Swift County RDA News

Here’s the No. 1 state for jobs in the U.S. — and it’s not California or New York

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

The U.S. economy added 304,000 jobs in January, but not all jobs are created equally The U.S. added 304,000 jobs in January, as the country continued to enjoy the best labor market in decades. But even as the economy gains jobs at a breakneck pace, not all workers will benefit equally from the booming jobs market. That depends where those people choose to live and work — and while populous states like New York and Texas may seem the most attractive for job-seekers, it’s Iowa that may be the best bet for people looking for work. Iowa ranked as the best state for jobs...

In new report on automation, some good news for Minnesota’s workers

Monday, March 18, 2019

As technology continues to change the American workplace and the U.S. economy, roughly one quarter of jobs in the country are at high risk of becoming largely automated in the next decade and beyond, according to a new report from The Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank. But the effects of automation will vary wildly based on location and industry, the report says. And while automation and technology have their supporters and detractors, Brookings says the future likely holds complex changes for the country, but neither “apocalypse or utopia.” Here’s what the report says about Minnesota. Read full article.

Tax credits proposed to spur business investments in Minnesota

Friday, March 15, 2019

Gov. Tim Walz, legislators want to reinstate the angel tax credit program. State lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz want to replenish funding for a lapsed program that gave tens of millions in tax breaks to investors who helped start businesses in Minnesota. The state could spend up to $20 million a year on investors who support startups, under a proposal in the Legislature. Walz did not commit to an exact amount but told members of the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce that the tax credits will be part of the budget he unveils. The angel investment program previously operated from 2010 through 2017, and the...

University of Minnesota launches startup incubator to aid new ventures based on university research

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

The University of Minnesota announced the launch of a startup incubator to support companies that are spun out of research undertaken at the university. The "Discovery Launchpad" program was developed by the university's Venture Center to support researchers who want to bring new technology to market. It's currently working with eight startups and plans to graduate eight from the program this fiscal year. Read full article.

American manufacturing companies have a spring in their step

Monday, March 11, 2019

Foxconn's latest reversal suggests manufacturing is undergoing a revival, especially among agile smaller firms and those using advanced techniques. When Taiwanese giant Foxconn announced plans to build a massive factory for high-end televisions in 2017, many cheered, including President Donald Trump. Electronics manufacturers had long ago abandoned America for cheaper countries, especially China, so the investment seemed to mark a reversal, albeit one that came with a significant amount of subsidies. But what Foxconn will do in southeastern Wisconsin is now in question. The company has discovered that it is hard to get thousands of Midwesterners to work long hours at stressful...

High Wages, High Demand

Friday, March 08, 2019

In the Metro, These Jobs are High Paying – and Growing Professional, scientific and technical services is one of the largest industries in the Twin Cities, accounting for nearly 125,000 jobs and 10,472 businesses. The high-paying field includes businesses that specialize in legal advice and representation; accounting, bookkeeping and payroll; architectural, engineering and specialized design; computers; consulting; research; advertising; photography; translation and interpretation; and veterinary services. A story by DEED analyst Tim O’Neill in Minnesota Economic Trends magazine says computer systems design and related services has the most jobs in the sector, employing 28,700 people. Close behind is management, scientific and technical consulting...

Automation on the Job

Wednesday, March 06, 2019

Leaves Time for Higher-Thinking Tasks Technologies that eliminate jobs or drastically change the way work is performed is a thread that runs through history and popular culture. Even now, print and digital book sales in the sci-fi/fantasy genre have doubled since 2010, according to publishing industry data. With Minnesota’s low unemployment rates and a labor force that’s inching along, Luke Greiner, regional analyst, looks at automation’s role in maintaining Minnesota’s global position using the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation’s ‘at risk’ index of occupations. The index covers nearly every occupation recognized by official employment data. Using this index, Minnesota has a smaller...

