News

The beauty and amenities of the City of Elk River are highlighted by our scenic parks and recreational spots.  The Orono Park Plan The Elk River EDA and HRA combine forces to improve these spaces through planning and redevelopment, ensuring that Elk River residents and visitors can enjoy care-free fun at ou...Continue Reading

June is National Homeownership Month, a time for raising awareness about the benefits that homeownership brings to families, neighborhoods and communities alike. The real estate market is thriving, and the City of Elk River is striving to make homeownership a reality for individuals who dream of owning a home. Homeownershi...Continue Reading

The City Beautification Award, presented by the City of Elk River, recognizes businesses who go the extra mile to develop an attractive property that increases the city aesthetic. The pandemic has been a trying time for many businesses, which is why efforts like these that encourage growth opportunities are especiall...Continue Reading

With the pandemic receding, the Elk River Farmers Market will return in 2021 with all the bells and whistles people have become accustomed to — plus a few new ones. The market opens Thursday, June 17, in the northwest corner of the parking lot behind Kemper Drug in downtown Elk River. Th...Continue Reading

Brielle’s journey began as a youth in the Young Adult Program at Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC). She was a single mother and needed to find a job to support herself and young child. She worked one summer in a work experience at a nursing home in the activities department...Continue Reading

The pandemic has upended the labor market in unprecedented ways and it will take some time for the disruption to be resolved. Our new article examines employer challenges in finding workers during pandemic recovery and offers some ideas for new steps employers can take now to find the workers the...Continue Reading

The Opus Group’s Nordeast Business Center represents an exceedingly rare opportunity in the Twin Cities’ blazing hot industrial real estate market: a chance to develop infill industrial in the urban core. Minnetonka-based Opus aims to break ground on the 130,500-square-foot speculative office-warehouse by late summer or early fall. On May 24...Continue Reading

Target Corp., which in March announced plans to vacate nearly 1 million square feet of office space in City Center in downtown Minneapolis, has quietly begun the search for tenants to sublease its former 33 S. Sixth St. offices. While the City Center space is not formally listed for sublease currently, Minneapolis-base...Continue Reading

This toolkit will continue to be updated as new information and resources become available. Please continue to check back for updates. On May 6, Governor Walz announced new reopening measures for businesses and the lifting of other restrictions. Per MPR, the phased reopening includes the following date- or metric-specific changes: May 7: Th...Continue Reading

Recently, the Minnesota Chamber held its annual Workforce Solutions Forum to talk about a fundamental challenge that faced employers for years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and is likely to continue long after: workforce. The Minnesota Chamber Foundation’s Center for Workforce Solutions is a business-led initiative to ensure employers an...Continue Reading

Minnesota added 11,300 new jobs in April, the fourth straight month that the state has posted job gains. Data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) shows that the state has now added 95,700 jobs over the last four months. More than half of those jobs wer...Continue Reading

St. Paul – Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% in April, from 4.2% in March, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The unemployment rate decline was due to people moving from unemployment to employment. The U.S. unemployment rate ros...Continue Reading

EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE Minnesota Department of Economic Development resources for employers – Information on staffing, hours, unemployment insurance and assistance for small businesses.  Coronavirus and unemployment insurance – Specific details on mandatory or voluntary quarantines, changes in hourly work or layoffs, and COVID-19 related costs.  Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's “worker protections” – A summary of FMLA...Continue Reading

It’s time dust off that hat and sign up for the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament. Get a foursome ready for a day on the course filled with beverages, dinner and prizes. It will be at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, at the Elk River Golf Club. Rea...Continue Reading

St. Paul – A new study released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) presents early findings about Minnesota workers who were laid off during March through June of 2020 and the most up-to-date information we have about their employment status. The study by DEED Labor Marke...Continue Reading

St. Paul – Sales of agriculture, mining and manufacturing exports from Minnesota dipped 4% between the first quarters of 2020 and 2021, falling to $5.4 billion, according to a report released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). U.S. exports rose year over year by 2% durin...Continue Reading

The Center for Workforce Solutions is the first-of-its kind in Minnesota, a business-led initiative to ensure employers and employees possess the necessary tools for jobs of the future. One of three priority areas for the Minnesota Chamber Foundation, it is complimented by our leadership programs, and the Center for Economi...Continue Reading

Tiona shared this this story of her success in moving from food service jobs to a health care career: Working for the University of Minnesota in food service was an amazing opportunity for me. I worked with great people and had the support of a caring team. Prior to that ...Continue Reading

Elk River Meats closed its doors for the last day of business on May 1, but the community would not let Bob and Denise Robeck go quietly into the sunset. Elk River Mayor John Dietz presented Bob and Denise Robeck with the Mayor’s Award on Saturday, May 1, which marked th...Continue Reading

Move will infuse passion, innovation and manufacturing  expertise into luxury, high-performance pontoon maker, Premier Marine Envision Company of Elk River announced May 3 the acquisition of Premier Marine, a leader in the luxury pontoon market, based in Wyoming, Minnesota. The move represents the next chapter in an already successful manufacturing legacy establishe...Continue Reading

Information Technology (IT) is one of the fastest growing industries in Minnesota. IT occupations account for 3.8% of total employment in Minnesota, above the national average of 3.4%. This means Information Technology employment is more concentrated in Minnesota than in the nation as a whole.  Tech employment is ingrained acros...Continue Reading

As the weather warms up, CareerForce staff and partners throughout the state are getting creative in holding safe and socially distanced hiring events outside. Here are just a few examples: Detroit Lakes: Leading CareerForce partner Rural Minnesota CEP held an outdoor job fair featuring 40-plus employers in the Detroit Lake M Stat...Continue Reading

Hans is now on a promising career track as a Junior Web Application Developer at a Twin Cities-based digital marketing company. That’s a big change from the past, when he was working in in a series of low-wage jobs. His transition from unstable jobs into a rewarding career took onl...Continue Reading

The Elk River Economic Development Authority learned on April 19 its Public Art Subcommittee has made progress on fundraising needed for the sculpture in downtown Elk River. Colleen Eddy, an economic development specialist for the city of Elk River, said a huge thanks goes to First Bank of Elk River an...Continue Reading