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Twin Cities inflation rate among lowest in the country
Minneapolis-St. Paul became the first major metro area in the U.S. to reach the Fed’s inflation goal this spring, but leaders say it’s no time to get complacent.
MINNEAPOLIS — At a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at further interest rate increases by the end of the calendar year, in order to cool inflation that he says “remains too high.”
After hitting a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, the nationwide inflation rate as calculated by the Consumer Price Index decreased to 3.2% as of July 2023.
“It is the Fed’s job to bring inflation down to our 2% goal,” Powell said Friday, “and we will do so.”
By that measure, the Twin Cities are ahead of the curve. Back in May, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region became the first major metro area in the U.S. to accomplish the 2% goal, registering an inflation rate of 1.8%. That figure, as of July, has since fallen to just 1%, meaning inflation here is lower than basically anywhere else in the entire country.
What’s behind that 1% inflation rate, exactly?
Ron Feldman, the Chief Operating Officer and First Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, attributed some of the progress to housing. An acceleration in construction across the Twin Cities, he said, is helping to drive down housing costs — which make up a large portion of the Consumer Price Index.
“We are building lots and lots of housing. If you drive around the Twin Cities, you see cranes, you see new buildings going up,” said Feldman, who also separately co-chairs the housing task force for the Itasca Project. “So that’s part of the story. And part of the story is that in other areas, they are not building as much and more people are moving there, so their housing prices are growing faster.”
According to data tracked by the Itasca Project, the seven-county metro area built 21,673 new housing units in 2022, surpassing the group’s goal of 18,000 for the fourth year in a row. Overall, the Twin Cities are on track to meet the Itasca Project’s 2030 target, which could help the region rebound from the Great Recession’s housing plunge.
“It’s all kind of linked. Housing in Edina affects housing in Minneapolis which affects housing in St. Paul,” Feldman said. “It’s one big market.”
In Minneapolis specifically, Mayor Jacob Frey said the city built 919 units of deeply affordable last year, the most in history.
According to research by Pew — which was cited by the national media in a Bloomberg article earlier this month — rents in Minneapolis have increased by only 1% since 2017, compared to a national average of 31%.
“We set a tone of increasing the supply of housing in the city of Minneapolis,” Frey said in an interview. “The investments we’ve made in housing have clearly helped us tackle inflation more so than any other city in the country.”
However, in an op-ed published this week, Feldman and fellow Minneapolis Fed Senior Vice President Alene Tchourumoff cautioned against falling into a “false sense of complacency” on inflation.
“Filling out this story, a number of observers tied this low inflation rate to a local housing market producing housing at a high rate, which naturally gives us a sense of pride. Is that sense of accomplishment deserved? Yes and no,” they wrote. “We agree that housing production should be the focus today and in the future, but it’s way too soon to declare victory.”
As Feldman and Tchourumoff noted in the op-ed, the Twin Cities are “not outperforming our peers” in terms of housing production.
According to the Itasca Project’s dashboard, Minneapolis-Saint Paul produced 6.7 new housing units per 1,000 people in 2022 — higher than cities like Seattle, Portland, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Pittsburgh, but far lower than places like Austin, Charlotte and Dallas.
“The housing market isn’t free from what government policy is. It’d be great for the state, and localities, to take policy actions that make it easier to build more housing,” Feldman said in an interview this week, “The bottom line is, if we don’t have more then in the long run, housing prices are going to be higher than they would be otherwise.”
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A law passed in May now requires that transportation network company drivers earn a minimum of $1.28 per minute and 31 cents per mile.
MINNEAPOLIS — Rideshare fares will cost you a bit more after a new law setting minimum pay levels for transportation network drivers kicked in on Dec. 1.
The law, passed in May during the 2024 legislative session, pushes minimum pay for drivers who work for Uber, Lyft and similar transportation networks to $1.28 per minute and 31 cents per mile. There is a minimum ride charge of $5. Along with the new minimum rates, the law is designed to provide greater transparency into what customers are charged, increase insurance coverage, and build new partnerships with community organizations to assist and support drivers.
