UPS said today it plans to hire at least 60,000 of the 100,000+ seasonal employees it needs for the holiday season this weekend. UPS Brown Friday begins Nov. 4, with more than 450 in-person and virtual events scheduled across the country.

UPS said it’s hiring:

Seasonal delivery and CDL drivers
Warehouse workers
Driver helpers

A list of local hiring events and information about the company’s virtual hiring information sessions is available here. Those who are unable to attend a hiring fair can still apply at UPSjobs.com. Visual assets can be found here.

A statement from UPS said it has made it easier than ever to land a seasonal job. Many applicants will have a job offer in hand in less than 25 minutes, and nearly 80 percent of seasonal positions do not require an interview, according to the UPS news release.

“With major retailers announcing holiday deals long before Cyber Monday, it’s more important than ever that we staff up now to meet the demands of the busy holiday shipping season,” said Nando Cesarone, Executive Vice President and President, of U.S. Operations. “We are well on our way to hiring the 100,000+ seasonal employees we announced in September, and UPS Brown Friday is a three-day sprint that helps us achieve that goal.”

While seasonal jobs are an opportunity to earn some extra income around the holidays, UPS said they are also a proven pathway to a career. The company said nearly 35,000 seasonal employees earned permanent positions following the 2021 holidays.

I-35 rest area in Iowa to close for winter Nov. 14

The Iowa Department of Transportation announced the temporary closure of the undeveloped rest area at milepost 51 on southbound Interstate 35 in Warren County beginning at 9 a.m. Nov. 14.

The rest area is expected to reopen in late April 2023.

IDOT said the rest area is used mostly by commercial motor carriers. Because the ramp from the rest area to I-35 is on an incline, large vehicles often have trouble getting traction to merge onto I-35 during winter weather, causing a dangerous situation on the roadway, according to IDOT.

South Dakota waives regs for fuels, other liquids

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, on Oct. 26, issued a state of emergency in the state due to “extremely low inventories and outages of certain liquid products including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, propane, ethyl alcohol, natural gasoline, diesel exhaust fluid, and anhydrous ammonia.”

Noem’s declaration suspends parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for drivers hauling those liquid products into and within South Dakota.

The declaration said that the FMCSRs “regulate the transportation requirements for drivers of transport vehicles and may unnecessarily delay the transportation of these products.”

Noem clarified that the declaration does not require or allow fatigued drivers to operate commercial vehicles.

The waiver is effective through Nov. 25.