#Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#1yrago Puerto Rico to dismantle its statistics agency in the midst of radical shock doctrine project

The Puerto Rican senate has approved Governor Ricardo Rosselló's plan to dismantle the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (PRIS), handing its functions private contractors paid by the Department of Economic Development and Commerce to manage.

What you measure, you treasure. The keeping of official statistics is the necessary precondition to good governance: there's a reason that America's founders put the census in the Constitution.

As Rosselló embarks on a radical program of privatisation, depopulation and ethnic cleansing to make way for a new offshore finance haven, any measurements of the effect of this program on the humans who live in Puerto Rico will only embarrass and impede him.

https://boingboing.net/2018/04/06/lalala-no-puedo-oirte.html

[golden-coin-news]

Puerto Rico Defines Act 60 Tax Exemptions for Blockchain Companies – Regulation Bitcoin News

The Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) has issued a document in which it defines the rules that blockchain projects must follow to receive tax benefits that the state offers companies. The action seeks to create an “atmosphere of certainty and stability” for blockchain companies, according to DDEC Secretary Luis Cidre. Puerto Rico Establishes Rules to Attract…

[thesecrettimes]

Puerto Rico Defines Act 60 Tax Exemptions for Blockchain Companies

The Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) has issued a document in which it defines the rules that blockchain projects must follow to receive tax benefits that the state offers companies. The action seeks to create an “atmosphere of certainty and stability” for blockchain companies, according to DDEC Secretary Luis Cidre.

Puerto Rico Establishes Rules to Attract Blockchain Business

Puerto Rico is making moves to attract blockchain companies interested in establishing operations in the U.S. island territory. On Feb 23, the Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) issued information regarding a letter announcing a regulatory framework to spearhead the attraction of more blockchain companies to the region. The letter clarifies the conditions these companies must meet to benefit from tax exemptions via the Puerto Rican exemptions code, also known as Act 60. Manuel Cidre, secretary of the DDEC, explained that with this move Puerto Rico expects to position itself as part of the most sought out destinations for blockchain companies. Cidre stated: Through this effort, we seek to be proactive in addressing an emerging technology, on which a lot of economic activity is being created around the world, and the island is not and should not be the exception.

More Definitions

The document also establishes other significant definitions for national companies trying to export their blockchain-related services, as it establishes which activities inside the industry are eligible for receiving the exemptions for tech exporters. Carlos Fontan, director of the DDEC Business Incentives Office, also stated that with this development Puerto Rico is at the forefront of the industry at a worldwide level, providing a precise and accurate legal framework in the sector. The national community commended this effort, recognizing the work that the government is putting in to put Puerto Rico on the map for companies searching for a safe haven. Keiko Yoshino, executive director of the Puerto Rico Blockchain Commerce Association, stated that this shows the interest of the territory in competing in the global blockchain economy that is currently emerging. Puerto Rico has also been active including cryptocurrency elements as part of its regulations. On Feb. 2022, a proposed reform of the “Sales and Usage Tax” aimed to include NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as taxable assets, declaring that sales of these assets would have to be reported, including the addresses and the origin of the funds involved in the transaction. What do you think about Puerto Rico and its actions to attract blockchain companies? Tell us in the comments section below. Read the full article

[gjupdates]

Puerto Rico Defines Act 60 Tax Exemptions for Blockchain Companies – Regulation Bitcoin News

[ad_1] The Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) has issued a document in which it defines the rules that blockchain projects must follow to receive tax benefits that the state offers companies. The action seeks to create an “atmosphere of certainty and stability” for blockchain companies, according to DDEC Secretary Luis Cidre. Puerto Rico Establishes Rules to…

[moneygigs]

Puerto Rico Defines Act 60 Tax Exemptions for Blockchain Companies – Regulation Bitcoin News

The Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) has issued a document in which it defines the rules that blockchain projects must follow to receive tax benefits that the state offers companies. The action seeks to create an “atmosphere of certainty and stability” for blockchain companies, according to DDEC Secretary Luis Cidre. Puerto Rico Establishes Rules to Attract…

