Our partners at Lake Street Council have a new video series where 5 real Lake Street locals take you to their favorite spots in the area from the Chain of Lakes to the River! They give you all the details on what to do in the area, what to order, and what to keep an eye out for! WATCH HERE

Charles Dight, a former council member, was the chief proponent of the eugenics movement in Minnesota, which resulted in the forced sterilization of hundreds of residents. He also urged Minnesotans to adopt eugenics programs modeled on those in Nazi Germany and praised Hitler for his efforts to “stamp out mental inferiority among the German people.” 

Having a street named after someone is a significant way to honor their legacy, and given what we know about Charles Dight, we should not continue to honor him in this way.

​Residents living on Dight Ave were recently invited to choose an individual to honor that better reflects our community, which is one that welcomes and values all residents. The name which received the most votes is Cheatham Ave, in honor of Captain John Cheatham, one of the first black firefighters in Minneapolis who was stationed at the first all-black fire station (located at 45th Street & Hiawatha Ave). The formal legislative action will take place this fall and new street signs should be up this winter. 

CEO Next Business Institute provides practical tools and techniques designed specifically for growing regional second stage companies through free research, peer learning, and topical webinars.

Learn more about CEO Next and the SBA Emerging Leaders program, two regional resources for established, growing businesses at an upcoming information session:

Thursday, October 7, via Zoom
Noon – 1 p.m.
Register now

Learn more about CEO Next Business Institute

More Minnesota workers will soon be able to request and receive pregnancy accommodations and stay on compensated time to express milk in the workplace due to an expanded law that strengthens workplace protections for expectant and new parents.
 
Gov. Tim Walz signed into state law this year legislation that expands provisions of the Women's Economic Security Act, which was passed in 2014 to strengthen workplace protections and flexibility for expectant and new parents, among other priorities.
 
The changes, which go into effect Jan. 1, 2022, include:

• An employer will not be able to reduce an employee's compensation for time used for expressing milk. The change does not require unpaid break times such as a meal break to be converted to paid break time.
• Ensuring more employees have a right to request and receive needed pregnancy accommodations in the workplace, such as more frequent restroom, food and water breaks and limits to heavy lifting. This change reduces the employer size requirement from 21 employees at one location to 15 or more employees per employer.
• Employees will become immediately eligible for pregnancy accommodations upon hire with an employer. Due to the recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision in Hinrichs-Cady v. City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry considers this to be is effective now.

​You can review employer assistance materials about expectant and new parent employees here and further details about these upcoming changes or contact DLI’s Labor Standards at dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us or 651-284-5075. The Minnesota Department of Health’s Breastfeeding Friendly Workplaces program also helps businesses figure out the practical steps to implement these legal requirements and also recognizes those that do.

Our partners at Redesign will administer a new round of facade storefront improvement grants for the City of Minneapolis! Now is a great time to spruce up and improve your street-facing storefront. This is a matching grant program with a 1:2 match, up to $5,000, which means that this grant can reimburse one-third of the total cost. To learn more about eligible improvements and apply, contact Brigid. 

On Friday, September 10, the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration announced major enhancements to the COVID EIDL program to better support small businesses impacted by the pandemic. Key changes include the following:

• Increasing the COVID EIDL Cap. The SBA will lift the COVID EIDL cap from $500,000 to $2 million. Loan funds can be used for any normal operating expenses and working capital, including payroll, purchasing equipment, and paying debt.
• Implementation of a Deferred Payment Period. The SBA will ensure small business owners will not have to begin COVID EIDL repayment until two years after loan origination so that they can get through the pandemic without having to worry about making ends meet.
• Establishment of a 30-Day Exclusivity Window. To ensure Main Street businesses have additional time to access these funds, the SBA will implement a 30-day exclusivity window of approving and disbursing funds for loans of $500,000 or less. Approval and disbursement of loans over $500,000 will begin after the 30-day period.
• Expansion of Eligible Use of Funds. COVID EIDL funds will now be eligible to prepay commercial debt and make payments on federal business debt.
• Simplification of affiliation requirements. To ease the COVID EIDL application process for small businesses, the SBA has established more simplified affiliation requirements to model those of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 

More than $150 billion in COVID EIDL funding is still available through the end of the year. Plus, eligible businesses in low-income areas can apply for up to $15,000 in grant funding through the COVID EIDL Targeted Advance and Supplemental Advance programs. Interested businesses can apply for all three programs at once through one streamlined application. Visit www.sba.gov/eidl for more information about all COVID EIDL programs.
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Comcast is awarding 100 small businesses owned by people of color in the Twin Cities with $10,000 grants totaling $1 million. 
Applications for the Comcast RISE Investment Fund will be open October 1 through October 14. Recipients will be announced at the end of November. To qualify, grant applicants must have been in business for three or more years, employ a staff of between 1-25 employees, operate in the seven-county Twin Cities metro, and meet other Comcast RISE eligibility requirements. Learn More
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Businesses interested in ways to manage their energy use can contact Joe Krekeler for free assistance with an energy audit.  The energy audit includes a walk-through of your property, bill history analysis, and identification of potential energy saving projects. Joe lives in Longfellow, is a professional engineer at the University of Minnesota with over a decade of energy experience.  He has offered to volunteer with local businesses interested in fighting climate change. Contact Joe here. 

The Northwest SBDC has launched a website with videos promoting wellness and self-care for small business owners throughout the Northwest Minnesota region. There are currently six short videos from local experts speaking to a variety of wellness topics. View the Videos. 

Current videos cover the following topics:

• Physical and Mental Health with Billy Fisher
• Practicing Resiliency with Deb McGregor
• Bring Your Whole Brain with Mary Gleason
• Intercepting Burnout with Taryn Laakso
• Reclaim Your Joy with Deb McGregor
• Sharpen the Battle Axe with Tate Sorvig

Hennepin County is providing free resources and assistance for small businesses, non-profit organizations, and multifamily properties to start or improve recycling and organics recycling. Recycling bin and compostable bag grants available! Applicants may select up to $3,000 worth of containers and compostable bags from the county's product list. Learn more and apply.