AGC of Minnesota and CSDZ/Holmes Murphy hosted an inaugural Minnesota Construction Industry Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention Summit this week. Over 130 attendees from large and small employers, public agencies, labor unions, and other groups gathered at Ames Center in Burnsville where we learned much about the emotional and economic cost of the mental health crisis in the construction industry.

Did you know that a construction worker is four times more likely to die by suicide than be killed in a jobsite accident? Suicide is now the leading cause of death in the construction industry and construction leads all other sectors of the economy in suicide deaths. Additionally, an overwhelming majority of people know someone at work who has succumbed to suicide or is a suicide victim within their friends and family network. This staggering toll needs to be addressed from both a moral/societal obligation and from a business case perspective.

While this year’s event was important and generated strong interest and discussion, it is the first step in a long journey to change industry culture and attitudes toward mental health and suicide. The Minnesota Construction Industry Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Task Force will be working to follow up with the thoughts and comments raised at the event. A few items on the list of possible deliverables include an industry-wide mental health construction stand down, collaborative work with project owners and construction users to better understand how project schedules drive outcomes that affect worker mental health and early industry education and awareness of mental health resources for apprentices and new hires.

The Coalition will host a summit again next year to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives and will work to identify more medium and long-term goals and solutions. More information and resources will be posted to the AGC website as they become available. If you are interested in joining the coalition, please reach out to us and we will include you in future meetings of the Coalition.

Thank you to the talented CSDZ/Holmes Murphy team for their work in organizing and leading the summit, and to the many powerful and insightful speakers for sharing experiences, ideas, hopes, concerns, and commitments.

AGC of Minnesota will revisit many of these ideas and outcomes in a planned abbreviated session at the 2023 AGC Construction Summit. Please register for the event and plan to come learn, share, and help the industry grow collectively.

A year ago, AGC CEO Tim Worke sat down with Cal Beyer of CSDZ for a conversation on same topic of suicide in the construction industry and the steps needed to change the trajectory. Listen in here.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will begin winter load increases on unrestricted highways in the central, metro, southeast and south zones at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23.

Winter load increases are already in effect in the north and north-central zones.

Frost zones and restricted routes can be found on the MnDOT load limits map. Start and end dates and other load limit information are shown here.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis recently released the results of their Ninth District-wide November construction survey.

You can view a recording of the December 16 webinar discussing the implications of the survey results.

Survey results track fairly closely with AGC's 2022-2023 Minnesota Construction Survey Industry Assessment.

We're always on the lookout for great photos of our members' projects, both in process and completed! One photo will be chosen as the cover of the 2023 AGC Member Directory, and most photos will be included in an album that we feature on our website and social media!

Deadline: February 1, 2023

The Minnesota construction industry will need to be a strong, united voice next legislative session. Legislators will set the state’s budget, consider regulations, and discuss unfinished business – such as federal infrastructure matching funds and a capital investment bill- from last session. Hear from key decision makers and get an update from AGC of MN’s Government Affairs staff at the beautiful State Capitol on Wednesday, April 12.

Register now to join us in person or online for STP classes beginning in January!

It's time to register to sponsor, exhibit, and/or attend the 2023 Minnesota Construction Summit!

Take a look at AGC's Media Kit, and contact Katie to get started.