Who can pass up free books in this economy, anyway? despite hints that things might be improving, we still get news like this on a daily basis: According to Minnesota Public Radio’s Annie Baxter and Elizabeth Dunbar, unemployment rates were up in October, although “officials had expected the rise and said it wasn’t significant,” which is the kind of a statement that only somebody who still has a job would make.

In related news, things aren’t looking that great for Minnesota’s unemployment insurance. the deficit the fund is running, which we planned to be out of this month … well, those plans ganged aglay, as best-laid plans aft do. As reported by MPR’s Annie Baxter, the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund is far from being in the black, running a deficit of $94 million, and “We’re in deficit until 2015, absent some changes in law or dramatic changes in the economy one way or another,” according to Lee Nelson, chief attorney for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Additionally, according to the Star Tribune’s Kara McGuire, mortgage delinquencies are at an all-time high. she quotes Scott Anderson, a senior economist for Wells Fargo, who offers some distressingly plain talk: “They’re terrible numbers and they just keep getting worse.”

Even many of those with a steady income and a house that’s not looking at foreclosure get some bad news today: Minnesota’s property taxes may rise an average of 3.5 percent. but, as bill Salisbury of the Pioneer Press explains, it could be worse. Firstly, it’s less than the 5.6 percent increase that Minnesotans, on average, experienced this past year, and it could have been even more: Salisbury cites Jim Mulder, executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, as explaining: “By law, cities and counties could have increased their property tax levies by the full amount that Gov. Tim Pawlenty cut their state aid. but counties appear to be levying for just 40 percent to 50 percent of their lost state funding.” Whew.

If the economic news is a bit of a downer, at least everything’s coming up lutes this weekend, according to MPR’s Allison Young, who tells of a summit of lute players this weekend . Alas, people who play the lute have no amusing collective noun to describe them — it’s not a thrum of lute players, or a fretting of lute players, but instead a group of lutenists. that being said, there are rumors that a 90-centimeter contrabass-lute will be on hand, which this amassing of lutenists have dubbed “Big Berta.”

You would think the promise of lutes might act as a talisman against disharmony — well, maybe you wouldn’t, but we at the Daily Glean have great hopes for the healing powers of plucked string instruments. instead, this past week has been a dispiriting one, firstly with the ongoing case of the pranks-cum-assaults that local youths published to YouTube (and, as David Chanen of the star Tribune reports, has yielded two more arrests) which generated a torrent of hateful comments on City Pages, which David Brauer reported on. Now, Owatonna High School is in the news because of a fight between white and Somali students that left one hospitalized. the Star Tribune and WCCO-TV both cover it, although they don’t seem to agree on how settled the issue is: According to bill Hudson’s Thursday story, “Calm has returned to the halls of Owatonna High School”; today, Curt Brown of the Star Tribune tells us that “Racial tension has been building at Owatonna High School this week.” whatever the case, they both pin the incident on one thing: an inflammatory essay by a white student, ” alleging Somali privilege” according to Hudson, which was posted on the student’s class blog and passed out as paper copies. both the Strib and WCCO demur in offering examples of the student’s paper, but the Owatonna People’s Press is less circumspect: “As one example, he said that though most students weren’t allowed to wear hats in school, the Somali students routinely wore hats without being told to take them off.“

To cap it all off, even the Vikings are apparently in a foul mood. This, despite signing Head Coach Brad Childress to a three-year contact extension; no, as the associated Press reports, haggling over a lease extension at the Metrodome has left the team in a tizzy: a day after the Vikings said a lease extension was out of the question, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission offered a two-year extension, with a threatened $4 million annual rent if the Vikes don’t sign the extension. Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president of public affairs/stadium development, responded sharply, saying the offer “sends a very bad message to the owners, the state and the league about the ability to solve the problem in Minnesota.”

Lutes, people. Lutes.

Published November 22, 2009 11:30 pm – the good news about Minnesota unemployment is that the bad news may be ebbing, albeit in fits and starts.

several companies rehiring after months of cuts
Economists say hirings likely to continue waxing and waning

By Brian Ojanpa
The Free Press

MANKATO —

The good news about Minnesota unemployment is that the bad news may be ebbing, albeit in fits and starts.

Although joblessness rates are inching downward, economists say hirings will continue to wax and wane before employment returns to pre-recession levels.

Several Minnesota companies, including Wells Concrete, are hiring again after months of job cuts.

“I think things are coming back a little bit,” said Greg Jacobson, manager of the Wells plant that is back to full strength — 280 workers — after January layoffs trimmed about 60 workers.

Moreover, the plant has hired a dozen or so new workers and plans to hire several more.

The situation is similar at the company’s new plant in Albany, which began hiring in June and has 60 on its payroll.

Albany plant manager and company Vice President Paul Nelson said an increase in work orders, helped by a downward reset of the company’s price points, allowed the firm to hire new workers and retain valued ones.

“Profit margins were lowered just to keep people busy and keep work coming in the door,” he said. “We could have laid off more, but chose to do some things to better our business and better our work climate to retain more experienced people.”

State firms such as 3M, best buy and Ecolab also report they are hiring again, as have local businesses including Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital and Jones Metal Products.

The hospital has recalled 80 of the 140 workers it laid off last spring, and Jones spokesperson Cheri Wencl said an increase in orders prompted that 95-employee firm to recall about a dozen employees.

Minnesota’s jobless rate fell to 7.3 percent in September, down from 8 percent in August as employers purged 7,900 workers and hired 5,600 others.

Dan McElroy, commissioner of the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, said that push-and-pull layoff/hiring scenario is vexing but is to be expected as Minnesota and the nation recover from the recession.

He said he was encouraged by September numbers showing that five of the state’s 11 industry sectors gained employment during the month.

However, state labor analyst Steve Hine cautioned that the September numbers likely will turn out to be an anomaly, due in part to the time of the year.

Hine said seasonal factors such as the start of the school year and the weather can drive numbers upward or downward and doubts that the jobless rate will remain as low as September’s.