Video & Transcript Research : 'Duluth Promise'
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MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Floor Session: 2025 First Special Session - part 2 Jun 9th, 2025
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- We also are able to get $10 million to the Duluth airport, a cut to Greater Minnesota transit of $22
- are balancing the transportation budget on the backs of transit riders, and that's what that broken promise
- We were also able to protect the blue line extension, the NLX line to Duluth, as well as look at trying
- That bill will still be there next year, and I promise you we will continue to have the conversation.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- We span five counties, covering 6,000 square miles of northeastern Minnesota, all around Duluth, but
- not including Duluth.
- The facility is not just a building; it's a promise to our families.
- Street Improvement Project is a tangible next step in building a sustainable future that reflects the promise
Bills:
HF568, HF433, HF1689, HF3135, HF3137, HF3145, HF2887, HF2819, HF2802, HF2664, HF2267, HF799, HF800, HF3049, HF296, HF580, HF1438, HF1237
Keywords:
special education, education funding, construction, Minnesota, regional educational programs, HF433, Cloquet Area Fire District, fire station, capital investment, bonding bill, state bonds, general obligation bonds, public safety, emergency services, fire protection, local infrastructure, Minnesota capital budget, DEED grant, municipal facilities, station construction
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Public Safety Committee Meeting - 2025-04-01
Public Safety Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- I'm co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise.
- At Sandy Hook Promise, we complement our Know the Signs training with our Say Something anonymous reporting
- and what it takes to ensure students use it as a prevention tool, please know that the Sandy Hook Promise
- For example, in Duluth, we don't have a dedicated emergency manager; our fire chief is the emergency
- For example, Minneapolis might not have a need for sirens like Duluth does, but they would be able to
Keywords:
public safety, school safety, active shooter, active shooter drill, violence prevention, threat reporting, anonymous tip line, See It, Say It, Send It, Minnesota Fusion Center, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA, officer-involved death, missing person, endangered missing person, criminal background check, national background check, FBI fingerprint check, adult entertainment license, massage license, correctional facilities
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Press Conference: DFL Legislators Launch the Climate Superfund Bill - 03/04/26
Transcript Highlights:
- They weakened the protections promised to the people.
- of rain caused over a hundred million dollars in damage to roads and bridges, state parks, and the Duluth
- state<00:05:08.080>
parks, <00:05:08.560>and <00:05:08.680>the <00:05:08.760>Duluth - c><00:05:09.160>
Zoo <00:05:09.600>on <00:05:09.760>the state parks, and the Duluth - Zoo on the state parks, and the Duluth Zoo on the North<00:05:10.080>
Shore.
Summary:
Rep. Athena Hollins and Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart introduced Minnesota’s proposed climate superfund bill, describing it as a way to make major historical greenhouse gas polluters help pay for climate adaptation and infrastructure repair. They said the bill would target large fossil fuel corporations with significant emissions and use the revenue for projects such as stormwater upgrades, bridge and roof protection, erosion control, drinking water protection, cooling cities, and other resilience work. Both lawmakers framed the proposal as a matter of accountability and fairness, arguing that Minnesotans should not keep paying for damage caused by companies that profited from fossil fuel pollution.
Several supporters testified in favor of the bill, including St. Paul City Council Vice President Nyang Kheimey, former legislator and medical student Hunter Cantrell, Unidos Minnesota volunteer Bonnie Becol, and 100% Minnesota’s Aurora Vautrin. They emphasized local climate impacts such as flooding, wildfire smoke, extreme heat, emerald ash borer damage, asthma, and infrastructure failures, and said the costs are increasingly falling on taxpayers, local governments, and vulnerable communities. Kheimey highlighted municipal needs and St. Paul’s own climate investments, while Cantrell focused on environmental racism and health harms, and Becol and Vautrin stressed species loss, community recovery costs, and the burden on residents.
In the question-and-answer portion, Hollins and Johnson Stewart explained that the bill would apply to fossil fuel corporations with at least 1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions and a nexus to Minnesota, not local utilities. They said the State Auditor’s office would determine the assessments owed by companies, while the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency would hold the fund and administer grants. They also said they were looking to models in Vermont and New York and hoped the proposal could attract bipartisan support because it is tied to affordability and shifting costs away from taxpayers and onto polluters. No vote or formal committee action was taken in the transcript, and the event ended with the sponsors opening the bill to questions.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Committee on State and Local Government - 03/21/25
State and Local Government
Transcript Highlights:
- And when I'm up in Duluth, they have this great alternative newspaper filled with ads.
- ever walk by my office and um you're just roaming the halls and you have an insight into how it can Duluth
- And when I'm up in Duluth, they have this great alternative newspaper filled with ads.
- ever walk by my office and um you're just roaming the halls and you have an insight into how it can Duluth
- And when I'm up in Duluth, they have this great alternative newspaper filled with ads.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- We're moving a little bit further south now, and I promise, despite the bill's title, it might lead you
- <00:45:51.960>
uh further south now and I promise uh further south now and I promise uh despite - The junction of I-35E and I-35W split heading to Duluth is how we identify the start of our city as you
- This bill represents fulfillment of a promise for decades.
