Millions earmarked for Minnesota projects in $1.7 trillion federal spending package

Replacing a 50-year-old lab building that has aging ventilation on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus is among the many projects that will receive funding from the wide-ranging federal spending package that became law last week.

The U will receive $7 million to start planning a building to replace the Cereal Disease Lab, said Brian Buhr, dean at the U's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Lab research has had a significant impact "on hunger issues, environmental and security issues," he said.

More than 100 projects in Minnesota are set to get money from the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed by Congress before Christmas and signed Thursday by President Joe Biden. It marks the second time in recent months that lawmakers have directed money to local projects since the practice of earmarks was restored after being banned for a decade.

"I believe that our communities and people who pay federal taxes in our districts and in the state of Minnesota deserve to have projects that they care passionately about, that they know will improve their communities and benefit others, funded," said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee.

Some notable projects include $2.6 million for a child care center in Luverne, and nearly $2 million for Riverland Community College campuses in southern Minnesota "to increase the pipeline of skilled technicians for manufacturing and transportation sectors," according to federal documents.

"From infrastructure improvements to investing in public safety, workforce development, and child care programs, these projects will help address key issues impacting our state on a daily basis," Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in a statement.

Minnesota's congressional delegation split on the government funding bill that covered far more than just the local projects. Every Democrat from the state voted for the legislation, while every Minnesota Republican opposed it. But the latest version of earmarks still had bipartisan appeal.

Minnesota Democrats and some Republicans from the state brought millions to their communities, with House lawmakers frequently teaming up with Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig's funded projects include more than $4.9 million for the Dakota County Veterans Memorial Greenway, while Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips' projects include $4 million for an affordable housing community in Brooklyn Park.

"This is very much a bipartisan and very thoughtful way to ... bring money back to our communities," Phillips said.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar also was able to obtain funding for a number of projects, including $2.5 million for Simpson Community Shelter and Apartments in Minneapolis' Whittier neighborhood. According to her website, the project's goal "is to provide safe and invaluable resource for those experiencing homelessness with two components: permanent supportive housing and an emergency shelter."

Republican Reps. Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber also were able to assist on hefty local investments, though staffers from each office chose not to comment when asked.

Stauber's work includes a successful push to get $3 million for reconstruction of U.S. Hwy. 8, while Emmer helped guide more than $20 million to Minnesota for infrastructure projects.

GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach didn't request any earmarks, and her office declined to say why. But in a statement about the spending bill, Fischbach said the legislation "will do nothing to ease inflation, combat the crisis at the southern border, or stop the fentanyl epidemic plaguing this country."

Republican Rep. Brad Finstad didn't take office until months after the deadlines passed for earmark requests, but he also criticized the overall bill.

"A more than 4,000-page spending bill that is filled with $1.7 trillion of misplaced priorities and record-high levels of wasteful spending is not fiscally responsible and does not align with the priorities of constituents in my district," Finstad said in a statement.

The city of St. Paul, which is represented by McCollum, will get $2.2 million for the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory to cover half the cost of a hydro-geothermal heat pump in the popular primate building. The new pump is expected to reduce the building's annual carbon emissions by 68% and overall zoo emissions by up to 50%, according to the Parks and Recreation Department.

City officials said that without the federal money, the zoo wouldn't have the funds to switch out its 40-year-old natural gas boiler. The zoo, which is free to the public, currently spends about $1 million annually in energy costs.

Klobuchar and McCollum secured $4 million for the Playwrights' Center for its move from E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis to a St. Paul building in the Creative Enterprise Zone near Raymond and University avenues. Managing Director Robert Chelimsky said the federal money will lift the group past the halfway point of its fundraising effort. The details of the move and expansion won't be unveiled until February, but he said the funding "will allow us to open the doors both literally and figuratively."

Chelimsky described the new site as "the future of storytelling in the United States" and a much larger space that will welcome writers and the public to share in the experience.

"We believe the work is critical to the community because it is a center for conversation and narrative," he said.

Newsroom developer Tom Nehil contributed to this report.