Be the things you love most

So I was at a funeral this past weekend. I was one of the speakers and, in advance, I sought some counsel from a wise friend because I was struggling. I wasn’t feeling particularly hopeful, certainly not enlightened, and most definitely not grateful. I bring this up because we’re approaching Thanksgiving, and gratitude is especially important this year because we all have lost so much. I needed to get back in touch with my own gratitude. My friend helped. She suggested,
 
Be the things you love most about the people you miss.
 
I keep saying this to myself, and it keeps hitting me. Yes. I can do that. I can be inviting, welcoming. I can be justice-oriented.  I can be fiercely loyal to the people and values I hold close.  I can tell the people around me how much I appreciate them.
 
What do you want to “be” as you walk out your own gratitude?
 
May your Thanksgiving and the holiday season ahead be blessed with gratitude you claim for yourself and your family! Hope and optimism for a better tomorrow.
 
See you in the trenches.
B

FDA authorizes Pfizer and Moderna boosters for adults. Qualified people are eligible 6 months after their 2nd shot. My personal experience: as soon as I read this, I jumped on the Walgreens website to get scheduled. Walgreens only offered me one date – couldn’t schedule any date but December 6. Doesn’t work for me. So I jumped on the CVS site; lots of date options at a variety of locations, but none of the potential locations on any of my requested dates had available appointments. Hmm… I guess I will have to keep trying.   
 
Speaking to Minnesota’s worst 7-day case rate in the country as of a week ago, Gov. Tim Walz won’t declare COVID emergency. ‘Just get vaccinated!’  And for those already vaccinated, get a booster shot when your time comes.​

• Debt limit: See above.
• US jobless claims drop for 7th straight week, to a pandemic low of 268K – after topping 900K one week in early January. Minnesota’s unemployment hits pre-pandemic level of 3.5% in October, but we’re still missing workers – over 100K.​
• October survey results from the Minneapolis Fed. Watch this webinar. Outlook: Overall, respondents remain optimistic about the future; 46 percent were somewhat or very optimistic for the coming six months, compared with 34 expressing pessimism. However, there was a notable pullback of 10 percentage points in overall optimism compared with the July survey. Top issues are no surprise: labor availability and supply chain disruptions. Star Tribune offered its summary here.

• Impacts of Minimum Wage in St. Paul: St. Paul restaurants in particular saw large drops in jobs, hours, and total earnings.  
• SBA Announces updated guidance regarding applicant deadlines for COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. Agency strongly encourages submission of supplemental advance applications by December 10; all applications due by December 31.
• Minnesota manufacturing is looking up despite supply chain concerns. Business is there – challenges are supply chain and attracting qualified workers. IN support of that, manufacturing PMI rose to 60.8% in October, reflecting a 17th consecutive month of growth.  Beware, though: some manufacturers already are talking to me about a potential slow-down in mid-2022, as supply chain issues sort themselves out and OEMs find themselves with an abundance of inventory. Stay tuned on this one.
• Minnesota Chamber releases its 2022 Business Benchmarks Report.
  

• ​Consumers reshuffle spending toward discretionary categories. Morning Consult’s November Consumer Spending Report looks at how supply chain disruptions and the upcoming holiday season are expected to affect consumer spending in the next month. Minnesota retailers are assuring us: “Don’t sweat supply chain challenges, store shelves in good shape.”  That said, with the holidays around the corner, Biden’s inflation problem is about to get worse.   ​
  

• Build Back Better: The House's Friday passage of President Joe Biden's massive climate and social spending plan provided a win for a Democratic caucus that has struggled through months of internal division. Now Senate Democrats get their turn, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) presses to advance the package before Christmas. What we're watching: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the spending package would add $367B to the deficit between 2022 and 2031; the bill does make significant improvements in immigration; Manchin is especially opposed to the package's paid family-leave provision due to cost concerns.
• Debt limit: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that she has a "high degree of confidence" that her department will be able to finance the federal government through Dec. 15, though the Bipartisan Policy Center, an external forecaster which has consistently predicted when the government will reach its debt limit, believes the Biden administration may be able to stave off default as late as mid-February.  What we're watching: Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) met last week to discuss the issue, suggesting a more conciliatory approach between the two parties than the October standoff. (A number of Democrats simply think Republicans will blink again.) But the question remains: What will Schumer have to give McConnell and Senate Republicans, if anything, in order to cobble together at least 10 Republican votes in favor of lifting the debt ceiling to overcome the legislative filibuster?
• Fed chair: Biden is expected to reveal his nominee for Federal Reserve chair before Thanksgiving. What we're watching: The President is reportedly considering renominating current Chairman Jerome Powell or elevating Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who wouldn't represent much of a change on economic policy from Powell. In fact, she and Powell have worked well together so far during both the Trump and Biden administrations. Brainard would come down more on the side of tighter regulation of financial firms, and perhaps push the Fed harder to make changes in terms of climate action — one of the administration's top priorities. 

