The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell for third straight week. The Labor Department reported that applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending February 25 fell to 190,000 from 192,000 the previous week. About 1.66 million people were receiving jobless aid at last report.
The real estate sector has been battered by interest rate hikes. Higher mortgage rates — currently above 6% — have slowed home sales for 12 straight months. That’s almost in lockstep with the Fed’s rate hikes that began last March.
Home sales slowed to a four year low in February. The Grand Forks Area Association of REALTORS report 25 homes…condos…and townhomes were sold last month. That compares to 52 for the same month one year ago. The average sales price in February was $240,716 dollars.
North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission has awarded $700,000 in funding to four projects. The grants can be used for basic and applied research, marketing and utilization, farm diversification, nature-based agritourism, prototype and technology and technical assistance. Epitome Energy, LLC was awarded $250,000 toward building a soybean crush facility near Grand Forks.
Fans of Sun Country Airlines can now hop a bus out of Fargo to the airport in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The so-called Landline motorcoach will link passengers with flights out of the MSP. The cost is $15 for one way, or $30 round trip. The service launched this past week.
Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has issued a bulletin reminding insurance companies involved in long-term care policies about denying claims based on the type of facility. The bulletin notes that under North Dakota Century Code claims must include a review and consideration of the patient’s medical records and the level of care the patient is receiving.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold four public hearings regarding a proposal to construct a carbon dioxide pipeline in North Dakota. The proposed pipeline would be built in parts of Burleigh, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Logan, McIntosh, Morton, Oliver, Richland and Sargent Counties. The estimated cost of the project is $898 million. The first hearing is March 14th in Bismarck.
Target plans to invest as much as $5 billion this year expanding services for customers, including a drive up service for returns, renovations at 175 stores and improvements in online shopping. The Minnesota-based retailer announced the investments during its annual investor meeting as it reported a 43% tumble in profits for the holiday quarter, reflecting the ongoing challenges of balancing more cautious consumer spending and rising costs.
Grand Forks is soliciting bids for a couple of upcoming street lighting projects. One project would remove 21 existing street light and install 13 new LED lights along South 4th Street at a cost of $161,000. The second would place 18 new LED lights along University Avenue from the BNSF tracks to North 20th Street. The estimated cost of the project is $154,000. Bids will be opened April 6th.
Nissan is recalling more than 809,000 small SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because a key problem can cause the ignition to shut off while they’re being driven. The recall covers Rogues from the 2014 through 2020 model years, as well as Rogue Sports from 2017 through 2022. Nissan says the SUVs have jackknife folding keys that may not stay fully open.
Neela Mollgaard, the current director of Launch Minnesota at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), has been appointed the agency’s new Executive Director of Small Business Development. Mollgaard will lead DEED initiatives to serve Minnesota’s small business sector, including entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses.
TikTok says every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. Families have struggled with limiting the amount of time their children spend on the Chinese-owned video sharing app. When the 60-minute limit is reached, minors will be prompted to enter a passcode and make an “active decision” to keep watching.
