[ST. PAUL, MN] – Today, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan stopped in New Ulm on their statewide public safety tour to discuss what their public safety budget – including $300 million for cities, counties, and tribes across the state – would mean for New Ulm, Mankato, and communities across the state. Under the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward, the average city in Minnesota would receive about $240,000 to invest in public safety – New Ulm would receive over $242,000 per year and Mankato would receive over $763,000 per year. Photos from today’s event are attached.

This roundtable discussion with public safety officials from New Ulm and Mankato follows recent public safety meetings the Governor and Lieutenant Governor have had with community leaders in St. Cloud, Stillwater, St. Louis Park, Duluth, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, and North Minneapolis. A detailed list of the funding that would be made available to each community is available online.

“Today I enjoyed meeting with city leaders and public safety officials from New Ulm and Mankato to hear about their communities’ most pressing public safety challenges,” said Governor Walz. “My budget will fund local governments across the state – like New Ulm and Mankato – so they can improve public safety at the local level. We look forward to getting this done to keep Minnesotans safe.”

“The best experts on the needs of a community are the community members themselves,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “Whether it’s investing in local law enforcement and first responders, providing for community-based public safety initiatives, or ensuring that everyone has the resources they need to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, our budget empowers communities to take the lead with state support to create safer communities for every Minnesotan.”

An outline of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s public safety proposal is below.

Invest $300 million in local governments to improve public safety
The Walz-Flanagan budget invests $300 million over three years to cities, counties, and tribes across the state, encouraging and supporting new ways of meeting the evolving expectations of public safety in communities across Minnesota. The budget also invests in recruiting peace officers who represent the population of our state and reducing violent crime by providing investigative support to local agencies. The budget also funds several grant programs to invest in the changing needs of communities as they address increased crime, providing funding for Minnesota’s community-based crime prevention grants that fund such programs as probation, youth services, truancy programs, elder abuse prevention, neighborhood watch, resident engagement, and other community-driven intervention and prevention strategies.

Fund a Statewide Violent Crime Initiative
Increased violent crime is a threat to thriving communities across Minnesota. Effective violent crime strategies must employ a coordinated approach of prevention, intervention, and enforcement. This proposal will leverage forensic science to identify perpetrators of violence and clear the innocent, use analytics to strategically identify those committing violent crimes, and leverage partnerships to investigate violent crimes. Critical resource gaps currently exist in some of our most challenges communities. This investment will create the capacity to provide much needed assistance to address violent crime.

Invest in community groups to prioritize youth intervention and juvenile justice
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan propose providing resources to programs serving youth, including after school activities, tutoring, mentoring, and other services for youth. The Walz-Flanagan budget also provides funding to develop community-based alternatives to juvenile detention, including ongoing funding to establish Community Outpost Houses and invest in TRUCE youth conflict resolution centers to connect community members can connect with outreach programs; learn about applicable government services; obtain community meeting spaces; host mentoring and tutoring programs; and provide youth conflict resolution, suicide awareness and counseling, health and wellness, entrepreneurship, and leadership programs. This proposal is focused on building relationships and trust within communities; providing opportunities to create relationships between community and local law enforcement; reducing crime; and providing youth with a place to resolve conflict in a positive non-violent manner. The budget also establishes Crossover Youth Practice Model and Dual Status Youth Programs in counties throughout Minnesota to support youth who are both in child welfare and juvenile justice systems.