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​State:

• Redistricting: on September 16, the U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2020 census at data.census.gov. States have not yet finalized redistricting schedules. For Minnesota, the redistricting deadline is Feb 5, 2022. See also: Redistricting in Minnesota after the 2020 census.
• Minnesota tax code changes: Minnesota tax code changes were signed into law on July 1, 2021. Among the changes were those relating to Unemployment Insurance (UI) compensation, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness, and other retroactive conformity provisions affecting tax years 2017 through 2020.   As of November 15, 2021:
  • Revenue has processed over 217K impacted returns Of those returns, over 10,900 had PPP loan forgiveness adjustments.
  • Began manually processing the over 540,000 returns with UI compensation and PPP loan forgiveness filed at the individual income tax level the week of September 13. Manual processing of returns is ongoing. 
  • Systematic processing of returns began at the end of October with the goal of processing 50,000 returns each week thereafter.  
  • All other 2020 conformity-related adjustments (e.g., IRA distributions to be repaid over extended time, certain retirement account withdrawals excluded from income, and other miscellaneous provisions) will be completed by the department unless the taxpayer received a letter asking them to complete an amended return. 

 
Regional:

• New Minneapolis Fed property-data tool reveals patterns of investor ownership in the Twin Cities. The rise in investor ownership has been observed nationwide, and it’s growing here. What does this mean? Aside from your personal opinion about investor-owned properties, I anticipate that - with rent control in place - it will continue to grow at a faster pace. Small, local operators/landlord will have to sell.  Investor ownership may reduce single-family homeownership, and can change neighborhood character.
• DOJ awards St. Paul a $4.75M grant for 30 police officers, but Mayor remains noncommittal – until he learns about the obligation it carries. If St. Paul accepts the full grant amount, the city would need to provide a $1.8M match annually for the next 3 years. The federal funding would cover a portion of 3 years of salaries.

 
Public Affairs Issue Forums: one final forum to finish out the year:

• Housing Math – December 8, 10:00 -11:00 AM. Register here.

 
Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update.

Holiday Events ahead in St. Paul!
 
You’re not uncool. Making friends as an adult is just hard.
 
Your Chamber’s annual Holiday Open House is back December 9 – with a special twist to thank businesses for their years of partnership. We look forward to seeing you there!​

Showing gratitude toward your employees isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s also important for retention. A study by Workhuman found companies that gave their employees five moments of recognition per year reduced voluntary turnover by 22%. 3 reasons why gratitude in leadership is essential to success unpacks the power of saying “thank you.” It presents research and insights about the business benefits of gratitude, including boosting creativity, increasing sales and enhancing recruitment.

Full Stack: Young adults can now apply for UX Academy through November 30. Applicants must be 18-24 years old and live in Saint Paul or Minneapolis. The 12-week immersive program explores the career pathway of user experience design. Interested in tracking St. Paul’s Full Stack initiative? Sign up for the monthly newsletter here.

Where does infrastructure money go in Minnesota? State and local governments are projected to receive $6.8B in federal grants under the $1.2T infrastructure bill signed last week. Here’s what’s headed to Minnesota according to White House estimates. 

The Hollows is happening! We’re especially delighted about this one: First-time developer Johnny Opara to build 62-united apartment building in St. Paul. The building on Payne Avenue will include deeply affordable units.

STAG, a Boston REIT, buys a St. Paul warehouse at 1700 Wynne Ave for $30.5M. STAG has over 2.9M SF of industrial properties in Minnesota. Its largest property is a 423K SF distribution warehouse on Farwell Ave in South St. Paul.

The St. Paul Athletic Club is closing, the site being repositioned as a hotel and event venue.