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MinnEcon Blog

Homeless families in Minnesota: A view from the shelter

Leslie Frost got one of our MPR News queries recently asking about her economic situation. She wanted to talk instead about the economic pain she witnesses daily at Families Moving Forward, a small nonprofit family homeless shelter she runs in the Twin Cities. Frost, one of our Public Insight Network sources, says circumstances for homeless…
by Paul Tosto

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Lean times for artists: A view from the theater

I recently highlighted a story from one of our Public Insight Network sources who’s a painter who gave us a glimpse of her reality trying to sell work in this economy. Another network source recently weighed in with a view from the theater. Brian Grandison is a St. Paul playwright and director. He headlined his…
by Paul Tosto

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Uptick in southern Minnesota?

Most of Minnesota’s economic numbers haven’t been great lately. But we’re always on the lookout here for signs of something better. Paul Heimgartner of Blooming Prairie told us recently he spotted some signs in southern Minnesota that the economy might be improving. Heimgartner, a source in or Public Insight Network, wrote: Within the last two…
by Paul Tosto

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Where would you set your credit card limit?

Those Capitol One commercials are funny. But, really, how does it help me that I can slap a picture of my cat on my credit card? How about if I could set my own credit limit that couldn’t be exceeded? Then the credit card companies wouldn’t be able to charge me over the limit fees.…
by Paul Tosto

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Twin Cities home values still down about 20 percent from last year

The housing price slide is slowing these days, but it’s still a slide. That’s the bottom line in today’s data from widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Twin Cities housing prices in February remained about 20 percent down from February last year, the data show. That’s slightly worse than the 18.6 percent average drop among…
by Paul Tosto

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Working multiple jobs in a lousy economy

Working a couple part-time jobs is a rite of passage for many young adults. I juggled a few right after college until one — a tiny newspaper — offered me a full-time gig. That’s a lot different, though, than moonlighting in your 30s, 40s or 50s in a lousy economy. We’ve heard from a couple…
by Paul Tosto

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Unable to find jobs for clients, a staffing firm owner wonders what’s next

“I am writing because we have hundreds of people in need of work.” That sentence threw me. Yes, there’s record high unemployment in Minnesota. But the person who wrote that sentence heads an employment staffing firm. Sharon Murphy owns ADD ON Staffing Solutions in the Twin Cities. She’s part of our Public Insight Network and…
by Paul Tosto

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Lean times for artists; what will it be like when the economy recovers?

No one goes into art expecting a huge payday. But in the worst recession in two-plus decades, many diversions have morphed into “non essential” spending. Art among them. Claire Thoen, a St. Paul artist who’s part of our Public Insight Network, recently offered a vantage point on what she’s seeing. Looking at what she sold…
by Paul Tosto

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Spending money to help people?

Most of us are not spending cash these days unless we have to. So Ron Hall of St. Paul, one of our Public Insight Network sources, caught our attention recently when he told us despite tight times, he was spending money for the greater, local good. He wrote: We have the ability to stimulate the…
by Paul Tosto

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Trading services in Minnesota

My colleagues Mike Caputo and Julia Schrenkler did a nice job Tuesday reporting on the growing use of business barter in this economy and nurturing a discussion. One of our Public Insight Network sources, Allison Schmitt of St. Paul, also wanted us to know about a local person-to-person service exchange program called Hour Dollars that’s…
by Paul Tosto

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