News and Events

Join us for the Metro Region Virtual Interactive Teen Job Fair on May 25 from 2-5pm! Ramsey County along with other metro area workforce development areas, including the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin/Carver, Dakota/Scott, Washington, and Anoka Counties, are partnering together on regular metro area regional job fairs hosted on a new interactiv...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our society’s reliance on technology and its power to help businesses innovate and respond to rapid market shifts. It has also exposed the significant disparities for students studying in computer fields. The Information Technology sector has robust local career opportunities across every industry and among employer...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to work from home for the last 12 months. How might leveraging tech skills and our Ramsey County tech ecosystem support a transformative recovery? Join us as a panel of industry experts share their insights. This event is sponsored by the Workforce Innovation Board’s Tech Committe...Continue Reading

Early Childhood Education and Childcare Services face a talent supply problem—not a demand one. Even before the pandemic, demand for childcare services exceeded the available supply of both provider institutions and talent. Although these occupations make up a small portion of Ramsey County's workforce, representing about 1% of all employmen...Continue Reading

Jonathan Webb’s quixotic dream is coming true. AppHarvest, the ag-tech venture he founded four years ago in Kentucky coal country, went public in February after shipping its first consignment of beefsteak tomatoes weeks earlier from what is North America’s biggest greenhouse. AppHarvest tomatoes now are available in chains such a...Continue Reading

As of March 30, all Minnesotans 16 years of age and older will be eligible to receive a vaccine. Minnesota has directed providers to prioritize vaccine appointments for people most at risk of getting COVID-19, or those who could develop severe illness if infected. This includes older Minnesotans, those with underlyin...Continue Reading

As the owner of a home daycare business on the east side of St. Paul, Nakia Howard routinely goes out of her way to help the children and families she serves. For example, Howard will provide assistance on weekends if parents need it, at no extra charge. “I am a peopl...Continue Reading

It takes a certain imagination to envision the 17 curling miles of Mississippi River corridor in St. Paul transformed in ways that invite the public to the water’s edge. Mostly recognizable these days for hosting one of the largest rail switching yards in the state, the 1,000 acres of land surroundin...Continue Reading

Minnesota’s first YMCA opened in downtown St. Paul in 1856, two years before it became a state. The evolution of the “Young Men’s Christian Association” has been the stuff of catchy disco music, shifting generational needs and new horizons. Built in the 1980s, a multi-level YMCA in the former Galtier Plaz...Continue Reading

Arden Hills may be getting a Chick-fil-A restaurant. The city council on Monday heard a concept review for a planned site that would replace the Perkins restaurant that closed in December 2018. Chick-fil-A is proposing to raze the old building at 3855 Lexington Ave. and redevelop the site with a new single-stor...Continue Reading

In the wake of coronavirus shutting down offices around the world, remote work has become the new norm. So how do you make workplaces safer post-pandemic?  In the 15th episode of our Leadership Lessons series, Comparably CEO Jason Nazar speaks with an expert on the topic, Envoy founder/CEO Larry Gadea, wh...Continue Reading

On a night in March 2020, we celebrated our last restaurant issue—the MSP50, with the Golden Fork winners. Exactly one week later, all restaurant dining rooms were ordered to close. March was a heady month. But as battered and tested as our local food people are after the last seven months...Continue Reading

Through an ongoing partnership between RealTime Talent and Ramsey County Workforce Solutions, the following report seeks to understand and address the workforce opportunities and challenges present for youth employment in Ramsey County.   As 2020 started, Gen Z-ers entered one of the strongest global job markets seen in decades. That promising outlook wa...Continue Reading

As business needs continue to evolve in response to the pandemic, many employers are putting new emphasis on finding candidates with essential workplace skills. According to RealTime Talent, while many job postings include post-secondary or technical training as a requirement, there are also many jobs for which employers are specificall...Continue Reading

Kris Nelson is feeling optimistic. The doors to his new skyway-level gym, D1 Training, opened at the Treasure Island Center on St. Paul’s Wabasha Street — a former Macy’s department store building — on Jan. 4, the first day that the state’s pandemic-era lockdowns lifted for group workouts. Customers have com...Continue Reading

This Week’s Big Thing: the dial is turning faster on recovery, thanks to vaccine distribution. Friday morning Governor Walz announced a rollback of COVID restrictions, significantly opening up the opportunity for larger social gatherings in the state. The new measures take effect on Monday (March 15th) and include capacity limit increase...Continue Reading

GENERAL VACCINE RESOURCES COVID-19 vaccine FAQ from the Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Guidance for Allocating and Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccine – Phase 1a from the Minnesota Department of Health Answering patients' questions about a COVID-19 vaccine from the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Phases and Planning from the Minnesota Department of Health December 17 COVID-19 vaccine update from the Department of Healt...Continue Reading

Deluxe Corporation’s small business makeover TV series “Small Business Revolution” is staying close to home for its upcoming Season 6 in order to spotlight six Black-owned businesses in six Twin Cities neighborhoods. In past seasons, the show travels to a small town somewhere in the country to help Main Street businesse...Continue Reading

Early Childhood Education and Childcare Services face a talent supply problem—not a demand one. Even before the pandemic, demand for childcare services exceeded the available supply of both provider institutions and talent. Although these occupations make up a small portion of Ramsey County's workforce, representing about 1% of all employmen...Continue Reading

When the calendar finally flipped to 2021, small business owners everywhere breathed a huge sigh of relief. Anyone who hadn’t gone out of business during the year of the pandemic could congratulate themselves just for staying afloat and surviving. Twin Cities Business is spotlighting a variety of Minnesota businesses that pivoted, quickl...Continue Reading

At the corner of Cleveland and St. Clair avenues in St. Paul, a developer is seeking to tear down a one-level dry cleaner’s shop and replace it with 23 apartments over two commercial spaces. The current plan calls for market-rate units targeted to retirees and empty-nesters, said developer Jeremy Exley, thoug...Continue Reading

Wen Muenyi thinks you change your underwear too often. Seriously. “People think this is the grossest idea in the world,” said Muenyi, a 27-year-old African immigrant who lives in St. Paul, and launched  a line of laundry-minimal clothing. He suggests customers wash his HercLeon underwear every three days and other garments once a month...Continue Reading