U.S. in Recession

Minn. makes slight gains in spite of national economy

by Minnesota News Network, MNN

St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota and neighboring states experienced slow economic growth in recent months, but at least it was growth and not a recession.

Toby Madden an economist with the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank says the region's economy is holding its own.

"There was a slight increase in activity in tourism, mining, commercial real-estate. However, other sectors were kind of mixed: agriculture, energy, commercial construction and manufacturing," Madden said.

Madden said the housing sector is still weak. And that, along with high energy costs that cut into consumer spending, has been driving economic weakness for a couple of years.