[wafact]

Puerto Rico Defines Act 60 Tax Exemptions for Blockchain Companies – Regulation Bitcoin News

The Economic and Commerce Development Department of Puerto Rico (DDEC) has issued a document in which it defines the rules that blockchain projects must follow to receive tax benefits that the state offers companies. The action seeks to create an “atmosphere of certainty and stability” for blockchain companies, according to DDEC Secretary Luis Cidre. Puerto Rico Establishes Rules to Attract…

[rivaltimes]

A new rise is registered in the manufacturing industry in June 2022

A new rise is registered in the manufacturing industry in June 2022

The Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), Manuel Cidre Miranda, announced that industrial activity in Puerto Rico reflected a solid increase of 113.4 points, growing 0.9% compared to the previous month and being the thirteenth consecutive month on the rise. This follows from the most recent report of the Index of Coincident Indicators in Manufacturing (IICM)…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Puerto Rico to dismantle its statistics agency in the midst of radical shock doctrine project

The Puerto Rican senate has approved Governor Ricardo Rosselló's plan to dismantle the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (PRIS), handing its functions private contractors paid by the Department of Economic Development and Commerce to manage.

What you measure, you treasure. The keeping of official statistics is the necessary precondition to good governance: there's a reason that America's founders put the census in the Constitution.

As Rosselló embarks on a radical program of privatisation, depopulation and ethnic cleansing to make way for a new offshore finance haven, any measurements of the effect of this program on the humans who live in Puerto Rico will only embarrass and impede him.

https://boingboing.net/2018/04/06/lalala-no-puedo-oirte.html

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus live news: US Democrats told to avoid convention; Brazil cases pass 2m | World news

8.48pm EDT 20:48

Patrick Wintour

The west’s shortsighted response to the impact of Covid-19 could result in 640 million people being infected and 1.7 million killed in the world’s poorest countries, the UN warned.

The direct medical costs of treating 2.2 million patients in hospital critical care beds could amount to an estimated $16.28bn, while the focus on coronavirus could also lead to a diversion of scarce health resources, leading to a further 1.7 million preventable deaths from HIV, TB and malaria.

The findings – prepared for the UN by the economics department at Oxford – are designed as a call to arms as G20 finance ministers prepare to meet this weekend.

UN officials are deeply concerned that as the pandemic recedes in Europe, the impacts of the virus and of the global recession on the world’s poorest are already being forgotten.

8.38pm EDT 20:38

White House: ‘The science should not stand in the way’ of reopening schools

Earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended President Trump’s push to reopen schools, despite concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the classroom.

“And when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school,” McEnany noted furing her White House briefing.

“The science should not stand in the way of this,” McEnany said, adding moments later, “The science is on our side here.”

However, a number of school officials have expressed concern about students and staff members potentially contracting the virus once in-person instruction resumes.

In response to those concerns, many school districts have announced plans to hold virtual classes this fall. Trump and some of his allies have pointed to evidence that children are very unlikely to become severely ill from coronavirus to justify their push to reopen schools. However, many public health experts have said there has not yet been enough research conducted on how children react to the virus.

8.27pm EDT 20:27

US daily cases surge at around 60,000 for more than a week

According to data from the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, which relies on official government figures for coronavirus cases and deaths, the US has recorded over 60,000 cases – and on one occasion almost 70,000 cases – for six of the nine days leading up to 15 July, which is the most recent date for which a daily case figure is confirmed.

Table showing US daily case rises. Photograph: Johns Hopkins University

In the US, there are currently 3,559,899 confirmed cases, the highest in the world, and 138,201 deaths.

