Moorhead officials push four bills including $60.4 million regional flood request and sales-tax relief for City Hall

Lisa Boney, the city—s government affairs director, told the Moorhead City Council that staff and the council—s legislative work group were six weeks into the 2025 legislative session and had brought four items to Saint Paul.

“We have 4 bills in the cooker. Only 1 of them has a bill number,” Boney said, adding that briefing packets had been provided to council members and that the delegation has been meeting with legislators and state staff.

The largest request is a $60,400,000 submission to the Capital Investment Committee for flood mitigation and diversion elements that will be built in Minnesota; Boney said Moorhead—s portion of that total is $16,000,000 and is intended to fund upgrades to seven lift stations to meet U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA risk standards. Boney said the city had also participated in legislative action day events and would return to St. Paul with more than 30 community representatives for the Chambers Moorhead area day.

Boney described three other items moving through tax committee work: an extension of the build-out period for the Downtown Tax Increment Financing district from five to 10 years (a carry-forward request from last session), a request for a sales-tax exemption on construction materials for City Hall (Boney noted that would save the project a substantial amount but said she would need to confirm the precise figure), and proposed changes to the border city statute and enterprise zone definitions to allow more restaurant and recreational activities.

Boney also reported that Moorhead Cultural Mall proponents had a hearing on Senate File 907, and that Mayor Carlson had testified in support; the project is led by Fauzia Addy and seeks legacy funding from the state. On transit, Boney said staff were in ongoing technical discussions with Minnesota Department of Transportation staff about Moorhead—s changed federal transit status and that it might be resolved administratively without legislation.

Why it matters: the flood and lift-station funding would be the largest single capital ask described to council and would directly fund infrastructure changes tied to federal and Corps/FEMA standards. Extending the downtown TIF build-out and a sales-tax exemption for City Hall would affect the timing and cost of major local development projects.

Boney said if the bills follow the current schedule, the legislature would conclude in May and several of the city—s priorities could pass this session.

Quotes in this article are from Lisa Boney during the legislative update presentation to the Moorhead City Council.