experienced the Berlin Wall come down in November of 1989, the Perestroika (“restructuring”) political and economic reform and glasnost (“openness”) policy reform had gripped the world with hope. And this was the first time a Soviet leader had visited America’s heartland during the Cold War since Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited Iowa in 1959. Gorbachev’s policies helped bring an end to the Cold War, led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall, encouraged the rise of democracy in Europe, and ultimately led to a complete dismantling of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin created the communist system that challenged the West; Mikhail Gorbachev brought that system down. Say what you will of Gorbachev’s success in doing so; he earned his place in history and he understood one thing: “only democratic change had any chance of producing real economic improvements to ordinary lives.”

See you in the trenches.
B

Retired SPPD Chief Todd Axtell on Twin Cities shootings and moving forward as a community: “Every spoke of the criminal justice wheel must support victims of crime - from the 911 call through judicial accountability. When this happens, violent crime offenders are not left on the street to re-offend. It’s really a basic crime prevention strategy.”
How the gun trafficking problem in Minnesota compares to other states. The ATF traces the origins of firearms and the link is to 2020 numbers. MN ranks 19th in terms of % of firearms with out-of-state origins. In actual numbers, total firearms recovered and traced in 2020, Minnesota is 28th.

In his last public remarks before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting September 20-21, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank needs to "act now, forthrightly" to rein in inflationary pressures, indicating that the option of another 75-basis-point rate hike is not off the table. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, an FOMC voting member, told reporters he supports raising the benchmark interest rate to at least 3.5% in the coming months. (Financial Times)
Economic Club of Minnesota event: read what supply chain leaders from Cargill, Hormel Foods, and Andersen Corp. say about labor shortage and the inflation squeeze.
Tracking ARPA: Brookings Metro and GREATER MSP created tools that gather, summarize, and visualize how local governments are putting SLFRF dollars to work. Brookings Metro partnered with the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties to produce the Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker. And as part of its MSP Federal Funding Hub project, GREATER MSP partnered with 12 cities and 17 counties in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region to generate the MSP ARPA Tracker, which tracks those jurisdictions’ spending plans.
Build Back Better: our region was NOT selected for Build Back Better investment.Twenty-one regional coalitions will receive a funding boost from the federal government as they try to build more equitable economies based on emerging industries. The winners of the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, were announced last Friday. They will receive grants ranging from $25 million to $65 million.

Federal

Government funding: The House will join the Senate in session this week for the first time since the end of its August recess. A lot of things are in the mix, but the biggest issue facing lawmakers before they return to the campaign trail next month is reaching agreement on legislation to fund the government past September 30. What we're watching: Senators appear to be coalescing around a stopgap spending deal to fund the government through December 16, and could vote on it as soon as next week, according to Roll Call. But divisions remain over the Biden administration's request for money to respond to COVID-19 and the monkeypox outbreak. Also at issue is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's pledge to add permitting reform legislation to the continuing resolution, as promised in the Inflation Reduction Act negotiations, due to opposition from House progressives and some Senate Republicans.

Regional

Rent control: St. Paul City Council likely to prune rent-control ordinance this week. A series of amendments were passed last week, aimed at courting new real estate investment. Additional amendments and a final vote are expected this week. St. Paul’s PED Director, Nicolle Goodman, testified at City Council on Sep 7 and shared some data: permits for new housing units in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are up 38.5% in 2022 over last year. By contrast, St. Paul saw a 31% decrease in the number of new permitted units. Goodman also clarified data provided to the council by the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections last month that showed applications for construction permits were up significantly from previous years, which seemed to contradict building permit data that showed construction cratered in the city. Goodman explained the data provided by DSI showed an inflated number of applications because developers sometimes submit multiple applications for the same project, and city staff hadn’t removed duplicative data. Once duplicative applications were accounted for, city data showed building permits in 2022 have been lower than the past four years on average, rather than 20% higher as originally reported by city staff.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg rides Metro Transit to highlight future Minneapolis-St. Paul BRT line.

Election season is ramping up. Be sure to reference our East Metro Voter Guide to learn more about your candidates!

Subscribe to our Chamber Advocacy Update to keep up with advocacy news.

The Star Tribune’s own Jim Walsh talks about JazzFestwrote about its 20th anniversary last year – and it’s back! For more information on JazzFest, its performance lineup and vendors, go here.
September’s episode of B’s Table Talk featuring Amanda LaGrange has been published on PodBean.
Inclusive Workplaces Cohort Recognition Event. The Workforce Innovation Board, in partnership with Ramsey County, launched the Inclusive Workplaces Cohort initiative to support businesses in becoming more inclusive workplaces in 2021. The program offered businesses in Ramsey County the opportunity to participate in a year-long peer learning community to learn together while advancing equity and inclusion within their organizations. The cohort sessions were led by the Center for Economic Inclusion in alignment with the county’s Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan which set a comprehensive economic development strategy centered on equitable growth and strengthening economic competitiveness.
Check out your Chamber’s calendar of upcoming events as well, which include:
1. Lunch with Leaders: Entrepreneurship Edition (featuring TurnSignl; 2043 SBC; NCXT; Bridgemakers), Sep 14. Register here!
2. Equity Leadership Series, Presented by Bremer Bank, Sep 21. Register here!
3. Leaders in Local Government Awards featuring Todd Axtell, Presented by Bremer Bank, Sep 29. Register here!

Innovative workforce solutions in Ramsey County: September is National Workforce Development Month. As the second-most populous and most diverse county in Minnesota, Ramsey County faces many of the same workforce challenges as other communities throughout the country, with local employers having difficulty filling their open positions and yet some residents having difficulty finding employment. But there is a wide array of local resources intended to help. Residents in Ramsey County can seek assistance and programs to support them in overcoming barriers to employment through the efforts of Ramsey County Workforce Solutions, CareerForce, the statewide public workforce system, and the Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County (WIB).
Plating People Growing Justice Leadership Institute is working to boost literacy rates among children of color.

The Soul Apartments, a Schafer Richardson development at the intersection of Robert Street and Plato Boulevard on the City’s West Side, will add much-needed deeply affordable housing for St. Paul families. Utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to expand the amount of stable, permanent, affordable housing for Saint Paul’s lowest-income residents, who are most cost-burdened and disproportionately affected by the housing crisis.
Target is partnering with entrepreneurial Minneapolis fashion designer Houston White – with plans for a several-year commitment. Over the past two years, Target has pushed to work with more companies led by Black makers, making a commitment to invest more than $2 billion in Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025.
DEED’s “Summer of Jobs” Campaign highlights the Office of New Americans. You can watch a recording of the full discussion on DEED’s YouTube channel.
Minnesota’s Black jobless rate climbs while overall figure hits record low. The development contrasts with gains seen last year and during a prosperous period rom 2016 to 2019.

U of M continues land assembly for proposed Health Discovery Hub. The latest deal is to pay $1.88M for 512 Ontario St SE, or Block 11, adding to the planned 275K SF hub TSF. Partnering in this project is M Health Fairview.
From the St. Paul Downtown Alliance: You may have recently seen some new storefronts filling as the first Grow Downtown tenants move in. We continue to see a very positive response to the program, with even more business prospects and landlord participation than we originally imagined, look for more good news on that in the near future. Also, check out this story from the Wall Street Journal from earlier this summer. I think it has some really great insights about the future of downtowns across the country. It also shows that our region has some of the best return to office data in the county.
3M spinning off health care division that would be its own Fortune 500 company. Where will it land?

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