10 July marked a global record increase of 67,800 cases. Here are the dates and the case numbers confirmed each day, since 7 July, which was the first day that US daily cases increased by 60,000:

7 July: 60,000 8 July: 58,600 9 July: 63,200 10 July: 67,800 11 July: 60,200 12 July: 59,000 13 July: 59,200 14 July: 67,400 15 July: 67,300

Updated at 8.33pm EDT

7.55pm EDT 19:55

Democrat officials instruct senators, Congress members to skip national convention

The New York Times reports that Democrats are urging elected leaders and party delegates to skip the national convention in August as coronavirus cases surge, in what the Times says is “a sign of the ever-shrinking aspirations for their big campaign event in the face of the spreading virus.”

The Times reports:

The directive ensures that little will happen at the physical convention site beyond keynote speeches from former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his vice-presidential nominee and a handful of other top party leaders. The remainder of the event — state delegation meetings, parties and schmoozing, voting on the party platform and Mr. Biden’s nomination — will happen virtually or not at all.

Over the past several months, Democrats have scaled back their plans, moving the convention across downtown Milwaukee from the Fiserv Forum, the city’s professional basketball arena, to the Wisconsin Center, a modest convention center that typically hosts events like the city’s car show. The last national political event to take place there was the 2004 Green Party convention. Party officials have been consulting regularly with doctors and epidemiologists and say they are following the recommendations of the medical establishment.

Updated at 8.11pm EDT

7.51pm EDT 19:51

Mexico to impose local restrictions

The spread of the coronavirus has spurred Mexican authorities to impose local restrictions on mobility, commerce, and leisure, particularly in popular tourist destinations, even as the government seeks to revive the battered economy, Reuters reports.

On Wednesday, authorities in the Caribbean beach resort of Tulum threatened to fine or arrest people for disobeying rules on wearing face masks, the latest in a series of local and state-level curbs against the spread of the virus.

A worker in Mexico wears protective mask in Mexico City, 16 Jul 2020. Photograph: Carlos Tischler/REX/Shutterstock

Eager to lift an economy that is forecast to shrink as much as 10% this year, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has encouraged people to get out, and has resisted reimposing more stringent nationwide restrictions.

But some local authorities worry if they do not take precautions, the hit to their livelihoods will be worse.

“We can’t play with the health of the citizens,” Tulum’s mayor, Victor Mas Tah, said in comments reported by local media.

Updated at 8.17pm EDT

7.28pm EDT 19:28

Brazil cases pass 2m

Brazil on Thursday passed the 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases mark, with little sign that the rate of increase is slowing as anger grows over President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the outbreak, Reuters reports.

In recent weeks, there have been nearly 40,000 confirmed new cases per day, according to government figures. On Thursday, confirmed cases in Brazil totalled 2,012,151, while deaths numbered 76,688.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro observes a ceremony in Brasilia, Brazil, 15 July 2020. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

Despite the rapid spread of the virus, Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, has pressured local governments to lift lockdown restrictions.

Bolsonaro, who tested positive for the virus last week, has played down its health risks and fought against social distancing orders, calling their economic effects worse than the disease itself. Under pressure, many governors and mayors have loosened restrictions in recent weeks, fueling bigger outbreaks.

Polls show Bolsonaro’s popularity has been sinking during the pandemic. The share of Brazilians that see his government as bad or terrible has risen to 44%, according to a late June survey by pollster Datafolha. That was up from 38% in April and 36% in December.

Updated at 8.17pm EDT

7.23pm EDT 19:23

Summary

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from around the world for the next few hours.

As always, you can get in touch on Twitter or via email:

Twitter: @helenrsullivan Email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com

Brazil, the second-worst-affected country worldwide in terms of number of confirmed cases and deaths, passed 2 million infections late on Thursday, according to the health ministry.

The country’s cases have doubled in just under a month, nearly 40,000 confirmed new cases per day in recent weeks, according to government figures.

Here are the other key developments from the last few hours:

There are 13,683,631 known coronavirus cases worldwide. The number of deaths stands at 586,752, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.

Puerto Rico’s governor has announced major rollbacks including the closure of bars, gyms, marinas, theaters and casinos and restricted the use of beaches as the U.S. territory is hit by a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.Governor Wanda Vázquez said the changes and an ongoing curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. will remain in place until 31 July.

