To place an obituary, please include the information from the obituary checklist below in an email to [email protected]. There is no option to place them through our website. Feel free to contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263 with any questions.

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

**Obituary Specification:**
– Name of Deceased
– Obituary Text
– A photo in a JPEG or PDF file is preferable; TIF and other files are accepted. We will contact you if there are any issues with the photo.
– Ad Run dates

*There is a discount for running more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply. If a photo is used, it must be used for both days for the discount to apply. Contact us for more information.*

**Policies:**

*Verification of Death:*
In order to publish obituaries, a name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society is required. We must contact the funeral home/cremation society handling the arrangements during their business hours to verify the death. If the body of the deceased has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program, or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification.

Please allow enough time to contact them, especially during their limited weekend hours. A death certificate is also acceptable for this purpose, but only one of these two options is necessary.

*Guestbook and Outside Websites:*
We are not allowed to reference other media sources with a guestbook or an obituary placed elsewhere when placing an obituary in print and online. We may place a website for a funeral home or a family email for contact instead. Contact us with any questions regarding this matter.

**Obituary Process:**
Once your submission is completed, we will fax or email a proof for review prior to publication in the newspaper. This proof includes price and days the notice is scheduled to appear. Please review the proof carefully.

We must be notified of errors or changes before the notice appears in the Pioneer Press based on each day’s deadlines. After publication, we will not be responsible for errors that may occur after final proofing.

*Online:*
Changes to an online obituary can be handled through the obituary desk. Call us with further questions.

**Payment Procedure:**
Pre-payment is required for all obituary notices prior to publication by the deadline specified below in our deadline schedule. Please call 651-228-5263 with your payment information after you have received the proof and approved its contents.

– *Credit Card:* Payment accepted by phone only due to PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations.
– *EFT:* Check by phone. Please provide your routing number and account number.
– *Cash:* Accepted at our FRONT COUNTER Monday–Friday from 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM.

**Rates:**
The minimum charge is $162 for the first 10 lines. Every line after the first 10 is $12.20. If the ad is under 10 lines, it will be charged the minimum rate of $162. On a second run date, the lines are $8.20 per line, starting with the first line.

For example: if the first run date was 20 lines, the cost would be $164. Each photo published is $125 per day. For example, 2 photos in the paper on 2 days would be 4 photo charges at $500.

**Deadlines:**
Please follow deadline times to ensure your obituary is published on the day requested.
*Hours Deadline (no exceptions):* Ad Photos

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**MEMORIAM (NON-OBITUARY) REQUEST**
Unlike an obituary, Memoriam submissions are remembrances of a loved one who has passed. The rates for a memoriam differ from obituaries. Please call or email us for more memoriam information.

– Phone: 651-228-5280
– Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Closed weekends and holidays)
– Email: [email protected]

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### How to Ask for a Raise During a Hiring Slowdown

By Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press

**NEW YORK (AP)** – With the U.S. experiencing a significant hiring slowdown, it’s a daunting time to be looking for a job. Many workers are staying put instead of changing jobs to secure better pay. Artificial intelligence tools increasingly screen the resumes of applicants. Now may seem like an inappropriate time to request a raise.

But sticking around doesn’t mean wages and salaries have to stagnate. Career experts say it’s not wrong, even in a shaky economy, to ask to be paid what you’re worth. Raises aren’t necessarily off the table at organizations that are downsizing, according to some experts.

“A lot of people think if their company has done layoffs, the likelihood of getting a raise is pretty low,” said Jamie Kohn, a senior director in the human resources practice at business research and advisory firm Gartner. “And that might be true, but the other way to think about it is that this company has already decided to reinvest in you by keeping you on.”

**When Should You Ask?**
If you’ve taken on greater responsibilities at work and have received strong performance reviews, or if you’ve learned you’re paid substantially less than colleagues or competitors with similar levels of experience, then it may be the right time to ask for a pay adjustment.

“They know that you’re taking on more work, especially if you’ve had layoffs on your team,” Kohn continued. “At that point, it is very hard for them to lose an employee that you know they now are relying on much more.”

