Diversion authority awaits Minnesota bonding bill after legislature ends session; new lands director hired

The Metro Flood Diversion Authority was told May 2025 that Minnesota lawmakers ended their regular session without passing a budget or a bonding bill, leaving the authority’s $60,000,000 funding request uncertain.

“They ended the session on Monday without passing a budget or a bonding bill,” Jason Benson, executive director, told the board. Benson said the authority had pushed for a $60,000,000 ask and had spent time in St. Paul meeting with senators and representatives about the request.

Why it matters: the authority is seeking state bonding and budget support for ongoing work on the FM Area Diversion Project; a reduced allotment would affect planned expenditures tied to the state portion of the program.

Benson told the board he expected a special session in the next several weeks and that the latest indications suggested a bonding bill in the neighborhood of $700,000,000 overall, but how much of that would be allocated to the diversion request was “still unknown.” He said, “Not likely that we're going to get the full 60. Do we get somewhere in at 15 to 20,000,000, 20 to 30,000,000? I think that's the big question.”

Benson also announced a staffing hire for the authority’s lands program. “The selected candidate Justin Fisher will be starting here in mid June,” Benson said, describing Fisher as a native of Jamestown with experience in land management, easements and environmental compliance, and a doctorate in environmental and conservation science.

Discussion vs. decision: Benson’s funding update was informational; the board did not take a separate vote on Minnesota funding during the meeting. The board did approve routine consent items earlier in the agenda, but no funding allocation change was recorded during this session.

The authority will monitor any special session developments and report back when the Legislature takes action.