Dakota Scott Workforce Service was one of 24 state organizations recently awarded grants totaling $6.2 million from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to provide training and employment assistance to more than 3,000 Minnesotans.

The south metro organization was awarded $400,000 for "Getting a Start in I.T. Careers," a program for racial and ethnic minority individuals and for people who have been on public assistance but who are returning to work.

The grant recipients were chosen from a pool of 37 applications, with requests of more than $20 million. The state money will leverage an additional $4.8 million in partnerships and in-kind donations to the organizations to provide training services.

DEED developed and targeted the program to serve job seekers who face barriers to employment and populations with identified employment disparities, including racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, older workers, Minnesotans in transition to work from public assistance and workers with disabilities, including people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Providers will focus on employment assistance activities such as job training, job placement and job readiness skills development.

Consignment fashion shop opens in Lakeville

Dressing Room Dojo, a consignment shop specializing in high-end designer apparel, recently opened in South Fork Shopping Center in Lakeville.

The business is the brainchild of Shelley Gensmer, a self-described thrift shop junkie who decided to take her own love of shopping and put it to work in her new store.

The business offers a variety of services, including picking up sellers' items at their homes and donating unsold items to Goodwill Industries. Gensmer said she also cleans each item of clothing she receives before putting it up for sale.

Web production in Apple Valley

Galaxie Web Video Production recently opened for business at 13025 Garrett Lane in Apple Valley.

The web video production service, operated by veteran producer/consultant Gerard Bullard, helps small to midsize businesses produce marketing videos of their products or services for their company websites and YouTube.

The new business offers a wide range of production services, including videography, scriptwriting, animation, editing and sound and optical effects and editing.

Send your Dakota County business news to susan.feyder@startribune.com.

Susan Feyder • 952-746-3282