[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6628201,"mediaKeyId","2719274-9f83e9ecf3888080a3730a9f4b84c90c","parentId",2719274,"title","Lawmakers hear calls to expand Housing Incentive Fund as rural housing shortfall grows","audioSeconds",4293,"startMs",1796000,"endMs",6089000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2719274-9f83e9ecf3888080a3730a9f4b84c90c&start=1796&end=6089","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2719274-9f83e9ecf3888080a3730a9f4b84c90c/thumbnail_1796000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6628201/North-Dakota/Lawmakers-hear-calls-to-expand-Housing-Incentive-Fund-as-rural-housing-shortfall-grows","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6628201-dbbc963567748d129035f5edf2a28e84/orig.mp4?Expires=1771098921&Signature=Oxotl87THsOxBReg3OHzmWu4k4hG~z4hu1lRMflfwqwJTtnq64PjSMPQdJ9A1lm4LLYkVCsAczopCRYVti9p0traXqKeuLr7pXWp7gIRnYhlFWKCdG-IbqEvDyjyveZjqOLpXLDJsOxHItu9CS6Xq3Rya-akUwBu4fnkSiV7Mq5aXAI4g-lEHoF3zK8~hj21PXR2QnTjys09lJlqKDTsF17XyCJz~AOJq6bigmC5dSqhFONHQLqlwlLNdp4sEmLBVMOdreJkQHKJ~fDnh~CS3hJhw8QpMhRZe62Exj~qFV~cbpCp0EKNG6GdQiVt1RIYy9OQZj870QkrRa5q4SWPdw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota State Legislature","date","2025-03-20T00:00:00Z","article","Jennifer Henderson, director of the Community Housing and Grants Management Division at the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, told the House Appropriations committee that the division manages state, federal and agency-funded programs supporting multifamily development, single-family development, homeless response and HUD project-based rental assistance.\"The Community Housing and Grants Management Division annually...manage state, federal, and agency funded programs that will assist with multi family development, multifamily compliance,\" Henderson said.

Henderson said the agency competitively awards funds and monitors compliance for long-term affordability. She told the committee the Housing Incentive Fund (HIF) has been critical as gap financing: state HIF grants helped the agency award about $11 million that supported roughly $84 million in total development costs and produced 323 affordable units in the last biennium. \"For every dollar of HIF that went out the door this last biennium, you received a return of $7.30 of private investment,\" Henderson said.

The division reported a multifamily pipeline of roughly 23 projects under construction and said it annually receives 8–20 multifamily applications; limited HIF availability forced the agency to decline 14 projects (about 522 units) representing roughly $46 million in unmet requests. Henderson also described new uses of HIF for single-family development in small towns: the agency has committed about $1.8 million to support 21 new single-family homes (roughly $6 million in development costs) in towns including Lakota, Larimore, Hillsboro, Hatton, Devils Lake, Park River, Mayville and Minto. Community land trusts in Grand Forks, Fargo and Minot have received revolving lines of credit totaling $1,150,000 and have used those funds to purchase three homes.

Why it matters: rural housing advocates and nonprofit developers said the current HIF appropriation levels leave unmet demand and stall projects. Dawn Mant, executive director of the Red River Regional Council, asked legislators for larger, predictable funding for small towns: \"I urge your strong consideration of $50,000,000 appropriation,\" she said, citing a regional study that forecasted a need for 4,800 rural housing units across the region studied. Lisa Rothvold, executive director of the Red River Community Housing Development Organization, described a \"spark build\" approach funded by HIF that produced four houses in two communities, triggered resales of existing homes and attracted builders where markets previously did not pencil out.

Private developers and nonprofit builders described how HIF fills the final financing gap for many projects. Don Sturhan, president of CR Builders LLC, said the fund operates as gap financing that enables projects to move from planning to construction: \"We have the ability through other funding sources...but we're often still facing that gap. We're not quite there yet. So how do we get there? And that's where the HIF funding has been critically important.\" Dan Madler, CEO of Beyond Shelter Inc., urged increasing the Senate's proposed $25 million appropriation to $50 million to provide scale: \"A $50,000,000 appropriation would be a strategic investment,\" he told the committee, citing projects in Minot and other cities with tight vacancy rates.

Community land trusts (CLTs) presented HIF as a complementary tool that preserves affordability across resales. Emily Contreras, executive director of the Grand Forks Community Land Trust and Minot Area Community Land Trust, explained CLT mechanics: a CLT reduces the buyer's mortgage through subsidy and retains ownership of the land to keep resale prices affordable. \"With community land trusts, the homes remain affordable until the house itself actually needs a substantial rehab,\" she said, and a single subsidy can preserve affordability across multiple households over decades.

Committee context and requests: Henderson told lawmakers the agency's 2025 budget request includes a HIF appropriation of $40 million and proposed administrative changes to fold the North Dakota Homeless Grant into HIF for unified administration and interim reporting. She also described a $10 million North Dakota Homeless Grant identified in the Armstrong budget and said the agency is requesting one full-time equivalent to administer homeless programs. Several witnesses asked the committee to consider a larger HIF appropriation (commonly $50 million in testimony) and to retain HIF flexibility to assist small towns as well as larger cities.

