To place an obituary in the Pioneer Press, please email the required information to obits@pioneerpress.com. Note that there is no option to place obituaries through the website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263.

**General Information to Include:**
– Your full name
– Address (City, State, Zip Code)
– Phone number
– An alternate phone number, if available

**Obituary Specifications:**
– Name of the deceased
– Obituary text
– A photo in JPEG or PDF file preferred; TIF and other formats are accepted. If there are any issues with the photo, we will contact you.
– Ad run dates

There is a discount for running an obituary more than one day, but this must be scheduled when placing the first ad. If a photo is used, it must run both days for the discount to apply. Please contact us for more information.

**Policies**

**Verification of Death:**
To publish an obituary, the name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society handling the arrangements is required. We must contact them during business hours to verify the death. If the deceased’s body was donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, their phone number is necessary for verification. Please allow extra time to contact them, especially during limited weekend hours. A death certificate may also be used for verification. Only one of these options is required.

**Guestbook and Outside Websites:**
We are not allowed to reference other media sources, guestbooks, or obituaries placed elsewhere when publishing in print or online. We may, however, include a funeral home website or a family email for contact purposes. Contact us with any questions.

**Obituary Process:**
After submitting your information, we will fax or email a proof for your review prior to publication. The proof will include the price and scheduled run dates. Please review it carefully and notify us of any changes before the deadline each day. We are not responsible for errors after final proof approval.

**Online:**
Changes to online obituaries can be handled by calling the obituary desk.

**Payment Procedure:**
Pre-payment is required before publication, according to the deadlines provided. After you receive and approve the proof, call 651-228-5263 to provide payment information.

– Credit Card: Payment accepted by phone only due to PCI regulations
– EFT: Check by phone (provide routing and account numbers)
– Cash: Accepted at our front counter Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM

**Rates:**
– Minimum charge: $162 for the first 10 lines
– Each line after 10: $12.20 (first run)
– Under 10 lines: minimum $162 charge
– Second run date: $8.20 per line, starting with the first line
– Each photo published: $125 per day

**Deadlines:**
Please adhere to deadlines to ensure your obituary is published on the requested day.

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**Memoriam (Non-Obituary) Requests**

Unlike obituaries, memoriam submissions are remembrances of a loved one. Rates differ from obituaries. For more information, please call 651-228-5280 or email memoriams@pioneerpress.com.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (closed weekends and holidays).

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## Top 10 Best Practices for Job Search in a Tight Market

Today’s job market is deeply challenging for those seeking work, requiring job seekers to be more efficient and effective than ever before. Here are my top 10 best practices for job searching, updated for a tight market:

1. **Know Your Target.**
When searching, it helps to know exactly what you want. An effective job search target includes a job title or work area, an employer type (large, small, nonprofit, etc.), and an initial list of organizations known to hire for those roles.

2. **Know Your Audience.**
Generally, your audience is the person who would be your boss. Think about what this person needs and highlight those needs in your materials and interview answers. Don’t forget to emphasize your relevant soft skills.

3. **Balance Your Approach.**
Limit your online job applications. Some postings aren’t real, some systems may not process your materials correctly, and some jobs attract excessive applicants. If you’ve already sent dozens or hundreds of applications without success, try mixing in more person-to-person contact (aim for at least 50%).

4. **Keep Good Records.**
When networking, keep track of who introduced you and their company details. You likely won’t remember these details later if speaking to multiple people weekly. Good recordkeeping helps you follow up and build relationships.

5. **Capture the Posting.**
Don’t rely solely on URLs for job postings; links may break by the time of your interview. Keep a copy of the posting to reference what the employer requested.

6. **Track Your Numbers.**
Measure your job search by output (applications, contacts), not time spent. Many job seekers report long search durations but don’t track their activity, making it harder to assess progress.

7. **Focus on Employer Conversations.**
Almost no one gets hired without talking to their potential boss first. Aim to connect directly with the hiring manager or someone who can lead you to them. This focus accelerates your search.

8. **Analyze Your Numbers.**
Use data to improve your search strategy. Review monthly which methods result in positive employer meetings. Adjust your outreach quantity or quality if needed.

