Last week, members of the Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee spent several days visiting communities throughout southern Minnesota, including several CGMC members. On Wednesday, Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville), Sen. Susan Pha (DFL-Brooklyn Park), and key committee partisan and non-partisan staff spent time in both Worthington and Windom to talk about housing needs in Greater Minnesota, with a strong focus on the need for workforce housing.
In Worthington, City Administrator Steve Robinson and CGMC lobbyist Scott McMahon organized a community meeting that brought together key community leaders, including employers, school district and college officials, and housing developers and contractors, to meet with the Senators and staff. The meeting offered an opportunity for participants to describe the housing issues facing their community, with a significant focus on how the housing shortage impacts the ability of employers to recruit and retain employees.
Following the meeting in Worthington, the Committee members convened in Windom, where City Administrator Steve Nasby and EDA Director Tiffany Lamb arranged a meeting with principal employers from Windom, as well as employers and city leaders from Jackson and Mountain Lake. Afterward, the Committee toured two workforce housing projects: a recent conversion of a motel into apartments and a soon-to-be-completed townhome development.
In both meetings, Senators Port and Pha reiterated that they understand the unique market challenges Greater Minnesota communities face with addressing workforce housing needs. They also expressed their willingness to continue advocating within the Senate and the DFL caucus to promote funding and policy changes that support the housing development needed across Greater Minnesota.
