The city of Brainerd is in line for $5 million and Central Lakes College is in line for $11,591,000 in a state bonding bill passed Monday, May 22, by state lawmakers on the final day of the legislative session.
The funding will provide for improvements at Brainerd’s water treatment facility and renovations at Central Lakes College classroom building renovations.
The $5 million for a grant to the city of Brainerd will be used to design, construct, and equip a new backwash collection, detention, and reclaim system for the city's municipal water treatment facility.
The $11,591,000 million to Central Lakes College will be used to design, renovate and equip the student services, academic support areas and athletics space of the Central Lakes College Brainerd campus.
This bill was focused on the sorts of projects that Minnesotans depend on like providing clean water, flood mitigation, and maintaining roads and bridges
The two projects were part of a $2.6 billion bonding bill agreement reached Saturday between Republicans and Democrats on infrastructure projects around the state. The bill now goes to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature.
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“Clean water and education are two of the core functions of government,” Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, said in a news release. “I am glad we were able to persuade our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work together to address these core needs. These infrastructure bills became significantly stronger with bipartisan support and bipartisan involvement, and all of Minnesota comes out better for it.”
Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa, said it was important the bill placed a heavy emphasis on meat and potatoes infrastructure projects to keep rural communities strong.
“This bill was focused on the sorts of projects that Minnesotans depend on like providing clean water, flood mitigation, and maintaining roads and bridges,” Heintzeman said in a news release. “I am glad that we were able to secure funding for the improvements needed at the City of Brainerd’s water treatment facility to make sure that folks in our area can continue to have access to clean and safe drinking water now and into the future.”
Heintzeman also noted part of the package includes a separate $300 million in emergency funding for nursing homes. All session long, House Republicans have been pushing to make sure the crisis impacting rural nursing homes was adequately addressed.
“Finally, it was good that we were able to secure this emergency funding for nursing homes so that they can continue to provide outstanding care to our seniors. Nursing homes have faced a funding crisis in recent years, accelerated by the COVID-19 shutdowns. I am glad that Democrats joined us in doing the right thing for seniors and the men and women that provide care.”
Our historic, bipartisan $2.6 billion infrastructure bill will help keep our drinking water clean, our roads and bridges safe to drive on, and our communities safe from flooding while creating good-paying jobs.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 23, 2023
We’re putting a down payment on the future of our state.
Other area bonding projects
The bonding bill also includes funding for projects in Aitkin, Cass and Morrison counties.
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Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, noted funding was secured for four major projects — $2 million for Aitkin County Health and Human Services Building, $5,700,000 for Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley, $3 million for the Lake Shamineau High Water Protection Project and $700,000 for the Morrison County Weyerhaeuser Museum bank erosion project.
“Across the district, these projects will greatly improve the economic vitality of the area and preserve valuable assets for generations to come,” Kresha said in a news release.
In a year of uncertainty with a competitive environment for securing projects across the state, Kresha said he worked with local stakeholders and legislative leaders to advocate for District 10A.
“I am proud to be able to bring these projects back to the people of District 10A so that we can get these projects started,” Kresha said “These projects were in the capitol investment bill that passed Monday night with bipartisan support. I look forward to seeing the projects completed and improving quality of life for the people of Minnesota.”
Also listed in the bonding bill was $2,900,000 for East Gull Lake for improvements to its water treatment plant; $2,500,000 for the National Loon Center in Crosslake; $353,000 for the East Gull Lake Trail; $1,400,000 to Hackensack for water main infrastructure improvements; and $24 million for the Leech Lake Wellness Center in Cass Lake.
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