Posts Tagged Economic

Roseville Library Re-Opens with Great Fanfare

The newly renovated Ramsey County Library-Roseville threw open its doors Saturday morning to hundreds of excited visitors of all ages. The daylong celebration gave patrons a chance to explore the new spaces and enjoy food, live entertainment and environmental presentations.

The Roseville Library is the state’s busiest and serves 2,000 visitors a day. Patrons check out 1.7 million items per year. With the $18 million expansion, the new library space is 73,000 square feet, more than twice the old space.

The fun won’t stop after the opening celebration! Look for a whole summer of “green” programming at the library in Roseville. With programs presented by experts from Ramsey County Environmental Health, Simple, Good and Tasty, Natural Built Home and more, this summer is all about being environmentally friendly at the Ramsey County Library in Roseville.

Green Building Facts About the New Roseville Library

  • The newly remodeled Ramsey County Library in Roseville is leading by example with deliberate inclusion of environmental and economical design elements that will reduce energy consumption by 15 percent and water consumption by 30 percent.
  • Ramsey County Library is applying for LEED Gold certification for the $18 million project.
  • Through the use of raingardens, a large rainbarrel and underground filtration systems, the Library is collecting and filtering stormwater onsite, protecting the watershed.
  • There is preferred parking for carpools and fuel-efficient vehicles. There’s more parking for bikes, as well. There are a total of 27 bike parking spots in the bike racks.
  • The library was designed to be highly efficient. Improved mechanical systems, roofing materials and windows means the state-of-the-art HVAC systems will consume 15 percent less energy than a similar building.
  • Sophisticated lighting controls and reduced-wattage fixtures result in substantial maintenance and energy savings. Large windows throughout the building also allow natural light to penetrate into the building, resulting in less electrical use.
  • Low-Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emitting adhesives, paints, carpets and wood were selected to improve indoor air quality.
  • Library water fixtures, including toilets, sinks and urinals, are low-flow. These low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption inside the building by 30 percent.
  • There are more than 30 native plants, trees, shrubs and perennials planted on the site that are well-adapted to the climate and soils of the region, and require less irrigation. The raingardens provide onsite stormwater filtration and reduce surface runoff from paved areas, allowing us to collect, filter and protect our water.
  • More than 75 percent of the original building was reused:
    • When you walk on the second floor, you are walking on the original roof.
    • The fireplace in the children’s area is the original, it’s just been resurfaced.
  • More than 97 percent of construction waste was recycled or reused, meaning it was kept out of our landfills.
  • Many of the materials used in the building came from within a 500 mile radius.
  • More than 95 percent of the wood in the Library is sustainably harvested and Forest Stewardship Council-certified. Some of the floors were made from recycled glass and recycled rubber.
  • Each bench in the Children’s Reading Garden is made from 704 recycled milk jugs.
  • The chairs in the children’s room are made out of recycled yogurt containers.

Building a Heart – The Roseville Library Renovation Project from CTV North Suburbs on Vimeo.

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Recovery Act has brought $2.6 billion to Minnesotans

From the Minnesota Budget Project, an effort of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits:

Minnesotans have received approximately $2.6 billion in direct federal assistance from February 2009 through May 2010 as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The direct assistance was provided through increased benefits for existing federal programs, through new tax credits and through direct cash payments. The collective impact of this direct assistance has been to put additional income into Minnesotans’ pockets to help struggling working families avoid falling into poverty and to save jobs in our local economy through increased consumer spending. Most economists agree that increased consumer spending is the key to a sustained economic recovery.

Read the whole thing here.

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Looking for a Job?

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Tim Cusick - Fotolia.com

Employment Information

MN Workforce Center

Minnesota WorkForce Centers (WFCs) provide the tools, resources and services needed for job search, career planning and training needs.

WorkForce Centers are a collaboration of partners, including the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and local community agencies. People seeking work, businesses seeking employees, students, and those looking for a first job or returning to the workforce, will find services to meet their needs, offered at no cost. Each WFC houses a Resource Area that operates similarly to a public library.   Find a location

Find a job at Minnesota Works

Available to job seekers and employers, MinnesotaWorks is an internet-based self-service system where member employers and job-seekers can find each other. Membership is encouraged because it allows full access to all the features of the system. There is no cost for membership. Job seeker members may post up to five resumes to be searched by employers. Members may also search for job openings, contact employers by email, and even apply online. Employer members may post job openings to be searched by job candidates and contact them by email.

