Star Tribune
Has Rochester added workers of color in its busy building industry? It’s still working on it
ROCHESTER — After fits and starts, an ambitious local workforce initiative is poised to expand two years after Bloomberg Philanthropies awarded the city $1 million to bring women of color into the construction industry.
The program, called Equity in the Built Environment, is launching a marketing campaign this month to encourage more BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) women to train and get hired in construction and design-related jobs in the community.
Thus far, officials involved in the project have helped one person get hired, three people get training and five entrepreneurs in related fields get support — from an in-home day care provider catering to construction worker hours to a person looking to open their own trucking business to support work sites.
It’s taken about a year to get to this point. The program’s director (and sole employee) wasn’t hired until late February 2023 after the city spent several months looking for local partners to administer services before landing on nonprofit Workforce Development, Inc.
At the same time, the project has expanded from its mission to curb labor shortages by bringing more women of color into construction trades. Workforce Development staff are building partnerships with local schools and Rochester Community and Technical College to provide more trades education for students.
The program also trains local construction and design firms in diversity, equity and inclusion practices — increasing the chances BIPOC women who are hired stay in their new careers.
“This isn’t just about bodies,” said Julie Brock, the equity program’s manager. “This is about transformation.”
Four companies have participated thus far. Once certified, they’ll be connected with program candidates.
Less than 1% of people employed in local construction jobs are women of color, mirroring similar hiring trends nationwide in an industry that predominantly hires white men. About 13% of Rochester’s population is women of color.
The program is largely targeting underemployed women of color who require more attention and support to change jobs, such as offering night classes for women with families.
“We want to help break down barriers for diverse candidates getting into this space,” said Stacy Brumfield, a diversity and trades coordinator with Workforce Development.
The program came as a bid for funding from a Bloomberg-sponsored city challenge. Bloomberg announced in January 2022 that Rochester was among 15 cities to get a $1 million grant. The city received that money in October 2022.
The program aims to get at least 60 women of color trained and hired, which staffers say is a lofty goal. Workforce Development usually helps 20 to 30 people a year in the Rochester area find jobs in trades careers.
Yet some city officials say they want more goals and hard deadlines to measure the project’s worth.
“I don’t think a year into it that they’re programmed to be successful,” City Council Member Shaun Palmer said.
Palmer, a retired building inspector, said he supports getting more people into the construction industry but he’s concerned the project has stretched into other areas without clear goals, deadlines and checks on its grant funding.
Mayor Kim Norton disagrees, saying city officials knew the program needed to address more than just workforce training and hiring to keep pace with the community’s growth and diversity.
“You have to convince different groups to try something they’ve never thought of,” Norton said.
Local construction and architecture firms are happy for any extra help, according to Patrick Sexton of Rochester Area Builders. Sexton said companies are preparing to ramp up hiring for Mayo Clinic’s $5 billion Rochester expansion, which city officials estimate will require at least 2,000 more workers over the next six years.
“We need as many people as we can possibly get,” Sexton said. “We need people yesterday.”
A 19-year-old driver trying to get around slower vehicles collided head-on with an SUV in Wright County and killed one person and injured several others, officials said Thursday.
SUV passenger Janice Evelyn Johnson, 92, of Arden Hills, died Monday at HCMC from injuries she suffered in the collision on Oct. 22 in Monticello Township on County Road 37 near County Road 12, the Sheriff’s Office said in a search warrant affidavit filed in Hennepin County District Court.
The driver and two other people in the SUV survived their injuries, according to the affidavit, which the Sheriff’s Office filed to collect Johnson’s medical records at HCMC as part of its investigation.
According to the affidavit:
Deputies arrived at the crash scene and spoke with the car’s driver, Christian Kabunangu, of Brooklyn Park, who said he was heading west on County Road 37 and found himself behind two vehicles traveling below the speed limit.
“He was late for work, so he decided to pass them,” the affidavit read. Kabunangu said he saw the oncoming SUV and estimated it was about a half-mile down the road.
As he attempted to pass one of the slower vehicles, he explained, the other driver “sped up, preventing him from getting back into the westbound lane,” the filing continued.
As the Honda drew near, he swerved to the left, but the SUV did the same and they collided.
Star Tribune
University of Minnesota researchers find that native plants can beat invasive buckthorn on their own turf.
If the invasive buckthorn that is strangling the life out of Minnesota’s forest floor has a weakness, it is right now, in the shortening daylight of the late fall.