Minnesota STEP Grant Program helps businesses with export related activities

Monday, March 04, 2019

The STEP program helps Minnesota businesses that are looking to sell their wares outside of the country. The Minnesota State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant program is looking to award funds to Minnesota businesses planning to grow their exports. The STEP program provides financial and technical assistance to qualifying Minnesota small businesses with an active interest in exporting products or services to foreign markets. Participants may be first-time exporters or companies that are currently exporting but are interested in expanding into new international markets. The grant is operated by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Read full article.

The 5 biggest economic stories in Minnesota from 2018

Friday, February 08, 2019

It was a year with highs and lows for Minnesota’s economy, marked by turnover in the state’s technical college system, trade war uncertainty, rosy economic numbers and an escalating shortage of workers. Here, a look at the year in Minnesota’s economic development: 1. A new leader for Minnesota State After two failed nationwide searches for a new chancellor, the board of trustees at the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities tapped someone close to home: interim Chancellor Devinder Malhotra. Over its nearly two-year long search process, the board rejected six finalists to replace the outgoing Steven Rosenstone. Malhotra, who was not formally part of...

‘If we are not making investments in our future, we will be in trouble’: a Q&A with outgoing DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy

Monday, February 04, 2019

Shawntera Hardy, the commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), is one of the many Cabinet members from Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration who have not applied to stay on the job once DFLer Tim Walz takes over the governor’s mansion in January. Hardy has been the head of DEED for a relatively short two-year stint, but she will soon be moving on. She has a Bush Foundation fellowship lined up and plans to rejoin Civic Eagle, the technology company she co-founded that helps users track bills and other action at state legislatures. Continue to full article

CareerOneStop Team wins multiple awards in Innovation for its CareerBot

Friday, February 01, 2019

The CareerBot chatbot debuted in late April to help users find what they’re looking for on CareerOneStop.org. The CareerOneStop.org team at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development won three awards from different organizations recognizing their work on CareerBot, the artificial intelligence chatbot designed to help users of the CareerOneStop website find exactly what they are looking for without needing to learn the site’s web layout. The 8-month-old AI helper won the Granicus Digital Strategy Award in Innovation, a State Government Innovation Award (SGIA) from University of Minnesota, and a Government IT Symposium (GOVIT) Award. Continue to full article

Magazine Highlights Minnesota as a Top Spot for Business

Monday, January 28, 2019

The new edition of Minnesota: Thriving in the North spells out the benefits of doing business here. It highlights the state’s inviting business climate, innovative atmosphere and world-class workforce. The publication, available in both print and digital versions, is part of DEED’s ongoing work to promote the state’s advantages for business investment and expansion, as well as its culture of innovation and quality of life. Continue to full article

Meet Two Young Professionals Who Moved to Swift County from Alaska

Friday, January 25, 2019

Brinna and Jeremy Langford are building their careers and growing their family in Swift County after having recently moved from Alaska. Brinna is a 6th grade Special Education Teacher at Lac qui Parle Valley High School and Jeremy is a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for Appleton Area Health Services. Photos courtesy of www.allysonwasmund.com As a teacher, Brinna enjoys working with and advocating for students with disabilities. She has her Masters Degree in Special Education and completed her thesis on Childhood Trauma, during which she discovered that she has a passion for working with students who have hard-to-handle behaviors and are often...

New Privacy and Data Security Guide Published for 2019

Friday, January 25, 2019

Annual guide developed in cooperation with Gray Plant Mooty ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has partnered with Minneapolis law firm Gray Plant Mooty to publish “A Legal Guide to Privacy and Data Security 2019.” This privacy guide is intended to inform businesses of legal issues related to privacy and data security. Written for non-lawyers, this is the fourth time Gray Plant Mooty and DEED have collaborated to publish and distribute the privacy guide. Continue to full article

Daycare could be key to Benson area’s growth

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

School-industry collaboration and city beautification also important Through his two days of meetings with students, senior citizens, business people, young adults, and local government leaders Doug Griffiths was always seeking an answer to a two-part question: What is the most important thing to the future of your community and what assets do you have that will help you ensure your future is bright? Young families moving to Benson was the first answer and excellent, affordable and readily available daycare the second. Certainly, there were a lot of discussions about the challenges businesses face in filling job vacancies, about the lack of available and...