White House: ‘The science should not stand in the way’ of reopening schools. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended President Trump’s push to reopen schools, despite concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the classroom.“And when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school,” McEnany noted furing her White House briefing.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says President Trump’s European travel ban was enacted too late to protect New York residents. “Although travel restrictions are an important mitigation strategy, by the time the European restrictions were implemented, importation and community transmission of Sars-CoV-2 had already occurred in NYC,” the report said.

Spain has reported its steepest daily rise in coronavirus infections in more than two months, with 580 new cases, after a rise of 390 cases on Wednesday. The regions of Aragon and Catalonia lead the increase, Reuters reports.Authorities have reimposed restrictions in some areas of Catalonia, including home confinement in the Lleida area affecting about 160,000 people, and health officials there said measures would have to be taken in the capital, Barcelona, but gave no further details.

Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting UK, US and Canadian organisations involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, according to British security officials. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said drug companies and research groups were being targeted by a group known as APT29, which was “almost certainly” part of the Kremlin’s intelligence services.

In the US, Florida has again broken its single-day record of coronavirus deaths, as the state struggles to get the virus under control. Florida health officials announced 156 residents died of coronavirus yesterday, breaking the record of 132 deaths reported on Tuesday morning. The new figure brings the total number of coronavirus deaths in the state to 4,677, with more than 315,000 cases confirmed.

The Israeli government is reported to be considering a full national lockdown during weekends and plans to shut all kindergartens. The expectation of a move comes as the cabinet is holding an emergency meeting following a surge in infections.

The team behind the development of a Covid-19 vaccine at Oxford University in the UK hope to begin tests on volunteers who will be intentionally exposed to the virus in a “challenge trial”, a move seen as controversial since there is no proven cure for the illness. Although challenge trials, in which healthy volunteers are given a pathogen, are routine in vaccine development, taking the approach for Covid-19, where there is no fail-safe treatment if a volunteer becomes severely ill, has been questioned.

Coronavirus has been the direct cause of death of nine out of 10 Italian victims, a study released on Thursday said, shedding new light on the pandemic which mainly struck the country’s northern regions. Since discovering its first infections in February, Italy has reported about 35,000 Covid-19 fatalities. However, health authorities said many of those who died were also affected by other ailments and this provoked a fierce debate on whether the virus was the actual cause of death.

The post Coronavirus live news: US Democrats told to avoid convention; Brazil cases pass 2m | World news appeared first on Shri Times.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/3eB04Rb

[studyhelianthus]

A Pirate Story: Boca Raton Legends.

La Boca del Ratón and/or “Thieves’ Inlet”!?

If Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and ‘discovered’ America in 1492, then Florida was ‘saved’ by Latin American culture, since the English saw the land as temporarily reserved. 

My analogy of  Queen Nur ‘s re-telling of a latino folktale, sometimes called The Barking Mouse:  Boca Raton got it’s name ‘La Boca del Ratón’ or ‘The Mouse’s Mouth’, because when there were pirates smuggling things passed the rugged rocks within the lagoon and into Spanish American colonies it was essential to know at least two languages. For the Contraband (Colonial Spanish America) smuggling, fraud, illicit commerce, and illegal trade were vital elements for the economic success, the growth of the contraband’s income and it’s total market value of goods and services. 

ROWF!! GGROOWFF! ROWF!! WARF! Heh. Para- language is based on pairing the sound/tone, speed, quality/intensity, and onomatopoeia (or creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests sounds that are not real words, like “oooh”) with one’s spoken language and physical features, such as facial expressions, like a smirk, or gestures, like pointing. Other methods of communication beyond spoken languages are written language, kinesics or  body movements and gestures, and proxemics or personal space. So, when the mouse barks in the book by Antonio Sacre called, The Barking Mouse, think of how different forms of communication can drive out the darkness with the light of understanding.

