Work & Money
Biden speaks to activists who demand end to poverty, kick off national campaign
The Poor People’s Campaign held a rally in Raleigh on Monday to demand an end to poverty, kicking off a year-long activism campaign that will culminate in a march on Washington in 2022. Attendees heard testimony from speakers across the country, both in-person and via Zoom, as well as several live music performances. Speakers discussed […]
College athletes score a big win in the U.S. Supreme Court in NCAA dispute
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that the National Collegiate Athletics Association cannot limit educational compensation to student athletes due to their amateur status. The 9-0 decision in NCAA v. Alston was delivered by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who said the college athletics body is not exempt from antitrust law. “Put simply, this […]
Minnesota added more than 12,000 jobs in May; unemployment down
Minnesota added a net 12,000 jobs in May, including nearly 14,800 private sector jobs, with strong growth in leisure and hospitality as restaurants, bars and hotels hired workers coming out of the pandemic, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. Government lost 2,500 jobs. The unemployment ticked down from 4.1 to 4%. […]
Activists stand athwart highway expansion, yelling stop
DULUTH — Jordan van der Hagen, a landscape designer, wants I-35 through downtown Duluth replaced with a boulevard. The freeway, he argues, is a massive tangle of concrete shuttling fewer cars than it was intended for, while inhibiting opportunities for downtown development and more human-centered — as opposed to autocentric — movement. The idea was […]
Mayors of U.S. cities plead for federal funds to alleviate housing crisis
WASHINGTON—The mayors of cities in Ohio, Montana and Arizona stressed the need for affordable housing to be included in any congressional infrastructure package during a Tuesday hearing before the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee. Mayors Daniel Horrigan of Akron, Ohio; Cyndy Andrus of Bozeman, Mont.; and Corey Woods of Tempe, Ariz., all […]
U.S. House panel probes slow cleanup of ‘exploited’ coal mining sites
A U.S. House Natural Resources subcommittee examined the cleanup needs for regions transitioning away from coal production Tuesday, with witnesses representing coal workers and Native American communities saying energy companies should be responsible for returning the land to its pre-mining state. Much of the conversation at the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing centered on […]
Minnesota landlord group sues over eviction moratorium as legislators agree to ‘off ramp’
A group representing some 1,900 landlords in Minnesota filed suit in federal court on Monday to end the moratorium Gov. Tim Walz placed on evictions through executive order in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit came on the same day state lawmakers reached an agreement on an eviction moratorium “off ramp,” […]
Homeownership slips in Twin Cities as developers focus on apartments and high-end homes
For decades the Twin Cities has boasted one of the highest rates of homeownership in the nation. But a surge of demand and a lack of building — especially after the housing crash and Great Recession — have created an acute shortage of homes that are affordable for most Minnesotans. “Demand for lower-priced homes has long exceeded […]
Senate Republicans drop rent control ban from eviction moratorium off-ramp bill
Minnesota Senate Republicans have backed off a previous demand that would have prohibited Minneapolis and St. Paul from enacting rent control as both cities look to put the issue before voters this November. Dropping the ban on rent control was a significant concession during negotiations with House Democrats as urban DFL lawmakers’ constituents get ready […]
With antitrust emerging as key concern on Capitol Hill, drug pricing comes to the fore
Congress is beginning to take notice as corporations become increasingly dominant in one or more marketplaces. It’s investigating whether Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook are engaging in anticompetitive practices. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., just published a book about the need to revive the government’s antitrust powers. But if this is to be a new […]
Reformer Radio: Marathon v. the Teamsters
Workers at the oil refinery in St. Paul Park say the plant’s owner, Marathon, has put them on a path to catastrophe. “Safety’s kinda went on the backburner.… Especially now that big corporation Marathon owns us. It’s pretty much corporate greed over safety,” said Matt Foss, a fire mechanic and rescue squad lieutenant who’s worked […]
Poor People’s Campaign push for ‘Third Reconstruction’ in America
The Rev. Dr. William Barber and Democratic members of Congress unveiled a resolution Wednesday calling for a “Third Reconstruction” to tackle poverty and the effects of low wages across the country. “This is the real question — what is the cost of inequality,” Barber said at a Washington news conference. The resolution aims to achieve […]