The retail industry appears to be alive and well in central Minnesota.  Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development spokesman Cameron Macht says the 13-county area has added 760 new retail jobs in the past eight years.  And he says, because there were 3,000 retail job openings in the region in the second quarter of this year, those jobs are becoming much more attractive to job seekers.

Macht says 60 percent of the retail openings offered health care benefits as well, that’s up from about 20 percent several years ago.