What remained unresolved: witnesses and committee members repeatedly raised the need to balance distribution so smaller towns can access funds before larger city projects exhaust appropriation cycles. Builders and regional councils said the rural market needs time and predictable funding windows so local contractors and supply chains can scale.

Next steps: the Appropriations committee continued hearings. Advocates and developers asked lawmakers to consider enlarging HIF and coordinating other funding sources to move planned projects off the shelf.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Appropriations - Government Operations Division Mar 20, 2025 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Jennifer Henderson, director of the Community Housing and Grants Management Division at the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, told the House Appropriations committee that the division manages state, federal and agency-funded programs supporting multifamily and single-family development, homeless response and HUD project-based rental assistance.","taxTitle","Appropriations - Government Operations Division, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28887,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6628197,"United Way daytime shelter closure leaves residents and providers urging emergency funding",1070,6694000,7764000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2719274-9f83e9ecf3888080a3730a9f4b84c90c&start=6694&end=7764","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2719274-9f83e9ecf3888080a3730a9f4b84c90c/thumbnail_6694000.jpg","/articles/6628197/North-Dakota/United-Way-daytime-shelter-closure-leaves-residents-and-providers-urging-emergency-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6628197-177ab081562e8320afa95b6963766121/orig.mp4?Expires=1771098921&Signature=fs3O3CMGnY-4CdhexCoa9~KIPDkJ7yXhawwBmDJibq-TmNRwjJif7b1eERlCqb-djiXQx7U26JkOR2ScY849hEWueVeXNE2AMvKljlTgavlgsMyHWKVB4hq1O2i1rrmb53Xs9WdmdBEjYk8hU8sEgOqoHOrCe~DGg4VZTDGWG05IC3HtHV8QshCx~k0i2Ou~ANhLjRUR8lCfnQerQWS6D05B7OlwTXUD7PHvCg6vECPDsCNdv1Q9ly9kUVWshrbxIyYwqTDUMJs~zUKw5nMxjICV1fjY4NBkuLkRuCd8GmUC6fgaPwcap3TcPNj2aQHLoT9PlKeT~HlimN0HCjPNvg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Residents of the Bismarck United Way shelter and the shelter's executive director testified to the House Appropriations committee that closing daytime operations earlier in the year has left people sleeping outside during the cold, increased emergency medical calls and limited access to on-site case management.

\"Everybody at that shelter...a lot of people that are left there are elderly. So I'm watching 5 people in walkers going downhill fast,\" said Stacy Peterson, a resident who said she traveled from Minot. Peterson described frequent ambulance calls for shelter residents and said the closed daytime hours make it difficult for people to recover from illness.

Matthew Doctor, another shelter resident, said the March 3 daytime closure increased barriers to accessing services and that walking between daytime locations and nighttime sheltering has been difficult for residents who are working or seeking services.

Shelter leaders provided budget figures. \"It's about $27 per resident. That equals about $65,000 to run it well,\" Jenna Ungalo, executive director of the United Way shelter, told the committee. Ungalo said the shelter currently receives $138,000 from the North Dakota Homeless Grant but faces a funding gap of roughly $200,000 to $250,000 a year to sustain daytime operations. \"We had to close during the daytime on March 3,\" she said.

Committee members heard that shelter daytime operations brought regular on-site services: behavioral-health providers, navigation to housing and benefits, financial and employment assistance and help with documentation. When daytime operations were available, Ungalo said 80 percent of people who used shelter services did not return to homelessness. She also described an incident that occurred within days after the daytime closure that required a police response and an ongoing investigation.

Several residents tied the shelter closure to worsening health outcomes. \"By staying out in this cold, my back is shot...spending money on going out to eat every day...it's hard to save for an apartment,\" said a resident identified in testimony as Brian, who said he is moving into an apartment next month. Another resident, Dion Schilling, said the shelter previously provided referrals and on-site help that reduced mortality and hospitalization among clients.

Committee context: agency testimony earlier in the hearing had described the Emergency Solutions Grant and North Dakota Homeless Grant as oversubscribed; Jennifer Henderson, NDHFA, told the committee the Emergency Solutions Grant is federally funded at about $486,000 with a required match and that the North Dakota Homeless Grant had $2.5 million available but was oversubscribed by more than $5.7 million in requests for the biennium.

Policy options and requests: several witnesses and committee members noted a budget alternative that appeared in the Armstrong proposal—a $10 million one-time homelessness appropriation—and discussed transferring homeless-grant administration into the Housing Incentive Fund for administrative transparency. Ungalo told the committee the $10 million homelessness appropriation would help shelter operations if distributed through existing grant channels.

Next steps: the Appropriations committee continued hearing testimony. Shelter staff and residents urged lawmakers to prioritize shelter operations funding or direct funds through the North Dakota Homeless Grant and related emergency shelter funding streams to restore daytime services.

","Clients and United Way staff told the Appropriations committee that closing daytime services at the Bismarck United Way shelter has worsened health and safety outcomes; the shelter director said the program needs roughly $65,000 per month and a $200,000–$250,000 annual gap to restore 24/7 daytime operations.","actionData","errors"]

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Lawmakers hear calls to expand Housing Incentive Fund as rural housing shortfall grows

United Way daytime shelter closure leaves residents and providers urging emergency funding