Minnesota
Unemployment claims in Minnesota increased last week
Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Minnesota rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 3,132 in the week ending April 27, up from 3,036 the week before, the Labor Department said.
U.S. unemployment claims remained the same at 208,000 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis.
New Hampshire saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 103.7%. Rhode Island, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 65.3%.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.
Minnesota
Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante wins men’s college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award
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Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Max Plante is the winner of the 2026 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in men’s college hockey.
He edged fellow finalists, T.J. Hughes, a senior forward from Michigan, and Eric Pohlkamp, a junior defenseman from the University of Denver.
Plante scored 25 goals and had 52 points in 40 games in his second season with the Bulldogs. The 2024 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings finished third in NCAA Division I scoring behind Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach (59) and Hughes (57).
He’s the first Minnesota Duluth player to win the award since Scott Perunovich in 2020 and the seventh overall.
Plante’s father, former NHL player Derek Plante, also played for Minnesota Duluth and was a Hobey Baker top 10 finalist in 1993.
Michigan State’s Trey Augustine was named the top goaltender in the Friday, April 10 ceremony. He went 24-9-1 for the Spartans with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Wyttenbach was named college hockey’s rookie of the year.
Recent Hobey Baker Award winners
- 2026: F Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
- 2025: F Isaac Howard, Michigan State
- 2024: F Macklin Celebrini, Boston University
- 2023: F Adam Fantilli, Michigan
- 2022: G Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
- 2021: F Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
- 2020: D Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth
- 2019: D Cale Makar, UMass
- 2018: F Adam Gaudette, Northeastern
- 2017: D Will Butcher, Denver
- 2016: F Jimmy Vesey, Harvard
Minnesota
New strain of COVID detected in 25 states including Minnesota
Minnesota
Community members show up to support Mercado Central, businesses hit hard by ICE surge
Mercado Central on Lake Street in Minneapolis has been more than a marketplace; it’s a heartbeat, a place filled with food, culture and community. During Operation Metro Surge, that heartbeat slowed.
“We’re a co-op. We’re all business owners that just need support from our community,” Ajeleth Moreno with El Rincon Pupuseria said.
Many regular customers stopped coming and the change was impossible to ignore.
“Our regulars would not be here at all in the beginning months, but we did get really good support for the community,” Joscan Moreno said.
That community is showing up with purpose.
“I think it’s important to set an example and to show other community members that we are still here. We still need to be showing up and there’s so many beautiful examples of resilience out here today,” Rose Gomez said.
Through a wave of community support, online donations, to simply having people walk into their doors again.
“These places are few and far between, I don’t know if I know of any place exactly like this,” Simon Fitzkappes said. “And for our community to lose such a great spot, it’s really detrimental. We all hope that doesn’t happen.”
Because here, the business owners and diners alike say every visit and dollar matters.
“We’ve never got this many people here,” Ajeleth Moreno said. “We just hope it stays that way because we don’t want to be forgotten again.”
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