Lingua Franca is a pidgin, a simplified version of one language that combines the vocabulary of a number of different languages. A trade language is a third language used by numerous communities around the Mediterranean, to communicate with diverse groups of people in different countries. Creole languages, such as Portuguese, become the primary language of an area when a pidgin is used frequently over the period. Cape Verdean Creole is the most widely-spoken Portuguese-based creole languages. Understanding is at the roots of love; those who don’t attempt to overcome language barriers to power through ‘effective communication’, burn their country’s soil, so that no one ever grows. 

Pirates began raiding the Florida’s coast when the Spanish, the first Europeans, settled here in the 1500′s. When pirates were given permission to raid and pillage Florida towns on behalf of a government, they were called privateers; therefore, Christopher Columbus was a privateer, a legal private! The English established their first colony at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, and the Pilgrims - founders of the New Plymouth Colony (meaning "mouth of the River Plym") - arrived to Massachusetts in 1620; in consequence, the Native Americans began to perish. By 1650, England had formed a dominant presence on the Atlantic coast. 

More than 50 years before the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, the first true Thanksgiving took place in St. Augustine, Florida.  According to the National Park Service, La Florida was first influenced by Spanish traditions from the Iberian peninsula. The culture that emerged in the colonial New World was a mixture of European, African, and local Native customs. "Latinized" America at the time became a diverse, capable, and complex society. As stated in the proceedings of the Annual International Native American Language Issues (NALI), Effective Language Education Practices and Native Language Survival, the United States has been the home of more bilinguals than any other nation in world history. We have been living in the home of more bilinguals than any other country in the world, way before the 1988 Florida Official English Amendment: the passing of English-only laws.

The Spanish were open to having interracial marriages between the natives (Timucua) and the colonists, because it was a way of survival, and without it the colonies may have not lasted long; therefore, it was essential to know at least two languages. The genocide of the Taíno (Arawaks) - the native people of the northern Caribbean (present-day Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, etc.) - took place between 1492-1518, when the Spanish were led by Christopher Columbus. They killed men, women, children, and even babies; genocide and disease wiped out approximately 3 million of the 3.5 million inhabitants of Hispaniola. In the event of the Spanish missions in Florida, the souls of the Timucua were saved. The native people were transformed into loyal Catholic subjects of the Spanish crown, and mixed-race people were placed below the pure Spanish and above the pure natives. 

In 1566, Martín de Argüelles was the first child born of European ancestry recorded in the Spanish settlement of Saint Augustine, Spanish Florida. His parents were Martín de Argüelles (Sr.) and Leonor Morales.  His father, Martín Argüelles Sr., was one of the privateers who came to ‘New Spain’ or  ‘La Florida’ in the New World with Captain General Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565. During the development of the ‘New World’, money really seemed to be the root of all evil, but before the global possession of the Leprechaun, we were always enchanted by the ‘Demon of Fear’. Fear incites the rejection of diversity and a belief in scarcity. For this reason, ancient wars were fought for commodities and land or territory. Now, the monetary system controls us and plays on our fears by triggering a real sense of scarcity and hierarchical power, which sets the stage for competition and warfare. 

Nevertheless, the Spanish colonized American because they were in search for gold and silver, but they didn’t find anything. In spite of that, the Spanish accumulated their riches when they conquered the Aztec in Central America during the Spanish–Aztec War (1519–21), and Inca Empires in South America. They were able to colonize the south after ambushing and seizing the Inca’s ruler,  Atahualpa, in the 1532 Battle of Cajamarca, and engrossing themselves in 40 years of war which ended in 1572. Spanish was the official language of New Spain, and those who did not know it sought Nahuatl-speaking priests to communicate with Spanish rulers. Nahuatl, a native American language spoken by the Aztec, was the ‘Lingua Franca’ throughout Spanish North America, as it was used in trade and the courts. As stated by  Legends and Chronicles - a site dedicated to ancient history and mythology - King Philip II of Spain decreed in 1570 that Nahuatl become the official language of the colonies of New Spain, in order to facilitate communication between the natives of the colonies. 

