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Best places to live in Minnesota

Click CNNMoney's list of best small cities in Minnesota

100 Best Places to Live in America, 2010 edition

1. Eden Prairie, MN
Population: 64,000
Unemployment: 5.1%
Pluses: Plenty of jobs, very low crime, lots for kids to do
Minus: Long, cold winters

Why is Eden Prairie No. 1 this year? Not only is it family-friendly, it has a dynamite economy too.

At 5.1%, its unemployment rate is nearly one percentage point below the county rate and more than four points below the national average. It helps when you've got 50,000 jobs right in town.

MORE AT CNNMONEY.COM

17th Worst bottleneck in US: Hwy 494 & Lyndale Ave/Exit 4

Hwy 494 & Lyndale Ave in Bloomington is rated #17 of America's 75 Worst Commutes, published by "The Daily Beast"

Brookdale Mall to be sold?

Donald Jackson, CEO of Maple Grove-based Poor No More 2008 Productions, said he intends to make the declining regional mall into the home for a TV and film production studio for independent film producers along with bringing in a technical education academy and maintaining a big mix of retailers.

For the complete story click on Finance and Commerce  

Related information:

Brookdale Mall Sold at Auction as reported by KSTP.com 

Representatives of Walmart approached owners of Brookdale saying the retail giant may build a Superwalmart on the Brookdale site. Reported by KARE11.com news

Minneapolis gets $15.4 million for neighborhood stabilization

The city of Minneapolis is ready to roll on a new round of federal funding designed to help stabilize and rebuild neighborhoods pummeled by mortgage foreclosures.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak on Monday approved a City Council plan to use $15.4 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds for the ongoing housing recovery initiative. 

 by Scott Carlson and Burl Gilyard Staff Writers Finance and Commerce

Declining values for homes take toll on cities, too

Lower real estate taxes are now causing a crisis for local governments: To balance budgets, officials will need to raise tax rates in the teeth of a recession -- or cut services when the easy targets are already gone.

By KATIE HUMPHREY and DAVID PETERSON, Star Tribune staff writers  for complete article click here

Dealing with vacant homes

More cities are adopting registration programs and annual fees to maintain neighborhood safety and stability.

for complete Star Tribune article click here

Cities where the recession is easing

 The top 10 include:

1. Washington, D.C
2. Austin, Texas
3. Dallas,
4. Houston (Tie) Minneapolis
5. Denver
6.  San Antonio 
7. Boston
8. Los Angeles
9. Kansas City

Ten Cities To Go From Renting To Buying

In these metro areas, now is a good time to make the jump to homeownership.

The U.S. government has pushed hard to make homeowners out of one-third of Americans who still rent their homes. It introduced and later extended a tax credit for first-time home buyers, and has kept federal interest ratesat their lowest levels since the 1940s.

Market conditions are such that now is a particularly good time for some renters to take the hint.

In Depth: 10 Cities To Go From Renting To Buying

To read full article click here

Twin Cities to get $37M to revitalize neighborhoods

 

Federal grants of $37 million will go toward revitalizing Twin Cities neighborhoods ravaged by foreclosures.

Twin Cities will receive $37 million from the federal government to help neighborhoods that have been socked by the fallout from the foreclosure crisis.

Star Tribune