Duluth, St. Louis County to Receive Millions in Federal Aid Under New Relief Package

DULUTH, Minn.– President Joe Biden signed the latest round of federal relief called the American Rescue Plan into law on Thursday.

Some of the money from the nearly $1.9 trillion relief package will be helping out local governments right here in the Northland.

A total of $4.9 billion is coming into Minnesota from this new law. $2.1 billion of that will go to local governments in the state to help with financial recovery from the pandemic.

St. Louis County will receive $54 million, while the city of Duluth will get more than $60 million. Other cities received smaller amounts, such as St. Cloud receiving $15 million and $17 million going to Rochester.

In the Northland, St. Louis County Administrator Kevin Gray says the money will go to boosting economic recovery for local businesses.

“Not just quite a bit, an incredibly significant amount of funding. 54 million dollars,” said Gray.

That money will also fund continued vaccine distribution and expanding broadband access around the county.

“We’re not quite there yet in terms of getting out from under the COVID cloud but I think these resources will help people bridge that time frame,” said Gray.

The funding this time around is more flexible, giving the county until 2024 to use those funds to help move through the pandemic and beyond.

“I think this could be a springboard to getting over the COVID-hump,” said Gray.

In Duluth, City Councilor Derek Medved says he’s optimistic for the future as the city receives 60 million dollars from the American Rescue Plan.

“I’m very thankful but also there’s more details that I have to learn,” said Medved. “I found out the same time everyone else did.”

Medved says the funds could help the city of Duluth manage the deficits caused by the pandemic, including lost tourism revenue. But he says, he wants to make sure the big amount of money is used wisely.

“Being fiscally responsible is going to be important going forward and being mindful of that but also looking at the bigger picture of replenishing our reserve to a certain extent,” said Medved.

Duluth Mayor Emily Larson commented on the relief package in a statement saying,

“When the pandemic hit, the city of Duluth worked quickly to adjust course, protect the health of staff and residents, and continue to provide our core municipal services. As we discussed publicly, all of these actions were necessary, and all of it came at a steep financial cost. The hard work behind the scenes to keep everything going without missing a beat, despite substantial changes in worksites and daily operations, is a true testament to our amazing staff. Thank you to our federal delegation for understanding the toll this has taken on our budget, our reserves and our financial outlook. While we are still working through the specifics of the bill and reading all the fine print, the city of Duluth is well positioned to fully utilize this funding.

We’ll share more details when we are able. Additionally, the public can expect to hear more about this funding as part of the virtual state of the city event that we are in the process of scheduling.”

According to Gray, the money is expected to come in two payments. Half of it will come in in the coming months, while the other half will not be available until next year.