CHICAGO, Illinois, Feb. 27 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Midwest Regional Information Office issued the following report on Feb. 26, 2025, entitled "Minnesota Job Openings and Labor Turnover - December 2024": * * * Minnesota had 168,000 job openings in December 2024, unchanged from November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the job openings rate in Minnesota was 5.2   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the following public communication dated Feb. 19, 2025, from seven State Attorneys General. Here are excerpts: * * * COMMENTS OF THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS, ILLINOIS, MARYLAND, MINNESOTA, OREGON, NEW JERSEY, AND VERMONT February 19, 2025 To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency William J. Clinton Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460 Re: Comments on the United States Environmental  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the following public communication dated Feb. 19, 2025, from Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska, and 47 collaborators: * * * Joint Public Comment Submitted by 48 Organizations in Response to the U.S. EPA's "Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts" Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0360 * * * The Coming Clean Network's Cumulative Impacts/Mandatory Emissions Reduction (CI/ME  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the following public communication on Feb. 21, 2025, from Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health INPowering Communities: * * * We are writing in response to the Federal Register notice at Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0360. The Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts provides EPA with a foundation to incorporate analysis and consideration of cumulative impacts (CI) into p  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the following public communication dated Feb. 19, 2025, from Conservation Law Foundation, Alternatives for Community and Environment: * * * Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0360, Comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts * * * On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA" or "Agency") published a notice request  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the following public communication dated Feb. 19, 2025, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland: * * * Comment on the Interim Framework for Advancing Consideration of Cumulative Impacts (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0360; 89 Fed. Reg. 92125) * * * The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) effort to incorporate cumulative impacts into environ  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * Finstad Votes to Restore Fiscal Order, Supports Budget Resolution WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) issued the following statement after voting in support of H.Con.Res. 14, legislation that establishes the congressional budget: "Today's vote was a procedural step that unlocks the budget reconciliation process, allowing us to have serious conversations about Washington's o  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Rural Seniors' Access to Care Today, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), reintroduced the Protecting Rural Seniors' Access to Care Act. The legislation would reverse a Biden-era nursing home staffing rule that will harm facilities across rural America and could force many to close. The legislation would also establish an advis  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * ICYMI: Rep. Omar Fights Back Against Republican Budget Plan During Debate WASHINGTON- Today, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) spoke on the House Floor during debate to vocalize her opposition to the Republican budget plan. She sits on the House Budget Committee and offered four amendments this week to alter the legislative text. The full video can be found here (link is external). Full transcript below:   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 26, 2025: * * * Klobuchar Addresses Problems Facing Farmers at Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing WASHINGTON--U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today delivered the following opening statement at the Committee hearing on Perspectives from th  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Klobuchar and All Agriculture Committee Democrats Press USDA on Mass Layoffs WASHINGTON - Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, led all Committee Democrats in pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to explain recent mass layoffs at the Depart  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * Klobuchar Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Access to Health Care in Rural and Medically Underserved Areas The legislation would allow international doctors trained in the United States to remain in the country if they practice in underserved areas WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) reintroduced their bipa  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Klobuchar Statement on Department of Agriculture Avian Flu Strategy WASHINGTON -- Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released the following statement on the avian flu strategy released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today. "The Depart  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 27 -- The Minnesota Department of Agriculture issued the following news on Feb. 26, 2025: * * * Rural Finance Authority Further Expands Loan Eligibility for Animal Disease Outbreaks Zero-interest loans will be available for losses going back to April 2024 The Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Rural Finance Authority (RFA) Board has further expanded eligibility for zero-interest Disaster Recovery Loans available to Minnesota farmers whose operations have sustaine  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 27 -- Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * Governor Walz Appoints Beverly Luther Quast to the Tax Court [ST. PAUL, MN] - Governor Tim Walz today announced the appointment of Beverly Luther Quast as a judge of the Minnesota Tax Court for a six-year term. "It is my privilege to appoint Beverly Luther Quast to the Minnesota Tax Court," said Governor Walz. "She has a wealth of tax law experience that will help the court resolve the most c  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 27 -- The Minnesota State Auditor issued the following news release on Feb. 26, 2025: * * * Auditor Blaha Releases 2023 Fire Relief Association Financial and Investment Report - February 26, 2025 Saint Paul, MN - "Fire relief associations' pension investments rebounded after a tough year. In 2023, we saw a 14.2 percent average rate of return," Auditor Blaha said. "The trends are good for communities' commitment to supporting firefighters, and the safety they provide.  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Office of Higher Education issued the following news release on Feb. 25, 2025: * * * OHE Awards $462,808 in Concurrent Enrollment Grants Today, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) awarded four colleges with Concurrent Enrollment grants, totaling $462,808. Concurrent enrollment connects high school students with college courses increasing the likelihood that they will continue their postsecondary education after graduation. "Concurrent  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: * * * Office for Civil Rights Launches Title IX Violation Investigations into Maine Department of Education and Maine School District Investigation follows President Trump's Remarks at the Republican Governor's Association Dinner WASHINGTON - Today the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a letter to the Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin announcing tha  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 25, 2025: * * * Ranking Member Angie Craig Statement on Republican Budget Resolution WASHINGTON - Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN-02) released the following statement after voting against the House Republican budget resolution that betrayed the middle class by deeply cutting Medicaid and SNAP to pay for tax break  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, issued the following news release: * * * Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi Cosponsors Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Protect Americans from the Chinese Communist Party's Predatory Trade Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. - Earlier this week, Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on t  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release on Feb. 26, 2025: * * * Rep. Fischbach Votes for Budget Framework Washington, D.C. - Today, the House voted on H. Con. Res. 14, establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034. Congresswoman Fischbach voted in favor of this framework. "This resolution sets the framework   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, issued the following news release: * * * Reps. Sewell and Van Duyne Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Level the Playing Field for American Workers Washington, D.C. - U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) were joined by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) to introduce bipartisan legislation to level the playing field for American workers. The Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 updates U.S. trade remedy law  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 27 -- Education Minnesota issued the following news release: * * * Teacher of the Year candidate field narrowed to 31 semifinalists The field of possible candidates for this year's Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor has been narrowed to 31. An independent selection panel of 21 community leaders chose the semifinalists from an initial field of 142 candidates from across the state. The panel will review the semifinalists' portfolios again, along with semifinalist v  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Department of Education's Statement on Title IX Compliance Office for Civil Rights commends Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, which have changed their athletic policies to conform to President Trump's Executive Order and antidiscrimination laws. WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights today rele  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum Votes No on House Republican Budget Resolution WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to advance their budget proposal on Tuesday night, furthering a GOP scheme that would make massive cuts to critical services that Americans rely on while spiking the deficit. Following the vote, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) released  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Sen. Tina Flint Smith, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Todd Young Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Trade Laws, Protect American Workers WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, legislation to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws to fight against unfair trade practices and protect American workers. The bill would improve the  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The White House posted the following news: * * * Illegal Immigrant Killers, Rapists Aren't Scholars -- They're Criminals In a strong contender for dumbest statement of the year, disgraced "filmmaker" Michael Moore lamented illegal immigrant criminals being apprehended because they might've "discovered the cure for cancer" or "stopped that asteroid." The only thing more foolish than that statement are the politicians who oppose the deportations. These are the types of   more