ST PAUL, MN – the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced recipients of the $3 million Minnesota Cultural Mall Operator Grants program, which was part of the $70 million Main Street COVID Relief Grant package that passed with bipartisan support in the Minnesota Legislature during the 2021 Session and was signed into law by Governor Tim … [Read more...]
Jobs and wage growth continue in Minnesota Unemployment rate reaches pre-pandemic levels; labor force participation remains down
Minnesota’s unemployment rate in October 2021 is back to where it was immediately before the global pandemic was declared in March 2020 at 3.5% (revised), down two-tenths of a percentage point from September, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The decline in Minnesota’s unemployment rate in October … [Read more...]
Music speaks: Studio316 open in Preston
Ironic that a person so beloved for his writing would be known for this quote: “Where words fail, music speaks” – Hans Christian Anderson. And yet, for those who have been profoundly moved by music this sentiment rings true. There are times when music can communicate what ordinary speech cannot, and in so doing it gives us a medium to express ourselves. In Preston, Minn., there … [Read more...]
Fillmore County broadband expansion proposals
Three broadband providers outlined their proposals at the Fillmore County board’s November 9 meeting. The county has received $4.2 million in American Recovery Act funding. Broadband providers are looking for a portion of this funding to support broadband projects within the county. Much of Fillmore County is still underserved. Corey Hauer, LTD Broadband, said they have … [Read more...]
Andrea Hindt cultivating creativity in southeastern Minnesota
Andrea Hindt of rural Spring Valley has been expressing herself artistically since her elementary school days. “In third grade, I would draw pictures for my teacher and classmates,” says Andrea. “Growing up, the Sunday comic pages were the best! I loved to read them. My twin sister, Anji Bennett, and I would draw cartoons and we used to say ‘when we grow up’ we want to have … [Read more...]
19-year-old to open Caledonia’s newest business, Warrior Nutrition
Celebrate Caledonia’s newest business, Warrior Nutrition, on Saturday, October 30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for their grand opening celebration. Nineteen-year-old business owner, bodybuilder, and nutrition coach, Seth Merten, moved to La Crosse, Wis., from Lafayette, Ind., three years ago when he was 16 and training for his first bodybuilding exhibition. Merten stated, “I had no … [Read more...]
Nordic Lanes celebrates 30 years and announces a big change
Thirty years ago, in 1991, Jim and Debbie Kitchens made the decision to purchase Nordic Lanes in Rushford. Jim made the move first from Alaska to Rushford while Debbie tied up loose ends in Alaska and followed later with their daughters Donata and Danielle. They had been looking for an empty building to buy for a bowling center in North Pole, Alaska, but even in the 1980s such … [Read more...]
Lewiston cyber attack underscores threat City paid $60K ransom only to be extorted again
By Chris Rogers, Winona Post This was not what Bobby Falcon had in mind for his third week on the job as Lewiston city administrator. He came in on the morning of July 22 to find his staff locked out of the city’s network, the only place where some of its most important files were stored. It was crippling. “That essentially closed us without any ability to operate for the … [Read more...]
Chatfield Public Library undergoes renovations
It all started on February 15, 1911 when Chatfield resident Medora Morrill proposed to the Commercial Club that a public library be opened in Chatfield at the public Rest Room. She was given the go-ahead to form a committee which collected 1,000 donated books, allowing the library to open to the public less than a month later on March 9, 1911. Just two years later, the … [Read more...]
Valley Design in Fountain celebrates 35 years of business
It started in 1986 as a small powder coating business run out of the old Fountain Body Shop building with less than 3,500 square feet of space. Thirty-five years later, Valley Design still operates out of Fountain, but has grown to a 100,000 square foot facility across the road from where it originally sat, that serves the entire United States into Canada. “Most people don’t … [Read more...]