The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week. It’s a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market’s recovery, at least temporarily. Applications for unemployment aid have tumbled since topping 900,000 early this year.
The Grand Forks JDA may be asked in October to approve a $900,000 loan as part of a development agreement for the renovation of the downtown St. John’s building. The low interest loan would span 20 years at a rate of around 2%. The assessed value of the property would climb from $1.7 million to around $7 million dollars after the build.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August and the pace of price growth eased, the latest sign the housing market is cooling as intense competition leave many would-be buyers on the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors reports existing homes sales fell 2% last month from July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.88 million units. The median home price rose to $356,700, an increase of 14.9% from August 2020.
Rising costs and shortages of building materials and labor are rippling across the homebuilding industry, delaying construction and prompting many builders to pump the brakes on how many homes they put up for sale. Lumber futures hit their lowest level in more than a year last week after vaulting nearly fivefold to an all-time high in May.
North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 82,371 airline passenger boardings during the month of August. This month experienced lower passenger traffic then July, but is still the second highest month of airline passenger demand experienced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 5,836 passed through the gates of the Grand Forks Airport. That was 2,657 more than August of 2020.
FedEx is getting hurt by the tight job market. The package delivery company said Tuesday that its costs are up $450 million in the most recent quarter, as it paid higher wages as it got harder to find new workers and demand for shipping increased.
Grand Forks sales tax numbers continue to outpace 2020 collections. The July payment came in at $2,489,970 dollars. So far in 2021 the local tax is running 8.61% over last year’s tally. With nine months in the books the Grand Forks sales tax has generated $21,175,172.37.
Altru Health is hoping to complete the sale of revenue bonds to refund existing debt and complete construction on the new hospital project. Around $330 million would target construction and $200 million to refinance existing debt. The interest rate of 2.79% will realize a savings of over $26 million on the interest side alone. Construction on the new hospital is scheduled to resume in October after taking a pause during the pandemic.
Olivia Wyant, a nurse at Altru Health System, is being honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award recognizes extraordinary and compassionate care nurses provide patients and families every day. Wyant, an RN with the Family Birthing Center, was nominated to receive the award by a patient who recently gave birth. The mother spent 39 hours in labor.
Ford Motor Co. is investing $50 million in an upstart electric vehicle battery recycling company as the automaker moves to bolster its U.S. battery supply chain. Ford says in a statement that Redwood can recover 95% of precious metals in EV batteries such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper. All of those metals could be in short supply as the world shifts from to electric vehicles. Ford expects 40% of its global sales to be fully electric by 2030.
Grand Forks is looking to purchase new software to read some 15,600 water meters throughout the city. The current program dates back to 1999 and is longer being supported. Purchasing new transmitters would cost upwards of $200 per unit. The software upgrade carries at $21,784 dollar price-tag.
Supporters of a Law Enforcement Memorial at Optimist Park in Grand Forks will rebid the project later this fall and winter after initial bids came in over estimates. The campaign raised $260,000 for the Northern Valley Law Enforcement Memorial. The lone bid topped $369,000 dollars. The memorial will honor Federal, Canadian, Minnesotan, and North Dakotan law enforcement members who have died in the line of duty.
The European Union is unveiling plans that would require smartphone makers to adopt a single charging method for mobile devices. The EU Commission proposed legislation that would mandate USB-C cables for charging, technology that many device makers have already adopted. The EU also wants to cut down on the 11,000 metric tons of electronic waste thrown out every year by Europeans.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and The Boppy Company, of Golden, Colorado, are announcing the recall of the Boppy Original Newborn Loungers, Boppy Preferred Newborn Loungers and Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Loungers. There have been eight reports of infant deaths associated with the Boppy Company Newborn Lounger and this hazard. Boppy sold about 3.3 million of the recalled loungers at juvenile product stores and mass merchandisers nationwide and online
McDonald’s plans to “drastically” reduce the plastic in its Happy Meal toys worldwide by 2025. The company, which sells more than 1 billion toys each year, says the new goal will reduce its use of plastic by 90%. The burger giant said it’s working with toy companies to develop new ideas, such as three-dimensional cardboard superheroes kids can build.
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