This week a new solar energy plant celebrated its grand opening on the Iron Range.  Minnesota was chosen for Seattle-based Silicon Energy’s second plant because of a state incentive program encouraging the purchase of solar panels made in-state.

IRRRB provided $1.5 million in equipment loans for the project and the agency worked over several months to create a package to assist Silicon Energy with building a plant in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. The company has already hired 15 employees and plans to add additional employees over the next few months in manufacturing, engineering, and sales. 

Minnesota Public Radio highlighted the news earlier this week:

Mountain Iron, Minn. — A new solar energy plant on the Iron Range celebrated a grand opening Monday.

Seattle-based Silicon Energy began training workers to produce photovoltaic systems at a plant in Mountain Iron last month. Minnesota was chosen for Silicon Energy's second plant because of a state incentive program encouraging purchase of solar panels made in-state, said company president Gary Shaver.

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Last night, Governor Dayton spoke at the launch of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership (Greater MSP Partnership), which is committed to economic growth and prosperity in the 13-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area.

The Greater MSP Partnership is another example of public-private organizations and businesses working together to create jobs and put Minnesotans back to work. It will focus on five areas to increase job growth in the Twin Cities: health and life sciences, corporate headquarters and business services, food and agribusiness, innovation and technology, and financial services and insurance.

Governor Dayton's remarks at the launch of the Greater MSP Partnership is just another example of his focus on jobs and gathering input from a broad spectrum of Minnesotans on how to get our economy working again. The Governor will hold a jobs summit on October 25th - another in a series of steps his administration is taking to Minnesotans back to work.

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Today, Governor Mark Dayton joined 15 other governors in signing a letter to Congressional leadership urging swift consideration of the American Jobs Act.  Read the letter below:

Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Pelosi:

As governors, we believe that of all the difficult decisions we have to make as a country, our top priority must remain job creation, always.

We therefore urge swift consideration of the American Jobs Act, which draws upon many ideas that governors - Democratic and Republican alike - are putting into action in the states.

It is an economic and historic truth that, to create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments.  As President Obama has stated, to create jobs, we must be willing to educate, innovate and rebuild.  Our global competitors are investing in their infrastructure and in the skills and education of their workforce.  To create jobs in our communities, we must be willing to do the same.

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This morning, Governor Mark Dayton hosted the Minnesota Lynx for a breakfast reception at the Governor’s Residence in celebration of their WNBA championship. See the photos below.

The Governor also proclaimed today, Tuesday, October 11, 2011, as Minnesota Lynx Day. He spoke at today's Minnesota Lynx rally at the Target Center and presented the team with the proclamation.

 

View more photos on the Governor's flickr feed.

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This Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon will join lieutenant governors from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska on an economic development mission to China.

The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) will host the mission October 14 – 20, 2011.  Delegates will attend the Canton Trade Fair in Ghangzhou then travel on to meetings in both Shanghai and Beijing.  From 2000 – 2010, China was the largest contributor to United States export growth of any major trading partner.  In that period, exports to China grew 468% while exports to the rest of the world grew at an average of 55%.

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Last week, details came out about Governor Dayton’s upcoming jobs summit on October 25th.  While this event will certainly be a great chance to gather input from an even broader spectrum of Minnesotans about how we get our economy working again, it will be just one of a series of steps our administration is taking to put Minnesotans back to work.
 
Preceding the summit, Governor Dayton has visited nearly a dozen communities asking for input from all Minnesotans about how we can grow businesses and create jobs across the state.  Most recently, he was in Duluth soliciting ideas from business leaders and community officials.  Several business leaders cited government incentives that allowed them to expand or grow their companies, and the Governor reiterated his belief that government has a role to play in job creation.
 
One of the things that government can do to ensure that private businesses can hire is to help small businesses access the capital they need to grow.  Last week the Department of Employment and Economic Development announced a new grant that would mean $15.5 million in new funding for small business lenders.  This public/private partnership will help thousands of small businesses in our state and create up to 3,000 jobs.

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This morning, the Grand Forks Herald has a story on Governor Dayton's regional economic development summit in Thief River Falls. The article highlights the Governor's focus on job creation throughout the state.

“Jobs and economic growth are my goal for the next three years,” Gov. Dayton said during the summit. See the article below.

Grand Forks Herald: Jobs, population discussed during northwest Minnesota summit

THIEF RIVER FALLS — In the midst of a struggling statewide economy, the community of Thief River Falls has a problem other Minnesota cities might wish they had.

Thief River Falls and neighboring communities such as Roseau, located in the northwest corner of the state, have plenty of jobs but are in need of more people and more housing.

At a regional economic development summit held Monday at the theater on the campus of Northland Community and Technical College, 16 panelists, including Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, answered questions and addressed concerns about the lack of available housing and workers.

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The Minnesota Department of Education announced today that Seth Brown, a middle school math teacher at Wayzata West Middle School, was honored by the Milken Family Foundation with a Milken Educator Award, one of the education's most prestigious recognitions.

Brown was honored at a routine schoolwide assembly that turned into a surprise ceremony. He is known for his expertise as a mathematics teacher and for the creative use of technology in his classroom.

The Milken Educator award, known as "the Oscars of Teaching," recognizes the importance of outstanding educators and encourages talented young people to enter the teaching profession. It comes with a $25,000 prize.

“Teachers like Seth that consistently go above and beyond in their classrooms are true heroes in every sense of the word,” said Commissioner Cassellius. "It’s wonderful to be a part of honoring Seth’s remarkable achievements as a world-class educator, and to acknowledge the positive impact he has had on his students, in his school and on the profession of teaching.”

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This weekend, the Star Tribune spotlighted Governor Dayton's First Annual Governor's Pheasant Opener, which is being held this Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 in Montevideo, Minnesota. See the article below:

Star Tribune: On Outdoors: Dayton savors first-ever governor's pheasant hunt

Gov. Mark Dayton has no illusions about his chances of bagging a rooster pheasant Saturday at the first-ever Governor's Pheasant Opener near Montevideo in western Minnesota.

"I'll be a little rusty, but we'll see what happens,'' Dayton said Friday. "I don't pretend to be the best shot in the state. But any day out there walking around is a good day. It's a great rite of fall passage in Minnesota.''

Dayton grew up hunting ducks and pheasants but said a pheasant hunt last fall with Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., at an annual Montevideo-area event was his first hunt in years. He said he decided to launch a Governor's Pheasant Opener at Peterson's suggestion.

The pheasant season opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, and Dayton said the purpose of his event is similar to the annual governor's fishing and deer hunting openers: "It highlights some of the wonderful outdoor activities in Minnesota. It will be an annual event for as long as I'm governor.''

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This morning Governor Dayton toured the fire site in Greenbush, Minnesota and thanked firefighters at the Incident Command Center for their ongoing efforts and hard work.

On Friday, the Governor issued an Emergency Executive Order to provide assistance to the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center and ordered the National Guard to help with fire efforts.

 

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