Helping Startups Succeed—and Stay—in the Midwest

Friday, January 11, 2019

At the University of Minnesota, launching a new company is one of several ways that breakthrough research can move beyond the lab to benefit the public. But finding the right leader, with the right experience, to bring these new technologies to market can be difficult. “Leadership is just as important as intellectual property to a startup’s success,” said Mary MacCarthy, Venture Center program manager with the U’s Venture Center in the Office for Technology Commercialization. “The biggest challenge the U of M has with launching our startups is finding skilled, available CEOs with experience in particular industries.” A new network comprising 11...

Number of Women-Owned Businesses Increased Nearly 3,000% since 1972, According to New Research

Wednesday, January 09, 2019

The Eighth Annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, Commissioned by American Express, Finds Women Are Starting an Average of 1,821 Net New U.S. Businesses a Day Number of Firms Owned by Minority Women Has Grown by Nearly 3 Times That of All Women-Owned Firms Over the Past 11 Years NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Women started an average of 1,821 new businesses per day in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018, according to analysis in the 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express (NYSE:AXP). This level of new business formation by women is greater than the daily average during the pre-recession period...

Rochester, Twin Cities Ranked Among Most Innovative On Earth

Monday, January 07, 2019

The Australian data research company 2thinknow released its 11th annual Innovation Cities Index this month. See how Minnesota cities ranked. ROCHESTER, MN — Innovation isn't easy. Case in point, your kids have heard of Netflix and Facebook, but will give you a blank look if you talk about Blockbuster or MySpace, two companies routinely listed among the biggest to fail specifically because they didn't innovate. So when we say three Minnesota cities were just ranked among the most innovative on Earth, it's — with apologies to Ron Burgundy and the movie "Anchorman" — kind of a big deal. Continue to full article

How are we doing? Minnesota near top of 'best economy' states

Friday, January 04, 2019

A ranking of state economies using metrics like poverty rate, home ownership, job growth and education puts Minnesota ahead of California (and, more important, Wisconsin). USA Today reports on the listing, compiled by financial site 24/7 Wall Street. Minnesota comes in No. 7 overall, just behind Hawaii. The state scored points for its low unemployment rate (3.1 percent at the time of the survey), GDP annual growth rate of 1.7 percent (the 14th best in the list) and an especially high home ownership rate of 71.3 percent. Continue to full article

MEDA recognized as best (again) by U.S. Commerce Department

Thursday, January 03, 2019

Minneapolis-based MEDA, the nonprofit minority business counselor and lender, has been recognized for a third consecutive year by the U.S. Department of Commerce as the nation’s top performer among 40 Minority Business Development Agency Business Centers. MEDA scored tops for overall performance, including job creation, financing, contracts and exports secured for clients. The nonprofit earned the same top national honors for its performance in 2016 and 2017. Continue to full article

New York Times sends reporter to State Fair, discovers Minnesota's greatness

Wednesday, January 02, 2019

Our beloved Minnesota State Fair gets a glowing feature — and they didn't even make fun of us. This is no grape salad write-up. No outrage needed this time, Minnesota. Yep, the New York Times published a story last night about another one of our most-treasured institutions — and got it right. In “A Newbie at the Minnesota State Fair,” a freelancer writer (who just moved here) goes to the Great Minnesota Get-Together and completely gushes. Continue to full article

Minnesota's unemployment rate hits an 18-year low, with good trends for blacks, hispanics and teens

