Maja Beckstrom

Saint Paul

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Associate Producer at Minnesota Public Radio (St. Paul, MN)

journalist, storyteller and communicator

Articles

St. Paul's new superintendent on the challenges in public education

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom

Like most school districts in Minnesota, St. Paul Public Schools is facing a complicated set of challenges. Enrollment is up a bit this year, but the small increase follows years of decline. The district faces a budget shortfall, has already made deep cuts and plans to ask voters this fall to approve a tax increase to support schools.
Credit card debt is adding up

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Chris Farrell |Maja Beckstrom

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Credit card debt has been rising at one of the fastest rates in history. The amount Americans owed on credit cards hit an record high of over $1.2 trillion at the end of 2024. And people are not only spending more on plastic, they’re also paying down less, carrying high balances and shelling out more for late fees.
Creating work community with Alex West Steinman

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom

When the norms and expectations of the workplace aren’t working for you, what do you do? If you’re Alex West Steinman, you create your own workplace. In 2017, West Steinman left a career in advertising and communications and joined three colleagues to found The Coven. Eight years later, The Coven has two co-working sites in the Twin Cities and another five franchise locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Scams are surging: What to know and how to stay safe

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom |Nikhil Kumaran

Scams are becoming more common and more expensive. Last year, more than 2.5 million Americans reported that they had been scammed. And that number has been increasing, along with the losses. The amount of money lost to scammers in 2024 topped more than 12 billion dollars. That’s up from about $2 billion in 2019, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
How tariff uncertainty affects the economy and your money

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Chris Farrell |Maja Beckstrom

There’s been a lot of talk over the past few weeks about the economy and a word that keeps coming up is ... uncertainty. President Trump’s changing tariff policies have made it difficult for businesses and consumers to plan. Stock markets here and abroad have plunged and then recovered some ground and then dropped again. Many of us have questions about what’s happening and how the uncertainty could affect prices, our jobs and savings.
How to manage your money in an uncertain and tumbling stock market

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom |Chris Farrell |Cari Dwyer

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. The U.S. stocks plummeted this morning as investors worried about potential economic devastation from President Donald Trump's tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,200 points, or more than 3 percent, shortly after the open on Monday, and was headed to a third consecutive day of steep falls.
What's next for remote work?

2 months ago | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, remote work surged. And many employees came to appreciate how working from home can make it easier to juggle home and job responsibilities. Minnesota has the highest rate of people working remotely in the Midwest, according to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. More than a third of workers in the state worked at home at least part time in 2023. But now, five years after the pandemic, the great experiment of remote work is shaking out.
Money Monday: Finding work in a uncertain job market

Mar 28, 2025 | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom

Tens of thousands of federal employees across the country have been laid off over the last two months. And some surveys suggest private employers have started to slow hiring because of concerns over tariffs and the future of the overall economy.
Getting to Green: Can Minnesota get to carbon-free energy?

Mar 10, 2025 | mprnews.org | Dan Kraker |Kirsti Marohn |Maja Beckstrom

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. To slow a warming climate, Minnesota is changing where it gets electricity — shrinking the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewable energy. Today, more than half of Minnesota’s electricity comes from solar, wind and hydropower. But challenges remain.
How President Trump is expanding the powers of the presidency

Feb 14, 2025 | mprnews.org | Angela Davis |Maja Beckstrom

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Just a few weeks into his new administration, President Trump has issued a blizzard of executive actions. Sweeping orders from the White House have included a federal spending freeze, massive federal layoffs, gutting the United States Agency for International Development and ending birthright citizenship. A question many people are asking is — can he do that?