June 20, 2001 - Much of the push for property tax reform at the Capitol is coming from Minnesota businesses. Business leaders say to remain competitive Minnesota MUST continue cutting taxes. Critics of the plan say it would shift the burden of paying property taxes from businesses to homeowners. They say homeowners pay enough already and there are good reasons for commercial and industrial properties to pay a higher rate. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
June 21, 2001 - Red Wing, Minnesota is known for its tourist town features: small shops, Mississippi shores, and picturesque bluffs. Discount retailers Target and Wal-Mart want to move into Red Wing and the small shop owners are afraid of what that will do to the tourist town.
June 21, 2001 - State employment figures confirm what newspapers have been experiencing. Between 1995 and 2000, the state added 55-thousand new jobs annually. This year we're down to 27-thousand new jobs. And with summer officially underway there's more competition for those jobs. Jay Mousa is sirector of research at the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. He says students are noticing a big change in this year's job hunt.
June 26, 2001 - Seven years after the state sold Anderson Window 245 acres to encourage expansion near the company's Bayport headquarters, Anderson is looking to sell the undeveloped parcel at a profit. The land includes wetlands and a sacred Indian burial ground, prompting a long, public battle when the state first tried to sell the property. About 150 residents attended a public meeting last night.
June 29, 2001 - La Crosse Footwear, a major employer for more than a hundred years in western Wisconsin, will close today . Just Wednesday Trane Company announced it would lay off more than 70 employees when it closes its north side La Crosse compressor plant. The Footwear plant has hit a financial slowdown and for the last few years has gradually moved production overseas. At one time the La Crosse plant employed more than 15-hundred people, putting out a sturdy line of boots, raincoats and shoes. Today the last hundred and thirty-nine will clock out for the final time. MainStreet Radio's Laurel Druley has this report. Most plant workers were not surprised a month ago when they got their lay off notices. The company, which has had trouble competing for several years with other shoe manufacturers, has been gradually farming out jobs overseas to Asia.
July 2, 2001 -
July 2, 2001 - State employees are on the job as usual this morning Helms reports.
July 3, 2001 -
July 3, 2001 - One of the busiest street corners in Saint Paul is also one of the city's biggest economic disappointments. Development efforts at the corner of University Avenue and Lexington Parkway have lagged for more than a decade. Now, the country's biggest home improvement retailer is looking at the site as a possible store location. But the prospect of Home Depot moving onto the corner has sparked a community discussion about the best use of a location considered critical to the surrounding neighborhoods. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
July 3, 2001 -