News
A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown
WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]
Brooklyn Park inpatient facility gets 30 new beds amid mental health crisis
PrairieCare, a psychiatric health system with nine Minnesota locations, unveiled the expansion of its inpatient care facility in Brooklyn Park on Wednesday, providing some much-needed relief to an overwhelmed mental health system. With legislative approval, the expansion added 30 new beds for adolescent psychiatric patients. Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, said lawmakers backed up […]
State, federal funding fuels expansion of Minnesota microgrid research center
A Minnesota college’s microgrid research center is preparing to expand after securing significant new state and federal funding. The University of St. Thomas’ Center for Microgrid Research plans to triple its three-person staff and enroll more students thanks to money from a $7.5 million state legislative appropriation and $11 million in federal defense bill earmarks […]
Minneapolis DFL vice chair resigns, hitting state party on the way out
The vice chair of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party resigned from his post Wednesday, attacking the DFL endorsement process and what he called voting irregularities around that process on his way out the door. Mike Norton criticized the caucus and convention process, which he called “highly problematic and exclusionary” and “complex and cumbersome.” The upshot, according […]
U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]
States and cities eye stronger protections for gig economy workers
Joshua Wood remembers days during the COVID-19 lockdown when New York City’s streets were practically empty, save for workers like him. That experience convinced the 25-year-old Brooklynite — who makes deliveries for both Uber Eats and a package delivery service — that the gig economy needed some urgent changes. Roughly 1 in 6 American adults […]
Minnesota keeps adding jobs, but there aren’t enough workers to fill them all
Minnesota jobs have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but employers are struggling to fill open positions. The state gained 4,400 jobs from July to August, reaching numbers not seen since November 2019, according to a release from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s labor force participation rate — the number of working-age […]
UAW president sets new deadline for automakers, promising additional strikes
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union (UAW), on Monday night announced that more locations may be called to join the union’s strike on Friday. The UAW declared a historic strike against all three members of the Big Three automakers at midnight Thursday, after contracts expired with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. “I […]
Telework is here to stay in Minnesota, latest Census data show
The share of Minnesotans working from home during the pandemic skyrocketed, from 6.4% in 2019 to 20.9% by 2021. There was some hope — particularly among CEOs, managerial types and commercial landlords — that this was just a one-time disruption that could be reversed via a delicate dance of cajoling, amenity-dangling and threats. Many of […]
Three Minnesota U.S. GOP congress members receive ‘F,’ don’t support Ukraine
Three Republican Minnesota U.S. House members received a grade of “very poor” on their support for Ukraine, based on their public statements and votes to cut United States’ aid to the war-torn country. U.S. Reps. Pete Stauber, Brad Finstad and Michelle Fischbach all received an “F” from the conservative advocacy group Republicans for Ukraine, which […]
‘However long it takes,’ longtime Ford worker says of the UAW strike
As the United Auto Workers strike against the Detroit Three enters its fourth day, workers say that they are in it “for the long haul.” Samantha Litton of Taylor has worked at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant for three years. “It shouldn’t take eight years to get top pay,” Litton told the Advance on Monday. […]
Republicans say Orwellian ‘bias registry’ could still be created under new law
A Minnesota bill that would have created a state government database of “hate incidents” — which drew impassioned opposition from Republicans who said it would police constitutionally protected political speech — was quietly watered down during the waning days of the legislative session.