Another signal to ask for a raise is if you’re working a second job to make ends meet or if your current financial situation is causing stress that impacts job performance, said Rodney Williams, co-founder of SoLo Funds, a community finance platform.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘Hey, I need to raise my financial position. I’m willing to do more,’” Williams said. “I’m willing to show up earlier, I’m willing to leave later, I’m willing to help out, maybe, and do other things here.”

Some people view asking for more compensation as less risky than switching to a new job.

“There is a sense of not wanting to be ‘last in, first out’ in a potential layoff situation,” said Kohn.

**Know Your Worth**
Before starting the compensation conversation, do some research on current salaries. You can find out what people with comparable experience are making in your industry by searching websites such as Glassdoor, where people self-report salaries, or ZipRecruiter, which gathers pay data from job postings and other sources.

Three years ago, many people asked for 20% pay increases because of price inflation and high employee turnover coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, Kohn said. Companies no longer consider such big bumps.

“Right now, I think you could say that you are worth 10% more, but you’re unlikely to get a 10% pay increase if you ask for it,” she said.

Your success also depends on your recent performance reviews.

“If you’ve been given additional responsibilities, if you are operating at a level that would be a promotion, those might be situations where asking for a higher amount might be worth it,” Kohn said.

**Compare Notes with Colleagues**
Many people view salary discussions as taboo, but telling coworkers what you make and asking if they earn more may prove instructive. Trusted coworkers with similar roles can be valuable sources.

People who were recently hired or promoted may provide a sense of the market rate, Kohn said.

“You can say, ‘Hey, I’m trying to make sure I’m being paid equitably. Are you making over or under X dollars?’ That’s one of my favorite phrases to use, and it invites people into a healthy discussion,” Sam DeMase, a career expert with ZipRecruiter, said.

You can also reach out to people who left the company, who may be more willing to compare paychecks than current colleagues, DeMase said.

**Brag Sheet**
Keep track of your accomplishments and positive feedback on your work. Compile it into one document, which HR professionals call a “brag sheet,” DeMase said. If you’re making your request in writing, list those accomplishments when you ask for a raise.

If the request is made in conversation, you can use the list as talking points. Be sure to list any work or responsibilities that typically would not have been part of your job description.

“Employers are wanting employees to do more with less, so we need to be documenting all of the ways in which we’re working outside of our job scope,” DeMase said.

Also, take stock of the unique skills or traits you bring to the team.

“People tend to overestimate our employers’ alternatives,” said Oakbay Consulting CEO Emily Epstein, who teaches negotiation courses at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. “We assume they could just hire a long line of people, but it may be that we bring specialized expertise to our roles, something that would be hard to replace.”

**Timing Matters**
Don’t seek a raise when your boss is hungry or at the end of a long day because the answer is more likely to be no, advises Epstein, whose company offers training on communication, conflict resolution, and other business skills.

If they’re well-rested and feeling great, you’re more likely to succeed, she said.

Getting a raise is probably easier in booming fields, such as cybersecurity, while it could be a tough time to request one if you work in an industry that is shedding positions, Epstein said.

By the same token, waiting for the perfect time presents the risk of missing out on a chance to advocate for yourself.

“You could wait your whole life for your boss to be well-rested or to have a lot of resources,” Epstein said. “So don’t wait forever.”

**Responding to “No”**
If your request is denied, having made it can help set the stage for a future negotiation. Ask your manager what makes it difficult to say yes, Epstein suggested.

“Is it the precedent you’d be establishing for this position that might be hard to live up to? Is it fairness to the other people in my position? Is it, right now the company’s struggling?” she said.

Ask when you might revisit the conversation and whether you can get that timeframe in writing, DeMase said.

Laura Kreller, an executive assistant at a university in Louisiana, recently earned a master’s degree and asked for her job description to change to reflect greater responsibilities and hopefully higher pay. Her boss was kind but turned her down, citing funding constraints.

Kreller said she has no regrets.

“I was proud of myself for doing it,” she said. “It’s better to know where you stand.”

Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at [email protected]. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet, and mental health.
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/19/asking-for-a-raise/