Other Job-Seeking Options

  • JobConnect: Reaches out with an array of jobs and job leads. Works directly with employers. Offers the opportunity to subscribe to stay abreast of available jobs. Offers Career Readiness tools and workshops. Offers a weekly update called HotJobs that will assist job seekers with staying current on new openings in the job market.
  • Indeed: Indeed.com is a search engine for jobs, allowing job seekers to find jobs posted on thousands of company career sites and job boards.
  • Snag a Job: This is a great source for hourly and part-time jobs. Snag a Job connects job seekers with more than 100,000 active job listings from top employers across the country.
  • Minnesota Council of NonProfits: Where jobseekers can view hundreds of jobs that match their qualifications and employers can post their latest openings. USA Jobs- The official site of the US Federal Government is your one stop source for all Federal jobs and employment information.
  • Statejobs: State of MN jobs listings.

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Minnesota Ports Assn. supports On Board Midwest

From the On Board Midwest blog:

The Minnesota Ports Association, a statewide group, has unanimously passed a resolution supporting On Board Midwest, a growing coalition to create a high-speed rail connection between St. Paul and Chicago. The Minnesota Ports Association was created in 1994 to help secure support and funding to maintain and improve the inland rivers and Great Lakes port facilities in Minnesota. The members understand how important it is for Minnesota to have efficient and economical ways to transport goods from Minnesota farmers and manufacturers to worldwide markets.

In addition to bringing new passenger options, a new high-speed rail connection will improve and expand the freight rail capabilities in our region.

Members of the Minnesota Ports Association
• Saint Paul Port Authority
• Minneapolis Port Authority
• Winona Port Authority
• Red Wing Port Authority
• Duluth Port Authority

For more information, contact Dennis Egan at 612-325-1330 or by email.

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Union Depot: A Blast from the Past

Here’s an early informational video created by Ramsey County Regional Rail to show how Union Depot in St. Paul would be re-used as a multimodal transit hub. Some of the plans have changed (the connection to Central Corridor LRT is in front of the Depot now, rather than behind) but the essential vision for the Depot’s rebirth remains unchanged.

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For Sale: Remediated Foreclosed Home

hands-house-webThe Ramsey County Housing and Redevelopment Authority has completed the purchase and rehabilitation of its first foreclosed property and now is offering the home for sale. The HRA hopes to replicate the process with an additional five properties using Neighborhood Stabilization funding. Proceeds from the sale of properties will be reinvested in additional projects. To find out more about the rehabbed home offered for sale at 1455 Larpenteur Ave. E., Maplewood, click here.

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State of Minority Businesses 2009: ‘Glimmers of Hope’

bruce-corrie

Dr. Bruce Corrie

The 2009 survey results on the State of ALANA (African Latino Asian and Native American) Businesses 2009 was presented at a packed town hall meeting focusing on the Economic Recovery Act at St. Paul College attended by senior policy leaders such as Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul and DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy and others.
“The key insight from the 2009 survey is that we can see “Glimmers of Hope” in the experiences of ALANA businesses as they weather the economic downturn,” said Dr. Bruce Corrie, Dean, College of Business and Organizational Leadership at Concordia University-St. Paul.
The online survey was sent to more than 500 businesses and had an 11 percent response rate, or 64 firms. These firms reflected a wide range of industries whose sales ranged from $10,000 to $20 million.
Among the key findings of the survey:

  • 40 percent of the firms expected to increase employment in 2009.
  • 24 percent reported reduction in employment in 2008.
  • 56 percent expected sales in 2009 to be average or above average while 44 percent expected sales to be below average.

Strategies used during the economic downturn included:

  • Finding a core stable financial base to weather the storm
  • Increased networking for new sources of revenue
  • Analyzing the customer base to find important market segments.
  • Analyzing the product base to find out products whose demand increases during the downturn.
  • Experimenting with innovative ideas and new products.

Survey results can be found here. The survey follows a similar survey in 2008.

For more information contact Bruce Corrie  at (651) 641-8226 or email him.

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