Minnesota Public Radio and the Minneapolis Urban League are collaborating on a three-part series, “The Economy and You.” The public is invited to attend each installment of the series, where Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell will answer questions about personal finance, the business climate and the economy. MPR’s Jeff Horwich and Insight News’s Al McFarlane will be the moderators for the series.

Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc. launched “Doing Our Part,” a new reusable bag program at Pick ’n Save, Copps, Rainbow and Metro Market stores throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Through “Doing Our Part,” customers will receive a 5-cent credit for each Roundy’s reusable bag brought in during their shopping trip and used to pack their groceries. The program has been expanded to include more reusable bags.

As part of the ongoing consolidation of the Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County library systems, phone numbers for Minneapolis libraries will change to Hennepin County Library's 952-847-#### numbers this year.

February 7 was the first of three public meetings for the West Broadway Community Development Expo. About 140 people turned out for the event, and there was a lot of excitement for the many projects on display which will contribute to building an improved West Broadway in North Minneapolis.

Electronic billboards and tougher prosecution are two ways Minneapolis is getting tough on people who try to solicit prostitutes in the city. Clear Channel Communications is donating space on electronic billboards in the city to send a clear message to would-be Johns. The billboards feature a blurred mugshot and a reminder that Minneapolis posts photos of people arrested for soliciting prostitutes on its Web site. The billboards also include a new Web address where the public can view those mug shots, www.johnspics.org.

Minnesota FoodShare last week announced a record-breaking cash donation of $450,000 from the Medtronic Foundation’s employee drive to help provide food and restock more than 260 food shelves across Minnesota. The donation will help address the growing demand for food which already is up 13 percent over last year.