Roper: Tiny house fight is a microcosm of affordable housing resistance Property rights are at the heart of a lawsuit over Blaine’s rejection of a proposed mother-in-law suite for homeless families.

This reminds me of being a reporter and writing about opposition to new apartments from neighbors. I still recall a neighbor saying they didn't want renters moving in. I was an owner then but had to wonder if I was somehow scum when I was a renter the year before www.startribune.com/blaine-adu-a...

I'm researching unlicensed child care (e.g., grandmas). One reason it's common is lack of affordable/available licensed care, esp. for infants. Found this chart in CPS data via @ipums.bsky.social. Most paid care is licensed care. As kids age, care gets less costly and easier. Then schools take them.

A child care person I interviewed told me today that more children are cared for by family, friends, neighbors, in part, because we're seeing more young children with mental health issues. Licensed providers can't give them individual attention they need so parents turn to Grandma.

Tallying the two channels of job losses from tariffs | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 2018–19 China trade war offers estimates of potential jobs lost to retaliation and rising input costs

New: Article by Mike Waugh and Jeff Horwich @minneapolisfed.bsky.social looks at potential job losses and impacts of trade war w/ China based on 2018-2019 experience and related research of that prior episode.

www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2025...

Foreign investor or foreign adversary? | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Real estate investors from China, Russia, and other countries are target of new state laws

There appears to be renewed interest in banning foreign adversaries from owning US farmland. For those interested, here's a primer I wrote a year ago about the topic. Bottom line, foreigners don't own as much as you might think, and adversaries own way less. www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024...

Tariff Impacts: Delayed or Avoided? | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Tariff Impacts: Delayed or Avoided?

New essay this morning by @minneapolisfed.bsky.social President Neel Kashkari where he lays out his argument for potentially two rate cuts in 2025. #econsky

www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2025...

Nonprofits roiled by funding cuts and threats of more cuts, surveys find | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota nonprofits say both public and private funding are affected

We surveyed nonprofits in Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota and found that funding has become very challenging. It's no surprise that federal funding is less available but so is private funding. My article explains why: www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2025...

Scholar spotlight: Karen Kopecky | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Unpacking dysfunction in long-term care insurance

Health inequality is important for understanding economic outcomes, Karen Kopecky recognizes, and not only for the individuals with health vulnerabilities but for those around them as well. Scholar spotlight from @minneapolisfed.bsky.social's @tuuyentran.bsky.social: bit.ly/3EtXUWw

2025 Regional Economic Conditions Conference | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Join us TOMORROW for the 2025 Regional Economic Conditions Conference. This virtual event will feature
CHS President Jay Debertin in conversation with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Event will also include panel discussions w/ reps from across our region. To register: t.co/we2b8unJRM

Child care has long been a vexing problem in rural Minnesota. One county may have cracked the code. Stevens County’s pod model has attracted attention as an innovative solution for a longstanding issue.

The Strib has a nice preview of the conference that offers some add'l context: www.startribune.com/child-care-h... 13/13

On the other hand, one person said their community leaders were people young enough to have young kids and they were on board right away. 12/13

One person said the key is to get "Bob" on your side. That's their nickname for a key leader in the rural community who holds a lot of sway. 11/13

The other thing I took away from the conference is that buy-in can be hard. One person said their community leaders denied child care was a problem. They had to wait for it to get bad enough before people were convinced. 10/13

Little Falls hospital, school district jump into the child care fray - MinnPost The city, along with a local hospital, has been leading the efforts to reduce the costs for family child care providers, making it easier for them to stay afloat.

There were examples of nonprofit groups providing space as well: St. Gabriel's Health in Little Falls has space for 2 providers in a vacant bldg. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn... And a new nonprofit started a child care center in Warroad www.warroadchildcarecenter.org. 9/13

Several people involved in the pods model said it's easier to get started because regulations are less stringent for small providers. Luverne went with a center because it wanted to serve more families. 8/13

Normally smaller providers operate out of their own home but there are lots of barriers: they have to be homeowners, costly upgrades to the home to meet state codes, disruption of family life. 7/13

These examples show two models. One is just a regular child care center. The subsidized space is what's different. The other is the "pod" model, where a bunch of small providers (10-14 kids) operate under 1 roof. 6/13

Luverne will provide space for a nonprofit-run child care center that can care for 186 children. www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/suc... 5/13

Pod model day care opens New Ulm building NEW ULM — A special ribbon cutting event was held at 1314 Westridge Road Friday in honor of New Ulm’s pod model day care, Westridge Place The pod model day

New Ulm offers space for 4 providers in a bldg the economic development agency bought: www.nujournal.com/news/local-n... 4/13

Daycare Pods have been open for nearly one year, Stevens County hopes to add more - Stevens County Times Amid mounting concerns about childcare availability, a new model for daycare opened last summer in Stevens County. The Daycare Pods, as they’ve come to be

Stevens County offers space for 6 providers in a rowhouse it built with grants: stevenscountytimes.com/daycare-pods... 3/13

Hills, Minn., offers city-owned building to address childcare shortage After multiple childcare providers retired, the City of Hills is using an innovative way to provide new options.

Hills subsidizes space for 3 providers in a bldg the city got through tax forfeiture: www.siouxfallslive.com/news/sioux-f... 2/13

The child care business model has been described as "broken," implying the market isn't working as well as hoped. So I was interested to learn at a recent First Children's Finance conference about market interventions by local govts in rural MN. 1/13

Foreign investor or foreign adversary? | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Real estate investors from China, Russia, and other countries are target of new state laws

I explored the issue earlier this year, and found most people concerned with foreign ownership are concerned with a handful of adversaries (e.g., China). Most foreigners buying US land are investors from friendly nations (the MI story mentions Canadians): www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024... 2/2

Upper Peninsula forestland increasingly bought by foreign landowners In a year, Michigan's foreign-owned agricultural acreage went from 5.6% to 8.6% – with the biggest jumps in the Upper Peninsula.

Foreigners have bought more forest land in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: www.mlive.com/public-inter... Is that a bad thing? 1/2

Also check out my buddy Jeff's video about another State Fair poll that we conducted. x.com/MinneapolisF... 13/13

This wasn't a scientific survey (obviously) and the picture I took was just from a few hours of polling. But these results align well with what we know about the work force. 12/13

One dad said being able to work from home during the pandemic taught him that he can work hard and still have time for family. 11/13

Did the pandemic cause more people to reflect on their work and choose work-life balance than otherwise? For many, yes. They might have chosen benefits/career growth before but now they choose meaningful work/work-life balance. 10/13

An older woman delighted me with her frankness: I hate work and don't want to spend so much time there. She couldn't wait to retire. 9/13

No surprise that lots of parents chose work-life balance, too. 8/13