{"id":5163,"date":"2025-12-26T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=5163"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:07:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:07:37","slug":"minnesota-mayors-warn-state-on-economy-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/minnesota-mayors-warn-state-on-economy-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Mayors Warn State on Economy, Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A group of 98 Minnesota mayors signed a letter this week raising concerns about the state\u2019s economic and financial direction, according to statements shared with media outlets.<\/p>\n

The letter was written by Jackson Purfeest<\/strong>, the mayor of Crosslake<\/strong>. Among the signers was Mike Lorenson<\/strong>, the mayor of Thief River Falls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The letter cites spending and oversight concerns<\/h2>\n

The mayors said they are worried about fraud, unchecked spending, and uneven financial management at the Capitol. They said those choices can limit what cities can do with roads, staffing, and basic services.<\/p>\n

King said accountability is the main issue. He said local leaders must answer for budget decisions. He said state leaders should face similar pressure.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota
Minnesota Mayors Warn State on Economy, Spending<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surplus to deficit warning<\/h2>\n

The letter also points to Minnesota\u2019s recent budget history. It says Minnesotans saw an estimated $18 billion surplus<\/strong> shrink over a single budget cycle. It warns the state may face a projected $2.9 billion to $3 billion deficit<\/strong> in the 2028\u201329<\/strong> biennium.<\/p>\n

Economic rankings mentioned<\/h2>\n

The mayors also cited rankings they attributed to a report from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce<\/a>. The letter claims Minnesota has lagged in job growth and labor force growth in recent years. It also referenced residents moving out of state.<\/p>\n

Governor\u2019s office response<\/h2>\n

A statement shared from Governor Tim Walz<\/strong>\u2019s office defended the state\u2019s approach. The statement said the administration has sent record levels of funding directly to local governments. It cited aid for police and fire departments, large infrastructure budgets, lead line replacement funding, and local government aid.<\/p>\n

More information from the governor\u2019s office is available here: mn.gov\/governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Rochester mayor did not sign<\/h2>\n

Kim Norton<\/strong>, the mayor of Rochester<\/strong>, said she did not sign the letter. She said Rochester\u2019s economy is strong and said recent reports show positive signs for state revenues. She also said she expects the state to budget wisely.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minnesota (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A group of 98 Minnesota mayors signed a letter this week raising concerns about the state\u2019s economic and financial direction, according to statements shared with media outlets. The letter was written by Jackson Purfeest, the mayor of Crosslake. Among the signers was Mike Lorenson, the mayor of Thief River Falls. The letter… Continue reading Minnesota Mayors Warn State on Economy, Spending<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[14],"tags":[688,5739,5740,5742,5744,5569,818,5737,5743,5736,5735,5738,682,6183,1039,5741,790,6184],"class_list":["post-5163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa-news","tag-economy","tag-jackson-purfeest","tag-jimmie-john-king","tag-kim-norton-rochester","tag-local-government-aid","tag-mayors","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-budget-deficit","tag-minnesota-chamber-of-commerce","tag-minnesota-economy","tag-minnesota-mayors-letter","tag-minnesota-surplus","tag-news","tag-spending","tag-state","tag-tim-walz-statement","tag-usa","tag-warn","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5174,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163\/revisions\/5174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}