Famous Dave's starting winter hiatus on Jan. 5

Famous Dave's in Crosslake will be in a seasonal status, closing Jan. 5 and then reopening in early April.

And Famous Dave's reports they are still interested and keeping options open for a possible future site in the Brainerd/Baxter area but do not have anything solid to report as far as an additional restaurant.

Fleet Farm's new car wash by Country Kitchen in Baxter is now open.

Where are the jobs going to be in the future? The state recently released regional employment projections -- covering 2000 to 2010.

The Brainerd lakes area projections are part of the regional forecast for northwest Minnesota. But a new study by the Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce and the Lakes Area Human Resources Association, with results expected by spring, will provide a look at wages and benefits in the more immediate area.

Looking at the bigger picture, the state predicts by 2010 northwest Minnesota employment will expand by 12 percent reaching 277,000 jobs.

The northwest region includes Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Roseau, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin counties.

Employment growth is projected to be fastest in three occupational sectors.

Lisa Paxton, Brainerd chamber chief executive officer, said the joint effort with the chamber and the human resources association, will involve an online survey available for participation from any business in the area.

The survey will be available online in February. Results will be available in March.

The idea is to have data on wages and benefits from the immediate lakes area to create a benchmark as to where the area is in terms of benefits.

In addition, the effort includes hiring Anthony Schaffhauser, state regional labor analyst, to help prepare a summary of wage earners in the six county area, including Cass, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Todd, Wadena and Morrison counties.

The report is expected to look at jobs in the six-county area and median wages. Twenty of the most common job descriptions will be compared to the statewide report.

Paxton said hopes are to have these subjects covered in reports that are completed on an annual or semi-annual basis.

While the state has substantial regional information leading from the lakes area to the northwest corner of the state, however, the labor markets and economic conditions can be widespread in a zone that size. The localized reports should shed more light specifically on the lakes area, helping workers and employers in understanding the labor market right here.

The state report, looking at the northwest region, has the following:

* Computer and math-related fields are expected to expand by 38 percent over the decade. Growth-leading occupations will include computer support specialists, network and systems administrators, and computer software engineers.

* Community and social services fields are expected to expand by 30 percent over the decade. The top gainers will include social and human service assistants; educational, vocational, and school counselors; and child, family and school social workers.

* Healthcare support fields are expected to expand by 24 percent over the decade. The strongest performers will include home health aides, nursing aides and attendants, dental assistants, and medical assistants.

"Overall, the future job market favors 'knowledge' workers and service-producing jobs. Many farming-related occupations, production occupations, and other blue-collar fields are expected to add a minimal number of jobs or decline," the report concluded.

"These Minnesota regional projections employ the same trend analysis used by the U.S. Department of Labor in national employment projections. Both nationally and in Minnesota, employment projections are widely used in educational program planning and career guidance."

More information on the employment projections is available online at www.MnWFC.org/lmi/proj.