Business and Economic News

U.S. says Chinese military stole 145 million Americans' data
Four Chinese have been formally charged, though they are unlikely to ever face trial. The four are accused of breaking into the computer networks of the Equifax credit reporting agency and stealing the personal information of more than 145 million Americans.
Planning, training, challenge and hope: Passing the family farm to the next generation
As Minnesota farmers get older — their average age is now 58 — many are thinking about what's next for the family farm. A challenging ag economy in recent years makes passing the farm on to the next generation more difficult.
Janitors, security guards in Twin Cities vote to authorize strike
SEIU Local 26 President Iris Altamirano said a key issue in the labor dispute is sick time. City ordinances in Minneapolis and St. Paul mandate six sick days a year. But Altamirano said janitors and security workers elsewhere in the metro get half that.
Enbridge Inc. said Friday it has launched the permitting process for rerouting part of its Line 5 pipeline across northern Wisconsin after the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued to force removal of the pipeline from its reservation.
HealthPartners union votes in favor of strike
Nurses, physician assistants and other caregivers in the union representing 1,800 HealthPartners workers have voted overwhelmingly to strike if a contract agreement cannot be reached before Feb. 19.
From delivery trucks to scooter-moving vans, fleets are going electric
Lime is all about electric vehicles — battery-powered scooters, that is. But now the company is also going to use plug-in vans for behind-the-scenes operations. And it's far from alone.
Some Midwest farmers see hope in Democrats' climate platforms
A small group of farmers in Iowa believe they’ve influenced the field of Democratic presidential candidates to focus more on climate change and how agriculture can be part of the solution to global warming.
Bill to ban copper-nickel mining draws sharp contrast between Boundary Waters, Iron Range
A bill that would ban copper-nickel mining on about 234,000 acres of the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota had its first Congressional hearing Wednesday. The debate highlighted what two unique places, so close together — the Iron Range and the Boundary Waters — mean to different people.
In New Ulm, a co-op funeral home builds community
About 5,000 people in the southern Minnesota town are part of an unusual co-op, chipping in money to help ease the costs of funerals. It’s a community-run operation that pays dividends in more ways than one.