Manufacturing executives will visit Washington to advise President Trump

President Donald Trump has announced a manufacturing jobs initiative that he said will include meetings with the CEOs of America's largest manufacturing firms, including 3M Co.

Trump plans to "continually seek information and perspectives from a diverse range of business leaders ... on how best to promote job growth," according to a statement from the White House.

The leaders invited include Maplewood-based 3M as well as Lockheed Martin and General Electric.

Despite monthly job growth of 150,000 or so and a record number of Americans working, the Obama administration was vexed by the continued slow decline of U.S. manufacturing employment that began in the 1980s.

In response to Trump's invitation, 3M CEO Inge Thulin said in a statement that he is "honored to be asked to participate in this presidential initiative" and looks forward to engaging "on the important issues relating to American manufacturing."

It is not yet known when the meetings will be scheduled. Manufacturing experts said they expect issues discussed to include workforce training, robotics, programming and technology needs of today's factories as well as tax and regulatory relief, exports, trade tariffs, and patent protections.

Initial business leaders assisting with Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative include: Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical, Michael Dell of Dell Technologies; John Ferriola, Nucor Corp.; Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool Corp., Mark Fields of Ford Motor, Ken Frazier of Merck & Co., Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson; Greg Hayes, United Technologies and Jeff Immelt, General Electric.

Most upper-end Americans are unprepared to handle wealth, according to new research by RBC Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership.

Only 30 percent of millionaire families have a full "wealth transfer plan" in place, and 30 percent said they have done nothing to ready for the transfer of their estate to their heirs. Only 37 percent of American inheritors had conversations with their benefactors about their inheritance before receiving the assets.

"It's a trend that appears to repeat itself generation after generation," said Tom Sagissor, president of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. "But there are encouraging signs. … Parents today are educating their children about wealth at an earlier age and doing a better job of engaging them in conversations about the inheritance they will one day receive."

The summer 2016 survey was of 3,105 individuals from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom who have an average net worth of $4.5 million, including givers and recipients. Americans are the most proactive — 60 percent of parents — when it comes to educating the next generation.

Half of U.S. respondents said they are confident their children will be able to grow their wealth, compared to just 39 percent in the U.K. and 42 percent in Canada.

• Those going through an inheritance received no professional help or guidance in the aftermath of the bequest.

• Experience is the best teacher. Individuals are far more likely to have a wealth transfer strategy if they themselves have received an inheritance already: 37 percent of those in the United States who have inherited wealth have a full strategy, and 58 percent of those have a will.

• When parents have a wealth-transfer strategy in place, they feel more confident that their heirs will be capable of preserving family wealth.

"Discussions around estate and succession planning can be emotionally charged, so families tend to shy away," said Bill Ringham, senior wealth strategist at RBC. "For families that want to leave a legacy and ensure the nest egg … is protected across generations, communication and planning are key."

Neal St. Anthony

Nathanson has written "Images of Downtown Minneapolis," which uses historic photos and narrative to explain how downtown has surmounted challenges over the years and continues to grow employment and house more people. The old warehouse district, pretty dilapidated just a few decades ago, has evolved into the thriving "North Loop."

And Nathanson is confident the city will survive the closing of Macy's, formerly Dayton's, and come out stronger.

Nathanson will sign books at the Nicollet Mall Barnes and Noble on Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. and discuss "Downtown Minneapolis" at the Hennepin History Museum, 2303 Third Av. S., at 2 p.m. on Saturday.