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

Minnesota is enjoying it's third highest 3-month job growth rate since 1990. There's more good economic news for Minnesota when it comes to job growth. Department of Employment and Economic Development researchers say while the state's overall unemployment rate hit an 18-year low at three percent for the month of July, subsets within the population are doing even better. DEED Research Director Steve Hine says they've seen an among Minnesotans with less than a high school diploma, unemployment dropped nearly seven percentage points, mostly due to teen unemployment dropping 6 percent. Continue to full article

Innovation Voucher Award Program

Monday, December 31, 2018

Financial Awards Give Small Businesses Access to Technical Assistance The Innovation Voucher Award Program provides $5,000 to $25,000 awards to help small businesses purchase technical assistance and services necessary to advance research, development or commercialization of new or innovative products and services. Qualifying businesses receive awards – which the recipient must match on a 50 percent basis – to reimburse for expenses incurred for assistance and services rendered by public universities, colleges, technical schools and non-profits in Minnesota. Reimbursable expenses include purchased technical assistance and services in research, technical development, product development, commercialization, market development, technology exploration, and improved business practices, including strategies to...

3 Percent

Friday, December 28, 2018

MN's unemployment rate has been at or below 4 percent for four years straight Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since June 2000 – 3 percent. Our unemployment rate has been at or below 4 percent for four consecutive years. (The US unemployment rate in July was 3.9 percent.) Employers added 11,200 jobs in July and 31,800 jobs over the past three months, the third-highest number of new jobs over a three-month span dating back to 1990. Continue to full article

Two Young Professionals are Following their Passions in Swift County

Monday, November 05, 2018

Blake Hagen and Tracy Herzog recently graduated from college and have chosen to build their careers, and their life, in Swift County. After graduating from St. John’s University in 2016, Blake Hagen knew he wanted to stay true to his roots and live in an agricultural community, as did his fiancee Tracy Herzog. “Growing up in Morrison/Stearns County, nearly everyone (including my family) in the neighborhood are dairy farmers. I really enjoyed the freedom of living in the country and having the space to run around and play. I loved the connections we had with our neighbors and the farming...

2018 Consumer Confidence Report

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Notice is hereby given that the City of Murdock Consumer Confidence Report will not be mailed or published, but is available upon request at the Murdock City Office. Respectfully, Kim Diederich City Clerk

Garbage Pick up

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Due to the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday, May 28, City of Murdock garbage will be picked up on Tuesday, May 29,

Building Permit Guidelines

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Please remember that you need to apply for a building permit PRIOR to any building project being started. Please contact the City Office with questions. A building permit application can be found on the Monthly Meeting Minutes and Building Permit Application page.

City of Murdock April Newsletter

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Since Winter does not seem to want to leave us, please remember to move your cars during a snow event so that plowing of the city streets can be done easily! Hopefully this will have to be the last reminder of this for this year! There will be a city wide clean up day in mid-May. So start your spring cleaning. We will post more info and a date as when we have it set. Mark Your Calendars! May 25 Red Cross Bloodmobile at City Hall from 11:30-5:30p.m. More Details to come! July 13-14 Murdock Daze! Golf Tournament on Friday night in Kerkhoven, Volleyball...

Consumer Confidence Report

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

The Consumer confidence report for the City of Murdock is now available for reviewing at the City Clerk’s office at the Murdock City Hall. Thank you, Kim Diederich City Clerk

March 2018 Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

A Public Meeting was held at 5:00p.m. on Wednesday March 14, 2018 to discuss the TDS Franchise for the City of Murdock.. All Council members were present as well as Adam Simmonds and Trista Kavanagh. Mike Wentzel from TDS was at the meeting to present information regarding TDS providing Cable Service as a choice for residents of Murdock. Discussion was held and questions answered. The Public meeting was adjourned at 5:30p.m. The Murdock City Council met in regular session on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 5:30p.m. with all members present. Adam Simmonds was also present. February meeting minutes were read and approved...