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Commuters dodge headaches as freight-rail strike averted

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A deal reached Thursday between freight rail companies and their workers has ensured that commuter rail systems that also would have been affected can serve customers unimpeded. That's good news for commuters on the Virginia Railway Express outside the nation's capital, which will continue the free rides it's been offering the entire month of September to lure back riders lost during the pandemic. Regular riders had been making contingency plans — most of which involved driving on the region's notoriously clogged highways because there are few mass-transit ...

State’s August jobs report shows pause in growth

ST. PAUL – Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a point to 1.9% in August, although it remains at a historic low, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Minnesota’s labor force participation rate ticked down two-tenths of a point to 68.2%. In August, the U.S. unemployment rate rose by two-tenths of a point to 3.7% and the labor force participation rate increased by three-tenths of a point to 62.4%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, Minnesota lost 3,100 jobs in August, down 0.1% from July, following the ...

State’s 2Q exports soar to record high

ST. PAUL — State exports of manufactured, agricultural, and mining goods were up 12 percent over the second quarter of 2021, valued at $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2022, according to Gov. Tim Walz, reaching the highest level on record “Minnesota’s workers and businesses are fueling, feeding, and supporting the global economy,” Walz said. “Our record-breaking exports demonstrate that the world recognizes the value of doing business in Minnesota. We will continue building partnerships abroad that allow our local economies to thrive.” The record-breaking quarter for ...

Massage therapist joins Wellness Collective

The New Ulm Wellness Collective has added certified massage therapist Denae Forstner to the staff. Denae has just opened her practice, Raw Therapy and Wellness, in New Ulm. She was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and moved to southern Minnesota after college. Raw Therapy and Wellness is a therapeutic massage and wellness practice specializing in Therapeutic, Prenatal and Postnatal massage. Forstner is available by appointment at The New Ulm Wellness Collective, 15 S. Minnesota St. in New Ulm. To contact her to book an appointment, call or text 218-230-8755 or visit ...

Visa, Mastercard, AmEx to start categorizing gun shop sales

NEW YORK (AP) — Payment processor Visa Inc. said Saturday that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops, a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting. But the decision by Visa, the world's largest payment processor, will likely provoke the ire of gun rights advocates and gun lobbyists, who have argued that categorizing gun sales would unfairly flag an industry when most sales do not lead to mass shootings. It joins Mastercard and American Express, which also said ...

Unions blast rail move to delay shipments before deadline

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The heads of the nation's two largest rail unions said Sunday that the freight railroads' move to begin delaying some shipments ahead of this week's looming strike deadline is only an attempt to get shippers to increase the pressure on Congress to intervene and block a work stoppage by imposing a contract on workers. The heads of the unions that represent engineers and conductors — the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union — issued a joint statement ...