As communities look to reopen and repair their struggling economies, addressing the child care crisis is vital. Workers cannot rejoin the workforce unless they have safe, reliable child care. Likewise, our cities cannot attract new businesses and families unless we have a strong child care system.
Our View: Local government aid particularly important this COVID year
From the editorial: (LGA) led the city’s lobbying priorities this year, set off by itself, with other matters presented as a secondary list in the document considered Monday by the City Council.
Written By:
News Tribune Editorial Board | 10:00 am, Feb. 9, 2021 ×
Even in a normal year, protecting local government aid, or LGA, is a high priority for Duluth’s lobbying efforts at the state Capitol in St. Paul.
For half a century, the state program has been a godsend to regional hubs like Duluth and to poorer, often rural, areas in the state, ensuring that no matter where Minnesotans live, they can expect a similar high quality of life and public services. The program returns tax dollars to local communities that need it. In Duluth, LGA helps offset the costs of maintaining streets, parks, libraries, and more with the reality that 35,000 commuters per day and 6.7 million tourists per
By Doug Barrett
LGA funding remains the top item on the legislative
to do list for leaders in East Grand Forks. The city participated in a recent meeting with the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities as lawmakers work their way through the current legislative session.
East Grand Forks Council President Mark Olstad says improving the state’s local government aid program is critical in the support of rural communities.
Olstad says continued COVID recovery relief for businesses…moving past the governors’ emergency powers to where the full legislature makes decisions… street repairs…recreational facility improvements…bonding…and even the south side bridge were topics stressed during the meeting.
State aid, flexible COVID rules top East Grand Forks’ legislative agenda
Those are topics that many, including Bradley Peterson, the director of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, hope will be considered as the Minnesota Legislature enters the second month of its regular session. 11:39 am, Feb. 2, 2021 ×
Snow fell on the Minnesota State Capitol building on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Dana Ferguson / Forum News Service)
The leaders of Minnesota cities outside of the Minneapolis metro area say they are most interested in more local government aid, which is a longstanding mechanism designed to buoy smaller and more rural governments’ bottom lines and, the thinking goes, keep them from hiking local property taxes.
Greater MN leaders asking legislature to jumpstart housing construction
By Minnesota News Network|2021-02-01T05:28:20-06:00February 1st, 2021|
The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities is asking state lawmakers to encourage more housing construction and renovation in areas outside the Twin Cities. In Austin in south-central Minnesota population about 25-thousand City Administrator Craig Clark says:
“Just to give you all a sense of kind of the scope in Austin, in 2020 we saw only seven single-family homes being constructed.”
Clark is asking legislators to change tax-increment financing laws to make it easier to redevelop blighted properties:
“It’s not a very good message to our community to say, well, let’s just board this up in the middle of town and let it set there and rot until we can find a developer.”