Representatives from the building and design trades will gather this weekend to showcase their professions to Minnesota youth.

Organizers want to establish a pipeline of future industry leaders, including those from underserved communities.

Minnesota's job vacancy rate for construction is near 4%.

It's not as high as other sectors, but officials say they're still trying to overcome longstanding challenges in getting more young people to enter the field.

Brian Kelley is the founder and director of the Young Builders and Designers Program - and said as teens consider their futures, it's worthwhile to let them know more about in-demand jobs with steady incomes, such as plumbers and electricians.

"These are trades that are always needed," said Kelley. "There's work there, there's work in those environments."

Kelley said while these jobs might not seem glamorous, making these connections helps youth realize skills they might not know they possess.

His program hosts a convention this Saturday afternoon at Kenny Elementary School in South Minneapolis.

Partner organizations will sponsor up to 100 low-income youth to attend, so they can learn about opportunities that might help them overcome economic disparities.

For disadvantaged youth who might not be able to attend college, Kelley said a career in the trades could make a huge difference when entering the workforce.

"If a young person is 18- or 19-years-old and they're migrating themselves into a job where they may make $25 or $30 an hour," said Kelley, "that's the difference between renting an apartment and owning a home."

Through its outreach, the Young Builders and Designers Program emphasizes career exploration and entrepreneurship.

Kelley said it's not just learning about construction tools, noting the workshops also teach kids about design work, architecture, and engineering.

He added that they incorporate cultural and historical information to help shape the minds of kids considering these professions.




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Hoosier teens are nearly 3% more likely to have used cocaine, methamphetamines or heroin than other teens nationwide, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, and the types of drugs they choose are producing deadly side effects.

Indianapolis-based nonprofit Overdose Lifeline partners with other states to offer substance use prevention education programs.

Justin Phillips, founder and CEO of Overdose Lifeline, said young people are sharing prescription drugs like Adderall and Xanax with their peers and dying from suicide and overdoses at alarming rates. She stressed the numbers are preventable.

"Onset can be as early as 12, and it varies according to the substance that they're using," Phillips reported. "We have a lot of challenges around vaping right now, which is a nicotine and/or a cannabis vape."

Philips advocates for early intervention when abuse is identified to help prevent it from becoming chronic. She added research has shown when a substance is introduced to the brain before age 15, it is five times more likely to alter the brain structure and create an addiction.

Last year, more than 700 Hoosiers of all ages died of drug-related overdoses. Although rare, Phillips pointed out cases are appearing in Indiana of people mixing the animal tranquilizer Xylazine with fentanyl or other drugs. She noted it is especially dangerous, because Xylazine does not respond to the overdose drug naloxone and can cause other damaging side effects.

"Xylazine isn't really something someone wants to use, so people are really spending more time trying to avoid Xylazine through testing," Phillips explained. "It's the fentanyl that we have the biggest concern around with young people, because there's fentanyl and almost everything you purchase illicitly."

She added people are able to purchase unregulated drugs on social media and the dark web. Overdose Lifeline offers a chatbot known as "KATE," which stands for Knowledge, Advocacy, Trust and Education, which answers self-care questions if a loved one is using, what to do if someone overdoses and how to talk to someone who is using drugs.


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Indiana leaders are working to improve children's lives, as the state's national ranking for child well-being has slipped.

The latest report showed Indiana has fallen from 24th to 27th among states for overall child well-being, with food insecurity emerging as a major concern.

Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, called results in the latest Indiana Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation "mixed," with nearly 20% of kids lacking consistent access to nutritious food, a figure worse than at the peak of the pandemic.

"We need to make sure we're leaning into some of our areas where we have the biggest challenges," Silverman urged. "We rank 32nd in the country for the health of our children, and that's physical and mental health. We're 15th in the country for economic well-being, but we're struggling as far as our kids' health."

Silverman emphasized addressing food insecurity requires focusing on basic needs like stable housing and reliable access to healthy meals. Neighboring states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, face similar challenges.

Another challenge is only 40% of three- and four-year-olds attend early education programs, resulting in learning gaps in language arts, math and other subjects later in school, which worry educators and parents.

Silverman argued such hurdles threaten children's future and demand immediate attention. However, she acknowledged the report also highlighted some bright spots.

"Teen birth rates are down," Silverman noted. "The ratio of dentists and mental health providers that are available for kids have improved. Median family income is on the rise."

Youth advocates are calling on both community leaders and policymakers to address the state's gaps in education and health to build on the progress. Silverman stressed caring for Indiana's children is everyone's job. She urged leaders to do more to push for a healthier, safer future for every child.


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An Alabama Senate committee has approved a bill that would require middle-school students to take a course on conflict resolution before high school. Senate Bill 34, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, is designed to equip students with skills to de-escalate conflicts-particularly as social media fuels more disputes among young people. Smitherman says too many students turn to violence because they don't know how to handle disagreements.

"I've seen it get to point where folks have guns and do everything just because of that post. They don't have any kind of way of understanding how to deal with conflict resolution so the end result is to grab a gun to do something," he explained.

The bill originally applied to high school students, but after input from the state Department of Education, lawmakers amended it to focus on middle schoolers instead.

The legislation would require public schools to provide instruction in violence prevention, mediation and conflict resolution. The Education Department would be responsible for setting curriculum standards. Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, supports the measure, calling it a proactive step to address school violence at a critical stage.

"What we have found statistically is that in middle school is where we're having the majority of the problems emerging, particularly around seventh grade," he said.

Next week, the committee will hear from experts on social media and cell phone use as lawmakers consider another proposal: banning cell phones in schools and creating a social media safety course.


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