Senate hearing urges expansion of Greater Minnesota housing infrastructure grants to unlock workforce housing

Stakeholders told the Minnesota Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee on March 1 that public investments in infrastructure are critical to unlocking workforce and affordable housing across Greater Minnesota.

The testimony focused on the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant Program, established in 2023, and two bills before the committee: Senate File 906, which would appropriate $5 million to the program, and Senate File 1339, a bill to provide an additional $20 million in bonding authority. Senator Putnam presented SF 906; Senator Hochschild presented SF 1339 and that bill was recommended to pass and referred to the Committee on Capital Investment by a voice vote.

"Over the last 3 years ... we've had over 35 candidates reject jobs solely because they were unable to find a home in the Twin Ports," said Dante Tomassoni, director of corporate affairs at Cirrus Aircraft, describing recruitment barriers in Duluth and the Twin Ports…