Hennepin County commissioners outline housing, school mental‑health and service expansions in Eden Prairie update

Hennepin County Commissioners Debbie Gautel and Heather Edelson told the Eden Prairie City Council on May 6 that the county is continuing investments in affordable housing, school‑based mental‑health services, embedded social workers that partner with police departments, and local transportation and tree‑planting efforts.

The commissioners framed the update as a status report on long‑running county programs and new allocations: “We are Minnesota’s second largest government after the state of Minnesota and the largest local government unit statewide,” Gautel said, describing the county’s roughly $3.1 billion annual budget.

The county said it awarded $19,500,000 in capital funding in 2024 to create and preserve affordable housing and provided $17,300,000 in local affordable housing aid to boost nonprofit development capacity. Gautel said the county funded 23 projects in 2024; the…