9. **Search Every Day.**
Consistent daily effort (an hour each weekday) is better than longer, infrequent sessions. Starting at the same time daily builds momentum, develops a job search mindset, and enhances efficiency.

10. **Set an End Date.**
Treat job search like a project with a deadline, not a never-ending task. Set a three-month target, increasing daily efforts and reviewing progress biweekly. If quality conversations don’t improve, seek outside help or reevaluate your approach.

While this focused, deadline-driven job search may feel intense, it’s more productive than an unfocused approach. It demands real-time action based on measurable results, helping you stay on track.

Next week, we’ll explore how to find contacts and employers offline—the key to an effective job search.

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/25/working-strategies-job-search-best-practices-require-discipline/

I have lived in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul for nine years now, and the business I own, the queer soccer bar The Black Hart of Saint Paul, just celebrated its seventh anniversary.

On my three-block walk to work, on one of the busiest streets in the city, I pass by three empty lots and I stare at a wall of empty storefronts. Just a few more blocks away is the derelict CVS that has become a lightning rod of neighborhood fury, a monument to gross neglect.

Most of us who live and work in Midway can imagine so much better for our neighborhood: vibrant streets filled with more housing and more dynamic, locally owned business. There is no single panacea that will spur more development and investment, but there are a few tools to bring about that vibrant future that are incredibly basic and simple.

The fact is that our local government has been deliberately handcuffed from being able to take action on derelict spaces in our neighborhoods. Unlike all other big cities in Minnesota, when a commercial property owner leaves their property to crumble, St. Paul cannot fine them. The city can send them a sternly worded letter and then eventually take the owners to criminal court. There is nothing in between.

In the spring, our City Council finally voted to give the city tools to operate between the harsh warnings and criminal charges: financial penalties that can be right-sized for the situation and don’t go on anyone’s criminal record called Administrative Citations. The city was finally going to be able to address the owner of the CVS building or others like it in the future.

But then a small group of loud voices took those tools away and forced us to wait for a citywide vote to implement them.

Most small businesses owners like me are community-minded and do our best to play by the rules. Let me give you an example. In 2023, Black Hart built a patio next to our bar (it’s gorgeous, you should visit) after a long approval process. Around the same time, we saw another patio created without a single construction permit. Likewise, a major hardware store installed an illegally tall fence that also cuts off pedestrian access.

I spoke to an inspector about the hardware store who said they had no luck getting beyond an automated phone service to get anyone to address the situation meaning that, just like the CVS building, nothing was going to happen. They broke the rules, with absolutely no consequences.

Let me clarify: no consequences for them, but lots for the community.

The city’s inability to enforce its ordinances for bad actors brings down the surrounding neighborhoods, makes the city less safe and less pedestrian- and transit-friendly, all of which are a drag on the city’s image and the small businesses on University Avenue. The current system incentivizes scofflaws and penalizes people who obey the law. What incentive do business owners like me have to follow the rules?

This November, we have the opportunity to change this.

In the current St. Paul city election, if we vote yes to approve an amendment to our city charter, we can give our local officials the authority to fight back against bad actors who make our neighborhoods suffer. That will kick off a public process in which the City Council will carefully consider which violations warrant the use of administrative citations and how the fines will be scaled.

They will be established by new, specific ordinances, each one evaluated by an equity committee and adopted through a public process that allows residents to weigh in. This approach will ensure that this tool is aimed at giving the worst offenders a financial incentive to operate by the same set of rules as the rest of us.

Today it’s the CVS building, but there are a large number of derelict spaces throughout the city. Many are owned by far-away speculators who are happy to turn down offers from local start-ups that want to improve the neighborhood, and instead let their properties molder while they wait to cash in when property values rise. Our community cannot continue to simply hope that these situations will turn themselves around someday. Many small businesses won’t make it that long.

St. Paul residents deserve thriving, walkable communities now.

The city desperately needs this tool, making a vote for Administrative Citations common sense. We need to untie the city’s hands, so it can push back against absentee landlords, employers who steal employee wages, those who violate the conversion therapy ban, and other egregious rule-breakers.

Wes Burdine
St. Paul
Owner of The Black Hart of Saint Paul in the Midway
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/19/wes-burdine-why-this-st-paul-business-owner-is-voting-yes-to-amend-the-city-charter/