Career Connect Day – Meeting Needs of Employers

I spend a great deal of time throughout the year talking with you, our members, about your strategic priorities. It’s important for me to hear directly from you about what you need from us.  This year, you are telling us that your top priorities are: talent shortages within your organizations; dealing with inflationary impacts; workplace culture/employee engagement; and continuing to invest in your diversity/inclusion priorities. 
 
That first priority was the genesis for our inaugural Career Connect Day in late October. Our vision was to introduce high school sophomores to companies and potential career path opportunities. The day brought together almost 1900 students and 100 companies. Organized along the career pathways as laid out by the Minnesota Department of Education, Career Connect Day creates an introductory, exploratory, and fun day for students to be exposed to new career ideas, new brands, and the people actually doing the work already. I am so thrilled with how the day played out. What a great accomplishment for all of us.  Thanks to everyone on the Chamber team, within the school districts, and the participating/sponsoring employers for making the day such a great success.
 
Next year? With the encouragement from employers and the Ramsey County Workforce Innovation Board, we plan to make this a 2-day event: day 1 for students, and day 2 for adults looking for retraining, internships or second careers.  Please stay tuned and be sure to engage – we plan for this to become a perennial event, in service to the entire region.
 
On a side note: because I admire Bill Lindeke and how he thinks, I wanted to flag for you this fun interview here. As it turns out, he “believes St. Paul is the better twin!” 

See you in the trenches.
B

Dakota County: There is a significant backlog of criminal cases in the Dakota County District Court. The backlog was caused by the inability to conduct jury trials and other hearing types for a significant period dating back to March 16, 2020. Dakota County authorized the use of American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to add 3.0 FTE To County Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in response to the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic and amend County Attorney's Office and non-departmental 2021 budgets.

• U.S. consumer inflation eased to 7.7% in October. Inflation report leaves Fed on track for 0.5-point rate rise in December. Some central bank officials have signaled a desire to moderate the pace of interest rate increases.
• At the end of October, the US Department of Treasury announced that Minnesota had been approved for up to $97 million for small business financing support. The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a part of the American Rescue Act (ARPA) of 2021 and will include six programs designed to support Minnesota businesses. To enroll in any program, the company must meet the SBA definitions of a small business. Generally, this means less than 500 employees and $7.5 million in annual revenue. In the coming weeks and months, businesses may request assistance or have questions regarding the new programs; the Grow Minnesota!® team is here to help.    The SSBCI programs are launching over the course of the next few months, beginning with the Minnesota Loan Guarantee Program. This program will guarantee loans up to $800,000 with a .25% guarantee fee when enrolled by approved lenders. Interested businesses will apply through approved lenders, and the lender application process is in progress. Last week, the Growth Loan launched, providing direct loans to eligible seed and early-stage businesses, prioritizing technological innovation. The company must be planning on raising equity to qualify, as the loan amount will be based on 20% of the total amount raised and will range from $100,000 to $400,000. Applications for the Growth Loan Fund will be processed by DEED. Overall, these two programs will begin to support business investment and expansion in the state and may be helpful when visiting businesses.The new SSBCI will also contain two other loan programs administered by DEED, the Small Business Loan Participation Program and Automation Loan Participation Program. Additionally, there will be two venture capital investment programs, Direct Investment Venture Capital and Multi-Fund Venture Capital, and the University of Minnesota will administer both. By being knowledgeable about these new programs we can help position local businesses for success. Keep an eye out for more information from the Grow Minnesota!® team as these new programs are rolled out. 

Federal

• The New York Times wrote a great analysis of the election. Worth a read.
• Midterms in overtime: Democrats retained power in the Senate and have one contested race left: a runoff next month in Georgia. Those who were ready to put the midterms behind them can't let their guard down yet. Though Democrats will retain their Senate majority given victories by incumbents Mark Kelly of Arizona and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, whether they'll pad their seat margin over Republicans will remain unclear until December, when Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker face off in a Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia. Meanwhile, control of the House is still up for grabs pending the outcome of more than a dozen races. What we're watching: Even if Republicans win enough of the remaining House races to wrest control of the chamber from Democrats, as they are narrowly expected to do, the breadth of their majority looks to be historically thin, potentially in one- to three-seat territory.

 
State

• Democrats are in charge in Minnesota. Here’s what to expect: legalized pot, abortion protections, gun control on the table.  
• MN House DFL and GOP select new leadership, including first Black lawmaker in role. Melissa Hortman will remain Speaker, Rep. Jamie Long of Minneapolis will be Majority Leader, and Rep. Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring was named new Minority Leader.
• MN Senate Democrats and Republicans select new leadership.  Sen. Kari Dziedzic of Minneapolis will be Majority Leader and Sen. Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks will be Minority. 
• How every Minnesota city and township voted for governor in 2022.

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

• Meet the 2022 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Honorees! Special shout-outs to: Dennis Power, Opus Holding; Kevin Valois, Sunrise Banks; Patrick Nolan, Gillette Children's ; John Reutter, Uponor North America; and Career Achievement, Warren Zaccaro, Securian Financial Group.
• November's episode of B’s Table Talk featuring Michael Goar has been published on PodBean.
• Please join us at St. Paul’s holiday party – Holiday Chamber Connect: Tuesday, Dec 6, 5-7pm. Register here!
• And don’t miss the GLOW Holiday Festival, at CHS Field this year, Nov 23 – Jan 1, 2023.

• Nine Minnesota-based companies have been ranked among Forbes’  third annual “America’s Best Employers for Veterans” list: Medtronic (#28); General Mills ($43); 3M (#71); Mayo Clinic (#104); UnitedHealth Group (#145); Best Buy (#156); Digi-Key Electronics (#161); Allina Health (#174); Target (#176). Other SPAC members, non-MN headquartered:  Southwest Airlines (#12); Delta (#25); Bank of America (#64); Comcast (#125); Hy-Vee (#149).​

• The Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County is excited to announce the launch of a second Inclusive Workplaces Cohort (IWC). This initiative, facilitated by The Center for Economic Inclusion (CEI), will support employers in becoming more inclusive workplaces to ensure the diversity of our community as a tool for economic growth is being amplified. Up to 15 businesses in Ramsey County will have the opportunity to participate in this peer learning community while advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in their organizations. Selected businesses will meet monthly for 90 minutes over the course of 9 months beginning in March. Preference will be given to businesses with 10-250 employees (including all locations). Applications are due by Friday, December 30.  The County is hosting an information session for businesses interested in learning more about the IWC on Tuesday, December 6 at 9am.  Full details about the IWC, the information session and the application to apply are on the IWC webpage. ​

• Minnesota home sales down 31% in October.  Closed sales hit a 12-year low while prices continued to climb.
• For 125th anniversary, Gillette Children’s Hospital debuts new headquarters in St. Paul.
• Maplewood Mall’s new owners bring in new energy: about 30 new stores, and the Mayor describes it as feeling like a “business incubator.”
• Ramsey County has a plan for its overhaul of Rice St. The county plans to rebuild the street between Wheelock Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue.​