Florida Memory, the state archives of Florida, documents the first arrival of African slaves to St. Augustine in 1581. Not too long after, the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown Colony, would be established on May 14, 1607.  The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), writes that fugitive slaves were escaping from enslavement in the Carolinas and Georgia to Florida for sanctuary and freedom. Sometime between March and November of 1738, the Spanish settlers in Florida formed a town named Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, two miles to the north of St. Augustine. Spanish Florida was now the African-American slaves’ first Promised Land. Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose was a free black settlement that came to be known as Fort Mose. 

BLACKBEARD

Well... As the legend goes, approximately three years after an English pirate named Blackbeard, Edward Teach or Edward Thatch, fought in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), he wrecked havoc in the Gulf of Mexico amongst Spanish merchant’s ships; thereafter, he became known at the ‘El Gran Diablo’ (Spanish for ‘The Great Devil’). El Gran Diablo’s low-spirited crew were still dissatisfied; they wanted gold, so they sailed to the Florida coast to retrieve the treasures from the Spanish fleet that was previously wrecked in 1715.

The 1715 Treasure Fleet or Spanish Treasure Convoy was use to transport European goods annually from metropolitan Spain (’the mother country’) to the Spanish colonies in the Americas, such as, gold and silver. This fleet was seen as the holy grail and an irresistible target for ruthless pirates. Nevertheless, on July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from Havana, Cuba, eleven out of twelve ships were lost in a hurricane near present-day Vero Beach, Florida.

Now, ‘El Gran Diablo’ and his crew wanted to take possession of the remainder, but scavengers had already taken what was visible to the naked eye. Eventually, he moved north and when we reached the Topsail Inlet, on June, 3, 1718, his flagship - the Queen Anne’s Revenge - ran aground and sank. Four months later, Judge Nicholas Trott sentenced Bonnet to death, and he was said to be hung in Charleston, South Carolina, but he didn’t die yet. He was said to have died in a bloody battle, where he was beheaded to ensure his death. His head was displayed on his enemy’s ship, and his body was thrown into the sea.

CAPTAIN GENERAL PEDRO MENÈDEZ

The British attacked St. Augustine, and destroyed Fort Mose. The Spanish reconstructed Fort Mose in 1752; the settlement had a church and 22 huts housing nearly 100 people. As for Menendez, he was captured and sold as a slave, but by 1759 he was free and once again in command. At this time, Fort Mose consisted of 37 men, 15 women, seven boys and eight girls. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) continues to note that in 1763, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the Spanish were forced to abandon Florida but gained Cuba in return. In August, Menendez led 48 men, women and children on the schooner ‘Nuestra Senora de los Dolores’ (spanish for ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’) and sailed to Cuba, where they settled in Regla, a town near the city of Havana. 

Hence, Fort Mose is now memorialized as a national historic landmark, and Florida was saved by Latin American culture! Think about it. If Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and ‘discovered’ America in 1492, then Florida was indeed ‘saved’ by Latin American culture, since the English saw the land as temporarily reserved.

[rivaltimes]

Manufacturing grows considerably on the Island

Manufacturing grows considerably on the Island

The Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), Manuel Cidre Miranda, announced that industrial activity in Puerto Rico reflected a solid increase of 113.4 points, growing 0.9% compared to the previous month and being the thirteenth consecutive month on the rise. This follows from the most recent report of the Index of Coincident Indicators in Manufacturing (IICM)…

[minnesotafollower]

Two Other Minnesota Cities Celebrate Diversity

Previous posts have discussed the positive impacts of immigrants on the southwestern Minnesota city of Worthington (Micropolitan Pop. 20,500 (2018)).  Now two other Minnesota outstate cities (southeastern Austin and northwestern Roseau) have joined the chorus.

Austin, Minnesota[1]

The city of Austin, population 25,190 (2018 est.) is the county seat of southeastern Mower County bordering Iowa to…