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 obituaries 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 the obituary more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply. If a photo is used, it must appear on 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 handling the arrangements is required. We must contact them during business hours to verify the death.

If the deceased’s body has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification. Please allow sufficient time for contact, especially during their limited weekend hours.

A death certificate is also acceptable for verification. 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 publishing an obituary in print and online. We may place a website for a funeral home or a family email for contact instead. Please contact us with any questions regarding this policy.

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

Notify us of any errors or changes before the notice appears in the Pioneer Press based on daily deadlines. After publication, we are not responsible for errors occurring post-final proofing.

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

**Payment Procedure:**
Pre-payment is required for all obituary notices prior to publication by the specified deadline.

Please call 651-228-5263 with your payment information after you have received and approved the proof.

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

**Rates:**
– Minimum charge is $162 for the first 10 lines.
– Every line after the first 10 is $12.20. If under 10 lines, the minimum $162 applies.
– On a second run date, lines are $8.20 per line starting with the first line.
– Each photo published is $125 per day.

**Deadlines:**
Please follow deadline times 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 loved ones who have passed. Rates differ from obituaries. Please call or email us for more information.

– Phone: 651-228-5280
– Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Closed weekends and holidays)
– Submit memoriam ads to [email protected] or call 651-228-5280.

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**Youth Jobseekers Facing Challenges in a Rapidly Changing Labor Market**

By James Pollard
New York (AP) — Young jobseekers are facing difficult times amid a rapidly changing labor market. The U.S. unemployment rate for 22- to 27-year-old degree holders is the highest in a dozen years, excluding the pandemic period.

Companies remain reluctant to add staff amid economic uncertainty. The hiring slump particularly impacts professions like information technology that typically employ many college graduates, creating difficult job hunts for the shrinking number of college completers. Additionally, fears of artificial intelligence replacing entry-level roles add to the challenge.

To address this issue, Citi Foundation identified youth employability as the theme for its $25 million Global Innovation Challenge this year. The banking group’s philanthropic arm is donating $500,000 each to 50 groups worldwide that provide digital literacy skills, technical training, and career guidance for low-income youth.

“What we want to do is make sure young people are as prepared as possible to find employment in a world that’s moving really quickly,” said Ed Skyler, Citi Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs.

Employer feedback to Citi Foundation suggested early career applicants lacked the technical skills necessary for roles that many had long prepared to fill. This highlights the ongoing need for vocational training and emphasizes soft skills.

Skyler referenced a World Economic Forum survey of more than 1,000 companies employing millions of people. Skills gaps were seen as the biggest barrier to business transformation over the next five years. Two-thirds of those surveyed planned to hire people with specific AI skills, while 40% anticipated eliminating jobs that AI could perform.

Some grantees respond by teaching people how to prompt AI chatbots to do automate work, but Skyler stressed the importance of funding efforts that teach qualities AI lacks — teamwork, empathy, judgment, and communication.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all effort where we think every young person needs to be able to code or interface with AI,” Skyler said. “What is consistent throughout the programs is we want to develop the soft skills.”

Among the recipients is NPower, a national nonprofit improving economic opportunities in underinvested communities by making digital careers more accessible. Most students are young adults aged 18 to 26.

Robert Vaughn, NPower Chief Innovation Officer, said Citi Foundation’s grant will double the spaces available in a program for “green students” with no tech background and often no college degree. Given tech’s ever-evolving requirements for skills and certifications, applicants must demonstrate capabilities in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, project management, and emotional intelligence.

As some entry-level roles become automated and outsourced, companies are not necessarily seeking college degrees but value AI comfort and general competency.

“It is more now about being more than just an isolated, siloed technical person,” Vaughn said. “You have to actually be a customer service person.”

Per Scholas, a no-cost technology training nonprofit, also received funding. Caitlyn Brazill, its president, said the funds will help about 600 young adults across Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Chicago, and the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Brazill frequently strategizes with both small and large businesses to keep training relevant. Citi Foundation’s focus on youth employability is critical, as AI’s productivity gains push companies to rethink entry-level roles. Dwindling early career opportunities force nonprofits like hers to provide enough hands-on training to fill jobs that used to require more experience.

“But if there’s no bottom rung on the ladder, it’s really hard to leap up, right?” she said.

Brazill warned that failing to develop new career pathways could hurt the economy long-term by blocking young people from high-growth careers.

Brookings Institution senior fellow Martha Ross agreed focusing on technology’s labor market disruption is vital but said the scale of disruption requires more than philanthropy alone.

“We did not handle previous displacements due to automation very well,” Ross said. “We left a lot of people behind. And we now have to decide if we’re going to replicate that or not.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit [AP Philanthropy Coverage](https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy).

*Originally Published: October 21, 2025 at 12:10 PM CDT*
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/21/philanthropy-youth-employability/