With a little help and planning, certain native plants have the best chance of beating buckthorn back and helping to eradicate it from the woods, according to new research from the University of Minnesota.
The sprawling bush has been one of the most formidable invasive species to take root in Minnesota since it was brought from Europe in the mid-1800s. It was prized as an ornamental privacy hedge. All the attributes that make buckthorn good at that job — dense thick leaves that stay late into the fall, toughness and resilience to damage and pruning, unappealing taste to wildlife and herbivores — have allowed it to thrive in the wild.
It grows fast and thick, out-competing the vast majority of native plants and shrubs for sunlight and then starving them under its shade. It creates damaging feedback loops, providing ideal habitat and calcium-rich food for invasive earthworms, which in turn kill off and uproot native plants. That leaves even less competition for buckthorn to take root, said Mike Schuster, a researcher for the university’s Department of Forest Resources.
When it takes over a natural area, buckthorn creates a “green desert,” Schuster said. “All that’s left is just a perpetual hedge, with little biodiversity.”
Since the 1990s, when the spread became impossible to ignore, Minnesota foresters, park managers and cities have spent millions of dollars a year trying to beat it back. They’ve used chainsaws and trimmers, poisons and herbicides, and even goats for hire. The buckthorn almost always grows back within a few years.
It’s been so pervasive that a conventional wisdom formed that buckthorn seeds could survive dormant in the soil for up to six years. That thought has led to a sort of fatalism: even if the plant were entirely removed from a property there would be a looming threat that it would sprout back, Schuster said.
But there is nothing special about buckthorn seeds. They only survive for a year or two.
Eden Prairie Eagles (6-3) at Maple Grove Crimson (9-0), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Maple Grove faithful are understandably jittery about getting Eden Prairie this early in the playoffs, but they should trust their eyes. The Crimson are loaded, with quality playmakers at every turn, like safety/receiver Dylan Vokal. Eden Prairie is built for games like this, but while the Eagles will keep things tight for awhile, Maple Grove will pull away in the second half, leading to a seismic sigh-of-relief from northwest metro. The pick: Maple Grove 35, Eden Prairie 21
David says: Eden Prairie’s time, however decorated an success-filled, is done and over. Provided the Crimson are able to take it. Maple Grove is capable of success as long as players don’t make the moment too big. Former coach Matt Lombardi cracked the code. What about his replacement, Adam Spurrell? The pick: Maple Grove 21, Eden Prairie 14
Edina Hornets (7-2) at Eagan Wildcats (5-3), 7 p.m.
Jim says: On paper, this leans toward an Edina victory. The Hornets have top-end talent on offense (QB Mason West, WR Meyer Swinney), an under-appreciated defense and a season-opening 35-14 victory over Eagan. But the Wildcats are resilient and don’t back down from anyone. Quarterback Brooklyn Evans is adept at running the Wildcats option offense and will keep them in the game. The pick: Edina 28, Eagan 15
David says: Tempting as it is to pick against Edina and revel in another office cake party, let’s go with the Hornets in this one. Expect an improved Eagan team to keep Edina within reach, however. The pick: Edina 21, Eagan 20
Alexandria Cardinals (7-2) at Moorhead Spuds (9-0), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Alexandria came oh-so-close to beating Moorhead on Oct. 11, falling 36-34 when a game-winning field goal went wide-left. While the Cardinals hoped for this rematch, Moorhead has the look of a team on a mission. Outside of the head-to-head matchup, Moorhead dominated every other opponent with a series of 30-point plus victories. No one mashes the Spuds. The pick: Moorhead 44, Alexandria 34
David says: The Game of the Year, Part II. Only thing to make this more juicy would be an upset. Is Alexandria up to that task? I don’t have the courage to go out on that limb in this space. The pick: Moorhead 42, Alexandria 24
Andover Huskies (7-2) at Elk River Elks (8-1), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Another highly anticipated rematch. Andover handed mistake-prone Elk River it’s only loss, 47-31, on Sept. 20. With three lost fumbles, Elks’ coach Steve Hamilton called it the worst game they’ve played in five years. You can bet they’re itching to prove they’re better than they showed that night. The pick: Elk River 49, Andover 37
David says: Bet the over when these two teams clash. Andover’s quarterback Joseph Mapson is a much more polished and proven signal caller that he was in late September. The Pick: Andover 49, Elk River 48.
