Top 5 business stories of 2024: Uber drivers made strides, and more

This year’s business and work stories picked up right where 2023’s left off — with the fight for better wages across multiple sectors, and the growing success of immigrant-led businesses.

For me, it was another year of spending time in the community and learning about the difficulties faced by both workers and business owners.

Here are my top five business and work stories of 2023:

Two years into working at Sahan Journal, the topic of the very first story I wrote continues to be something we revisit. It was about rideshare drivers meeting with Uber representatives. Since then, drivers have advocated for change at the state and local level. Drivers faced another veto from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, but this time the City Council overrode it before the Legislature passed a rideshare bill that was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz.

But infighting among driver groups continued to make headlines. In addition, at least four rideshare companies entered the market before the new law went into effect on Dec. 1. Drivers are still expressing concerns over their wages and who represents them. We’ll continue reporting on this issue into 2025.

February into March’s coverage focused on workers groups announcing their intent to strike. The carefully planned strategy drew in janitors, security guards and nursing home workers. Some sectors won new contracts before the March 4 strike date, but others did not and walked out. The janitors landed a tentative deal days after their three-day strike, while nursing home workers continued bargaining and making deals nursing home by home.

This year also saw relief for residents of north Minneapolis who mourned the loss of a neighborhood grocery store in 2023. In July, local entrepreneur Daniel Hernandez announced his intention to open a Colonial grocery store in the vacant building left by Aldi. He also announced that a former Aldi site on Lake Street would become a Colonial. Hernandez said within the next few years he’ll open locations in St. Paul and Burnsville.

We learned more about the growing number of street vendors in Minneapolis this year and some of their struggles after Council Member Jason Chavez proposed an ordinance to help grant vendors licenses to legally sell their products. The city initially said vendors weren’t being fined or cited, but vendors countered that and began speaking out about their experiences. The proposed ordinance is still making its way through the Minneapolis City Council; we will stay on this topic into 2025.

And finally, like last year, we spent the year highlighting diverse businesses. From the St. Olaf student-run barbershop we covered in 2023 opening a permanent space this year, to Twin Cities florists jumping on the viral ramo buchón trend ahead of Valentine’s Day, there were many interesting stories to tell.
Other notable examples: the announcement of a future Asian-themed complex in Blaine similar to Asia Mall, the introduction of a Yemeni coffee chain in the metro area, and Chef Yia Vang opening his much-anticipated Vinai restaurant.