• Ready Together is showcased during this 8-minute radio interview broadcast nationally in 25 major markets starting with St. Louis and Chicago. Terry Mattson shares how Saint Paul is ‘ready when you are’ with hosts, Kevin and Sue McCarthy.
• The Ready Together toolkit includes a link for participants to upload photos, which get added to the pledge’s homepage (scroll to the bottom). 
• Sign the pledge!

• Business people: Ecolab announces donating a collective $5M toward coronavirus-related relief efforts From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sep 6: St. Paul-based Ecolab announced it has donated more than $3 million of cleaning and sanitizing products and more than $2 million in financial support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company worked with nonprofits World Emergency Relief and Global Citizen USA to distribute cleaning and sanitizing products to organizations in countries throughout the world, including Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and Uruguay.

• Summit Companies Named to Inc. 5000 List Summit Companies, a national leader in comprehensive fire and life safety solutions, today announced it ranks No. 3,417 in the 2020 edition of the Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Being named to the list underscores Summit Companies’ emergence as a national leader in large-scale fire detection and suppression as well as its rapid growth -- aquiring more than 30 companies!

• Saint Paul Port Authority committed to making the Saint Paul Public Safety Community Engagement Center a reality at Treasure Island Center

• Now on the menu: purified indoor air From the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Sep 4: Restaurateur Brent Frederick said he’s confident guests will return to his dining rooms this winter, despite the risks posed by the ongoing pandemic, and he’s investing in technology to help them breathe a little easier when they do. By his estimate, Frederick spent close to $10,000 to upgrade the HVAC systems at all six of the restaurants in his Minneapolis-based Jester Concepts group, adding ionic air purifiers to improve indoor air quality. In a laboratory test, the specific brand of purifier purchased by Frederick was shown to significantly reduce the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

• Toro quarter boosted by residential sales as more Americans stay close at home From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 3: Many Americans are staying at home more because of the coronavirus pandemic — which helped boost residential product sales and profits at Toro Co.

• Worker shortage persists amid pandemic From Finance & Commerce, Sep 3: A new survey reveals that construction companies in Minnesota and across the U.S. are still struggling to attract workers for open positions, even as pandemic-induced project delays and cancellations force waves of layoffs and furloughs.

• Medtronic is planning a restructuring to save $450 million/year From the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Sep 2: Medtronic plans to cut $450 million to $475 million in costs per year following a restructuring that will tailor its businesses toward specific therapy areas. The medical-technology giant, which is based in Dublin but has its operational headquarters in Fridley, Minn., disclosed the plans in a securities filing on Tuesday.

• Thursday, September 3, Governor Walz, Lt. Gov Flanagan, and Commissioner Malcolm
• 7-day positivity rate remains steady at 5%.
• The state’s rate of community transmission is over 30% and sustaining that level. 
• Governor Walz: "As we head into the fall and the long winter ahead, we must double down in our fight to combat the spread of COVID-19," Walz said. "We must all do our part to slow the spread, protect our communities, and keep our businesses open. I know it is hard, but Minnesotans are resilient people. We must dig deep, stay strong, and hold the virus at bay."
• Lt. Gov Flanagan: “…just because you're over the pandemic, doesn't mean it's over you," 
• Other metrics involving the worst possible outcomes from COVID-19 are actually looking much better than the spring and early summer. The number of deaths peaked at 696 in May, or about 22 per day. The numbers plummeted to 159 in July (five per day) and 217 in August (seven per day). Hospitalizations peaked at over 600 per day in May, but have averaged below 300 the first three days of September.

• Mask distribution: still need masks? Contact a chamber near you; most of us have a limited number still available. Coordination for on-site pick-up at SPACC is through staci@saintpaulchamber.com.

• States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid From 5 Eyewitness News, KSTP.com, September 6: With Congress deadlocked for months on a new coronavirus relief package, many states haven't had the luxury of waiting to see whether more money is on the way. Some that have delayed budget decisions are growing frustrated by the uncertainty. As the U.S. Senate returns to session Tuesday, some governors and state lawmakers are again urging action on proposals that could provide hundreds of billions of additional dollars to states and local governments.

• Mall of America plans to lay off 211 employees this month From the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Sep 4: The Mall of America plans to permanently lay off 211 employees later this month, according to a notice the Bloomington shopping center sent to state officials. The layoffs are scheduled to begin Sept. 30, mall representatives wrote in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice submitted to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse. Mall officials told the Star Tribune the effected employees come from a variety of departments, adding that the mall typically maintains a workforce of between 900 and 1,200 employees.

• Minnesota National Guard clarifies scope of outbreak among Iowa soldiers at Camp Ripley From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sep 7: A Minnesota National Guard officer says he misstated the scope of a COVID-19 outbreak among a group of Iowa National Guard members who were training at Camp Ripley earlier this summer. Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse, the commander of Camp Ripley, said fewer than 60 of the battalion’s soldiers were sent back early from a June training session at the facility in north-central Minnesota. Kruse originally stated to the Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners that 200 of the unit’s 500 soldiers returned to Iowa due to either positive tests or exposure to the coronavirus.

• Real World Economics: COVID-19 is changing our economy; is it permanent?  From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sep 6: COVID-19 certainly is changing how people in our nation live and work — or not work. The question is which changes are temporary and will disappear once the pandemic ends; or, more importantly, which will be permanent and may foster even further changes going forward. Only time will tell, but there already are some indications.

• How Mayor Carter’s proposed budget will impact libraries, Fire Dept., Public Works From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sep 5: Among leaders of St. Paul city departments, budget woes are becoming a familiar refrain. City officials have called the 2021 budget proposal unveiled by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter in August little short of austere. In it, multiple departments have been called upon to reduce operations by $1 million or more without layoffs, and all departments have been asked to make fundamental sacrifices.

• MSP airport officials planning airline relief package worth up to $41M From the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Sep 3: The Metropolitan Airports Commission is considering a relief package worth up to $41 million to help the airlines serving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport manage the financial strain of the pandemic. If approved by the MAC, the plan would reduce the total fees and rents the carriers otherwise would’ve paid to operate at MSP in 2020. Those payments typically amount to one-third of the MAC’s annual revenue.

• What Businesses Need to Know About Payroll Tax Deferral From CLA, COVID Regulatory and Tax Updates, Sep 2: Read this update to know employer and employee considerations, which employees are eligible to defer, and how to pay the deferred applicable taxes.

• New CDC report shows 94% of COVID-19 deaths in US had contributing conditions From News Channel 8, Aug 30: ATLANTA, Ga. (WJW) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data last week that depicts how many Americans who have died from COVID-19 also had contributing conditions. According to the report, only 6% of deaths have COVID-19 as the only cause mentioned, revealing that 94% of patients who died from coronavirus also had other “health conditions and contributing causes.”

• See available SBA COVID-19 training here.

• For more on SBA programs for the coronavirus, please visit www.sba.gov/coronavirus.

• Minnesota Chamber’s COVID-19 Business Toolkit has a dedicated section for employment guidance that can help.