Business and Economic News

Twin Cities airport set for $242 million in interior renovations
Leaders with the Metropolitan Airports Commission said MSP’s Terminal 1 will undergo renovations in its concourses and 75 gate areas — what officials are calling the largest interior renovation project for gates and concourses since the airport opened in 1962.
FDA approves Zepbound, a new obesity drug that will take on Wegovy
Eli Lilly said the obesity medicine, which helped adults in clinical studies lose about 20% of their body weight, will be available in the U.S. by the end of the year. The list price will be $1,060.
Emerging Farmers office pushes to expand diversity in farming
Lillian Otieno is the first director of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Office of Emerging Farmers. She was a coordinator with the office and its sole employee before state lawmakers voted to expand it in May 2023.
EPA says 'further actions' needed to protect human health from nitrate in southeast Minnesota
Environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying nitrate in the groundwater in southeast Minnesota’s karst region — largely from fertilizer and manure applied to crop land — poses an imminent danger to human health.
With its flexible office spaces, WeWork once was seen as a Silicon Valley darling led by an eccentric and charismatic founder. Financial troubled intervened, followed by the pandemic.
The battle over land use: Farm crops versus solar farms
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the U.S. will need 10 million acres of solar panels by 2050 to meet the nation’s net zero-carbon goals. That means acreage currently used for farmland will become solar farms.
 Mixing solar and farming could be key to clean energy future
As Minnesota and the nation shift to cleaner energy, there’s a growing demand for land for new solar farms. At the same time there’s growing interest in what’s known as agrivoltaics.
Why affordable child care is so hard to find  
Child care costs high, but wages for child care workers remain low. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the child care squeeze and how new state programs could help parents and providers.