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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Career Plan for MN Seniors Not Going to College

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Wednesday, September 2, 2015   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - For more than a fourth of Minnesota high school seniors, this will be their last year of formal schooling, and new efforts in parts of the state aim to ensure that those entering the workforce upon graduation will be ready.

Tanya Paley, director of strategic operations for the United Way of Steele County, said the Job Preparedness Initiative is a collaboration between area industry, business leaders, schools and nonprofits. It will help low-income students develop a post-graduation career plan that includes internships, mentorships and on-the-job training with local companies.

"Without a plan coming out of high school and some connections to get your first job, what we have seen is that students can fail to establish a stable life for themselves," she said, "and this impacts their families as well."

Paley said good-paying jobs in Steele County are going unfilled because many of the people looking for work don't have the right training, so this effort will help to bridge that gap.

By linking these young adults to opportunities for gaining job skills and a living wage, Paley said, it will help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty while also helping them achieve their their full health potential. That positive impact on health is why the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation is providing funding for the initiative.

"Employment and health are deeply connected," said Carolyn Link, the foundation's executive director. "Employment provides income and often benefits that can support healthy lifestyles. So this is really addressing immediate needs and long-term health for individuals and communities."

In Steele County, only about 66 percent of adults have some college education, compared with the statewide rate of 71 percent.

More information is online at unitedwaysteelecounty.org and at bcbsmnfoundation.org. Minnesota college attendance statistics are at ohe.state.mn.us.


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