Website will grow green tourism in Minnesota

excerpted from Morris Sun Times, 1-21-09

A new Travel Green Minnesota website has launched to provide information and best practices for Minnesota's tourism and hospitality industry.

The website at http://www.travelgreen.umn.edu/ provides tools and resources to help tourism businesses and communities implement green practices that are good for the environment and business.

Consumer research shows a growing interest in travel and tourism that minimizes negative environmental impacts.

DEED announces free entrepreneurship program

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is offering a free program to help people start their own businesses.



The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and is open to people who are at least 50 years old, eligible for the federal Dislocated Worker Program and committed to starting a new business.


Learn more.

State economist makes it official: We're in a recession

State economist Tom Stinson recently gave a "state of the economy" presentation for the Minnesota Budget Project (an initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits).

 

Here are the highlights from his talk:

• We are in a recession. Expect la oss of 55,000 jobs in Minnesota in 2009, across all sectors.
• FY 2010-11 revenues are down $3.3 billion from end-of-session estimates back in May.
• Watch job growth for signs of an economic recovery. National monthly job growth of 150,000 jobs indicates “normal” growth.
• Some good news: Minnesota was recently able to sell $300 million worth of bonds. We couldn’t have done that in October.
• The federal economic recovery package could be helpful in the short-term, and provide an estimated several hundred million dollars to the state in FY 2009 and something in the ballpark of $600 million in FY 2010-11.

 

Area businesses are saying "Let it snow ... and snow, and snow"

excerpted from Detroit Lakes Tribune, 1-4-09

The near-30 inches of snowfall received last month may have residents grumbling about all the shoveling, but snowmobile retailers couldn't be happier.

"The overall impact has been very good," said Charlie Okeson of Okeson Off-Trail Sales. "It's not necessarily just sled sales, it's every aspect of our business--parts, labor, service, clothing."

The DL Regional Chamber of Commerce reports many people stopping in to look for snowmobile trail maps. Lower gas prices have encouraged snowmobilers to take longer trips than at this time last year.

Sales of snowplows and snow removal equipment has also gone up.