Minnesota Shutdown Bad For Business In St. Michael, Beyond

For the nearly 190,000 Minnesotans who are unemployed, here are some important notes:

People who are unemployed will still receive benefits. But for those who lose their jobs and want to apply for benefits, they can still do so but will have to apply online. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development put together a guide -- for state workers who will lose their jobs, as well as anyone else who becomes unemployed during the shutdown -- for how to apply online. According to the site, it’s possible to apply by phone, but wait times could be long. The number is 651-296-3644 for the Twin Cities area, and 1-866-814-1252 for the hearing impaired. More details on applying by phone can be found here.

To avoid overloading the site, they also created a schedule for people who are laid off and need to apply for benefits. It shows who should call and when, determined by your social security number.

Of the 49 WorkForce Centers in the state that help people who are unemployed find jobs, 12 will remain open with scaled-back services, said Monte Hanson, spokesman for DEED.  He said the following centers that remain open are in Anoka County, Cloquet, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls, New Ulm, Ramsey County-North St. Paul, Virginia, Cottage Grove, Forest Lake and Woodbury. These centers are exceptions because they share offices with local government such as cities or counties, Hanson said.

Unemployed workers may have a harder time searching for jobs. Hanson said MnWorks.net, which lets people search for jobs online, will not be usable during the shutdown. The data tool on DEED’s website will also be down, as the site’s tech workers are employed by the state.

According to data not seasonally adjusted, Minnesota had an unemployment rate of 6.4 percent in May, the most recent data available. The data show 189,042 people in Minnesota were unemployed in May, with the state’s total labor force at close to three million.

Business impact
Among Minnesota’s nearly 164,000 businesses-from retailers and real estate agents to corporations and cosmetologists- the impact of a state government shutdown will be difficult to measure “due to the diverse landscape of businesses,” said Tom Hesse, an executive at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

Hesse predicted most businesses will feel only a minimal impact from a short-term shutdown.
Businesses most affected would be those with contracts to provide goods or services to the state, including PCI Roads of St. Michael, which has done work on various road and bridge projects statewide. 

Brian Steinhoff, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, said he has not heard an outcry from his membership. He said if the shutdown lasts two weeks, that may not have much of an impact on retailers and local economies. But if it lasts two months, for example, that could be another story.

“We’re in uncharted territory here,” Steinhoff said.

General Contractors, Construction
A big business loser would be the construction industry. The Associated General Contractors of Minnesota estimates 5,000 to 10,000 construction workers will be laid if the state shuts down dozens of road and highway projects. A prolonged shutdown would be devastating to small  and new general contractors, the group contended.
The Roseville-based Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) said a state shutdown would halt the work of the Minnesota Board of Electricity, suspending state electrical inspections on construction projects in communities that don’t have their own in-house inspectors or that contract for such service.
“This would affect a large portion of BATC territory, where the state has jurisdiction over the administration and enforcement of the Minnesota Electrical Code.” BATC said in a recent blog post.

That was confirmed by St. Michael city leaders, who said any construction would cease in their city thanks to a lack of state inspectors, held up by the shutdown. 

That's huge, considering a multi-million dollar project is in the works at the intersection of Highway 241 and Interstate 94, bringing the city a new Kwik Trip Station.

BATC said the following cities are designated as 'State Authorities Having Jurisdiction' over electrical inspections and WILL BE interrupted by a state government shutdown:

Anoka County
Andover, Anoka, Bethel, Blaine, Cedar, Columbia Heights, East Bethel, Ham Lake, Hilltop, Lexington, Lino Lakes, Nowthen, Oak Grove, St. Francis,Spring Lake Park; Townships of Burns, Columbus, Linwood

Carver County
Carver, Chanhassen, Chaska, Cologne, Hamburg, Mayer, New Germany, Norwood Young America, Victoria, Waconia;Townships of Benton, Camden, Chaska,
Dahlgren, Hancock,Hollywood, Laketown, San Francisco, Waconia

Dakota County
Apple Valley (installations before January 17, 2011), Coats, Eagan, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Gove Heights, Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights, Miesville, New Trier, Northfield(part located in Dakota County), Sunfish Lake; Townships of Castle Rock, Douglas, Empire, Eureka, Greenvale, Hampton, Marshan, Nininger, Ravenna, Randolph, Sciota and Vermillion,  Waterford

Hennepin County
Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Crystal, Dayton, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Golden Valley, Greenfield, Hamel, Hanover, Hopkins, Independence, Long Lake,
Loretto, Maple Plain, Medicine Lake, Medina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka Beach, Navarre, New Hope, Orono, Osseo, Robbinsdale, Rockford, Rogers, St. Anthony, St. Bonifacius, Shorewood, Tonka Bay, Wayzata; Township of Hassan

Ramsey County
Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Mounds View, Vadnais Heights

Scott County
Belle Plaine, Elko, Jordan, New Market, New Prauge, Prior Lake, Savage, Townships of Belle Plaine, Blakeley, Cedar Lake, Credit River, Helena,Jackson, Louisville, New Market, Sand Creek, Spring Lake, St. Lawrence

Washington County
Afton, Bayport, Birchwood, Cottage Grove, Dellwood, Denmark, Forest Lake, Grey Cloud Island, Grant, Hugo, Lake Elmo, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Landfall, Mahtomedi, Marine on St. Croix, Newport, Oak Park Heights, Pine Springs, Scandia, St. Croix Beach, St. Mary¹s Point, St. Paul Park, Stillwater, Willernie, Withrow; Townships of Baytown, Forest Lake, May, New Scandia, Stillwater, West Lakeland

Wright County
Albertville, Annandale, Buffalo, Clearwater, Cokato, Delano, Hasty, Howard Lake, Knapp, Maple Lake, Monticello, Montrose, Otsego, Silver Creek, South Haven, Stockholm, St. Michael, Waverly; Townships of Albion, Buffalo, Chatham, Clearwater, Cokato, Corrinna, Frankfort, Franklin, French Lake, Marysville, Maple Lake, Middleville, Monticello, Rockford, Silver Creek, Southside, Stockholm, Victor, Woodland.

Secretary of State
One boon for businesses: Per a court order deeming it to be a “critical service,” the Office of the Secretary of State will remain open during any state government shutdown.  As such, that means all of its services will be available including Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, the Central Notification System (CNS), apostilles and authentications, business services, election administration and the Safe at Home program.  Up-to-date information about the Office of the Secretary of State is available on line at www.sos.state.mn.us.