Virtually no Minnesota manufacturers are expected to downsize, but companies continue to struggle with finding enough qualified applicants, according to a report.

Legislators have rejected a plan to let cities use TIF districts to address Greater Minnesota housing shortages.

Minnesota’s $24 million Job Creation Fund has received more than one application a week on average since the program launched Jan. 1.

For the workforce as a whole, the state added 52,160 jobs over the past year, an increase of 1.9 percent.

It’s been 14 years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the matter of Olmstead v. L.C. In that case, the high court found that states cannot continue to house disabled citizens in isolated, state-run institutions if those people are capable of thriving in a more independent setting.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development this year got an infusion of money from state lawmakers for a variety of economic development programs. And since the money became available on July 1, the money has been flowing to companies and local governments for a variety of business expansions.

The state is funding $15.7 million in grants to help pay for five trunk highway projects, including one in Minneapolis.

As they prepare to assume control of the Minnesota Legislature, DFLers are making the case that long-term investments in education and other public priorities will be a boon to the state’s future economic development.

In an announcement that brought cheers and jeers from both sides of the aisle, Gov. Mark Dayton ended more than three months of suspense Thursday by awarding $47.5 million in bonding money to nine projects.

Officials from Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration and high-level Republican lawmakers met over the past week in an attempt to get closer to a deal on a disaster relief bill related to this summer’s floods in northeastern Minnesota.