The Memo: Monthly unemployment rate, Duluth's 150 anniversary and more

You may have seen this figure by now, but I think it's worth highlighting: Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell in August to 7.4%.

Nationwide, unemployment was 8.4% in August.

The state added 40,500 seasonally adjusted payroll jobs, causing the unemployment rate to decrease by 1.5% from July, according to figures from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Since a high of 9.9% in May, this figures marks the state's third month of falling unemployment rates.

DEED's Steve Grove said in a release that although there has been growth, it's uneven across occupations and industries. Employees of lower-income occupations were also most impacted by job losses.

In the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Statistical Area, the not-seasonally-adjusted, over-the-year employment change (from August 2019-20) fell by 8.2%.

Downtown Duluth's Tischer Photographic Studio is relocation to Canal Park.

It's moving to the space that once housed Spirit Bay and will hopefully open in early November.

"The three years we've spent downtown have been a good opportunity to experience full-time brick and mortar retail, but in order for our business to grow and reach our target demographic we're relocating," according to an Instagram post .

The new space is around 25% bigger, giving the studio more space for art and production.

The studio is also hiring one to two new sales associates.

Walmart is rolling out a membership program — and it's coming to the Hermantown location.

Called "Walmart+," the program offers free delivery on over 160,000 items, a touch-free payment option for in-store shopping and fuel discounts. And this benefit list will continue growing as the program does, according to a news release from the company.

Program memberships costs $98 annually or $12.95 a month. Membership also includes a 15-day free trial.

Did you know the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce has been around for 150 years?

It's a feat worth celebrating, and they plan to do so on Nov. 5.

In an email from the chamber, the event has been "reimagined" because of the coronavirus. It will now be held virtually over the lunch hour, with catered lunches available for pick-up that day.

Typically, the event draws around 1,300 people to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center each year.

Event registration information is available on the chamber's website, duluthchamber.com .

Kelly Busche covers business and health for the News Tribune. She attended the chamber's annual meeting last year, where a group of bagpipers and choir kicked off the meeting. She's excited to see what the chamber has in store this year.