Welcome to the Friday Update from the Federal Funding Hub!
This message shares news and resources so that our region can make the most of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other federal funding.
News from MSP Cities
Edina: City Manager Scott Neal is asking community members to share ideas on how the second half of the city’s ARPA dollars should be spent. Virtual and in-person meetings are coming up on April 26th and 27th, respectively.
Minneapolis: Minneapolis leaders met with staff from the White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative (CVIC) to discuss how to prevent violence in the city. The national initiative is a cohort of 16 cities, including St. Paul, committed to using ARPA and other public funding to build out their community violence intervention infrastructure. More coverage here.
Savage: Earlier this week, the City published a webpage about ARPA, including past and future activities.
News from MSP Counties
Ramsey County: Ramsey County and the Cityy of Saint Paul, along with Detroit and Cleveland, are participating in the Brookings Metro Transforming Cities Lab (TCL).
Washington County: The Board of Commissioners agreed to amend the county’s ARPA plan to allow for programs for employment training and transitional housing.
Scott County:
The Board of Commissioners has decided to use ARPA funds to implement planned park improvements at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park.
Board of Commissioners has decided to use ARPA funds to implement planned park improvements at the future Doyle-Kennefick Regional Park.
Minnesota News
Governor's Council on Economic Expansion: The Council met on April 11th to understand strategies to realize the vision that Minnesota is nationally recognized as a top state to start, grow and expand a business. Watch the recording from the meeting here. The next meeting will be on April 25th in person at Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building from 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. You can watch the live meeting here.
Minnesota House of Representatives: The House Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee approved a plan along party lines on Feb. 9 that would repay a $1.2 billion debt to return the unemployment insurance trust fund to zero, using about $1.15 billion from ARPA Funds and the rest from the state’s General Fund. It awaits action by the House Ways and Means Committee.
Six big things that could get done at the Minnesota Legislature: Here’s a look at six big issues that might still get finished — or be seen as the biggest lost opportunities of the 2022 Minnesota Legislature. One of the issues that were brought forth was how to spend the remaining federal ARPA dollars.
National News
The American Rescue Plan is huge and yet little noticed: Examples in the American Rescue Plan include community center renovations, housing initiatives, and health programs. Collectively, the projects may be valuable. Individually, many may be so modest as to go unnoticed.
Affordable Housing: Nevada has announced the launch of a $500 million program to help provide affordable housing by tapping federal American Rescue Plan funding and new borrowing authority approved by state lawmakers.
The U.S. Department of Education: The U.S. Department of Education announced plans for an upcoming summit focused on the ways President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is helping students, educators, families, and schools recover from the pandemic and reemerge stronger.
Equity: Under the directive of the Biden administration Executive Order 13985, federal agencies developed Equity Action Plans, incorporating equity in their mission deliveries. CSG summarized a recent White House convening on these equity plans and their goals. That overview is available at “The White House Convening on Equity.”
High Home Energy Costs: The Biden administration on Thursday will announce it is sending more than $385 million to states to help offset high home energy costs, including cooling costs this summer, a White House official tells CNN. The $385 million is in addition to the $4.5 billion that ARPA provided to LIHEAP and the $500 million allocated by the bipartisan infrastructure law to the same program.
Upcoming Webinars
Leveraging ARPA Funds to Prevent Violent Crime: Join NACo for a webinar on April 27 at 1:00 pm that will feature a discussion with county leaders on how they have been using ARPA funds to reduce violence and strengthen communities.
Past Webinars
Rent Regulation: Urban Land Institute Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis are partnering with experts from across the housing sector to present a four-part, virtual event series featuring research-based, evidence-driven conversation on rent regulation. Watch the recap here.
Historic Preservation & Economic Development: Watch this webinar about how ARPA offers a historic opportunity for counties and local municipalities to invest in historic preservation and economic redevelopment projects in your community.
Resources
Evidence-based Policymaking: CSG worked with the National Conference of State Legislatures and The Policy Lab at Brown University to identify investments in data analysis and collection, program evaluations, and improvements to data and technology infrastructure that could help improve the evidence base for state policies for years to come.
Please reach out with questions and ideas regarding federal funding in our region. Also, let me know if you have any news or resources, you’d like us to share.
Allison
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