At the time the law was passed, Uber estimated that passengers would pay 25% more for a ride under the legislation.
It took a year of task force meetings organized by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) and input from drivers, rideshare users, community and legislative leaders to hammer out the new law, with both Uber and Lyft threatening to pull out of the state if even higher pay rates mandated by the Minneapolis City Council would have taken hold.
“[Transportation Network Company] drivers and stakeholders showed up to advocate and the result was new legislation that increased driver benefits and protections,” said Nicole Blissenbach, DLI commissioner. “Our agency is now working to educate drivers and work with the TNCs, so the law works as intended.”
Among the requirements and features of the new law:
- To ensure drivers earn the minimum compensation rate, every 14 days, TNCs will review individual trip and earnings records. If a driver did not meet the minimum rate of pay over that time period, the TNC will provide a supplemental payment to make up the difference. All tips belong to the driver and are not counted toward the minimum compensation rate.
- TNCs will pay drivers an additional 91 cents a minute if they drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle to encourage more accessible rides.
- Companies will provide drivers with a trip receipt within 24 hours of a completed trip, and weekly summaries that include the driver’s total earnings before tips, total trip time, miles, total fares and fees paid by passengers, and the driver’s total time on the TNC’s app.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry retains enforcement authority to ensure minimum compensation rates and pay transparency provisions aren’t met.
Additional information on the rideshare compensation law is available on the DLI website.
A comprehensive study of transportation network drivers by the DLI in 2023 determined that most rideshare drivers are persons of color, and more than half are immigrants. That study recommended 89 cents per mile and 49 cents per minute would be roughly equivalent to the state minimum wage plus some of the driver’s work-related expenses.
But the Minneapolis City Council, acting without state input, passed an ordinance that would’ve guaranteed drivers $1.41 per mile plus 51 cents per minute and other benefits. Uber and Lyft both issued warnings that they would leave Minneapolis – and likely the state – if that ordinance went into effect.
The council eventually rescinded that ordinance in early May after striking a compromise with state lawmakers on increases to transportation network company driver compensation.
Whether you plan to attend a ballgame in Minneapolis or Fort Myers, the Twins are putting seats up for purchase.
MINNEAPOLIS — Snowflakes are falling but for true fans, it’s never too early to think about baseball season.
The Minnesota Twins announced that tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for all 2025 home events – regular season games at Target Field, spring training games in Fort Myers and TwinsFest.
Regular season
The 2025 season will include 81 games at Target Field from April through late September. The home opener will be on April 3 against the Houston Astros.
Single-game tickets will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. If you plan on going to three or more Twins games, consider purchasing a holiday pack of tickets to get a complimentary Twins tree ornament.
Spring training
The Twins will host 17 home games at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. between Feb. 22 and March 25 as the club preps for the regular season. For more information on these games, click here.
TwinsFest
This annual fan event will take place Jan. 24-25 and feature more than 40 current and former Twins including Carlos Correa, Pablo López, Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober, Bert Blyleven and more.
Fans will experience live music, autograph stations and a youth clinic for aspiring Twins players. Check it out at this link.
MINNEAPOLIS — Australian rock icons ACDC are hitting the road for the band’s first North American tour in nine years, and opening night will take place in Minneapolis.
The “Power Up” tour kicks off at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 10, 2025. Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon, December 6 via the ACDC website. The tour includes 13 stops, winding up on May 18 in Cleveland.
ACDC is a legendary Grammy-winning band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Lead guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson and crew just wrapped up a European leg of the tour, named after the band’s 2020 album “Power Up” which they weren’t able to play live due to the COVID pandemic.
They are considered by many to be one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide including “Back in Black,” with 50 million albums sold worldwide and counting. ACDC mega-hits include “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Thunderstruck,” “Dirty Deeds,” Highway to Hell” and “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll).”
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