- for decades residents of our promise for decades residents of our area<01:39:49.960>
have <01:
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- I spent several years at Lake Superior College in Duluth, and now I’ve been in my current role for six
- , and now I’d like to turn it over to my colleague, the chancellor of the University of Minnesota Duluth
- Scholastica, Lake Superior Community College, and the Duluth public school system to think about the
- Duluth Promise and an opportunity that we are engaged in to create those pathways to the career and workforce
- and an opportunity that we duth promise and an opportunity that we are<01:21:33.840>
engaged <
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Section 2.20 of the author's amendment adds Duluth as a city that could potentially use TIF districts
- Paul, and Duluth, allowing them to establish redevelopment TIF districts for underused or vacant commercial
- This is an important investment in reaching the full promise of the child tax credit and recent improvements
- In return, they had a promise from the state of Minnesota that they'd get an annual payment to make up
- Again, we appreciate your support, and I promise if this extension goes forward, we'll make more progress
Keywords:
local government debt, municipal bonds, county bonds, capital improvements, public financing, bond issuance, public hearing, notice period, bond guarantee, Minnesota Public Facilities Authority, volume cap, private activity bonds, housing finance, residential rental bonds, LIHTC, low-income housing tax credits, redevelopment, courthouse financing, jail financing, law enforcement center
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- It was commissioned in 1994 and operated by Duluth Public Schools, Duluth Technical College, which later
- That is nearly 300 students who the state promised a better future.
- That is nearly 300 students who the state promised a better future.
- <00:59:36.720>
we've sure we can fulfill this promise we've sure we can fulfill this promise - Um my promise to members grant program.
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- of the Promise Program.
- I mean, could that be a Promise Program and maybe a reduction of that?
- Program, the Arizona Promise Program, the Arizona...
- Community College Promise Program, the Arizona Promise Program, the Arizona Teachers Academy, there's
- That's the latest promise broken by this federal administration.
Bills:
HB4138, HB4139, HB4140, HB4141, HB4142, HB4143, HB4144, HB4145, HB4146, HB4147, HB4148, HB4149, HB4150, HB4151, HB4152, HB4153, SB1831, SB1832, SB1833, SB1834, SB1835, SB1836, SB1837, SB1838, SB1839, SB1840, SB1841, SB1842, SB1843, SB1844, SB1845, SB1846
Keywords:
appropriations, education funding, health care, general fund, state budget, local funding, gaming, pari-mutuel, horse racing, regulatory assessment, first-time starters, budget implementation, federal funds, government services, budget stabilization, financial reporting, capital outlay, infrastructure, veterans services, highway construction
Summary:
The committee met in a special joint appropriations session to review the FY 2027 budget package, including House Bill 4138 and Senate Bill 1831, the general appropriations or “feed” bills. Staff described the budget as including a one-time transfer of state funds, a 5% lump-sum reduction to most agencies’ discretionary general-fund budgets, continued funding for the state health insurance plan and school facilities, and various one-time restorations or reversions of prior appropriations. Members spent much of the meeting clarifying how the 5% reductions would work, noting that formula and mandatory funding such as K-12 basic aid are excluded, while the governor’s executive branch would decide how to implement the cuts within agencies. The chair repeatedly emphasized that the committee was not specifying line-item cuts and that agencies would have discretion over implementation.
A large portion of the discussion focused on the practical effects of the budget on universities, public safety, health care, rural programs, and fund sweeps. Arizona Board of Regents and university representatives said the proposed reductions would amount to more than $85 million statewide and could affect programs such as the Arizona Promise Program, Teachers Academy, and tuition freezes, though no specific program cuts were written into the bill. Other testimony raised concerns about fund sweeps from encumbered balances, including university research funds, housing trust funds, utility regulation funds, and ADOT-related accounts, with some members warning about possible impacts on rural infrastructure and federal matching dollars. The committee also discussed the state employee health plan, including a $228 million general-fund infusion and proposed employee premium increases over three years, as well as questions about corrections, forestry and fire management, and rural critical access hospitals.
Public testimony was largely opposed to the budget. Speakers from Opportunity Arizona, the Arizona Board of Regents, health care, and local government argued that the package would reduce support for education, housing, SNAP, health care access, and rural communities while preserving tax benefits for data centers and wealthy taxpayers. A mayor from Globe described severe flood damage and asked for state help for a flood relief fund, while a motorcycle safety advocate questioned a proposed transfer from the motorcycle safety fund. Committee members debated whether the budget’s effects should be described as speculative or as likely consequences of the broad cuts, and several exchanges became contentious over comparisons to the Great Recession and references to federal tax policy. The meeting ended with continued public testimony and no final vote taken in the portion provided, though leadership had earlier said the committee planned a mass roll-call vote on all the bills at the end.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- My daughter was in a rural medicine program up at Duluth and is going into internal medicine in rural
- We had some money to the Duluth airport. amendment? Um, I think the only thing is amendment?
- 22.960>
the <00:27:23.120>Duth <00:27:23.679>airport We had some money to the Duluth
Keywords:
higher education, college affordability, student aid, state grants, North Star Promise, scholarships, financial aid, Minnesota State, University of Minnesota, Office of Higher Education, tuition relief, work-study, child care grants, hunger-free campus, food insecurity, student parents, pregnant students, parenting students, sexual misconduct, Title IX
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee 3/18/25
Higher Education Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- :08:43.440>
so <00:08:43.760>that <00:08:43.959>identifies <00:08:44.720>promising - years or so that identifies promising years or so that identifies promising pedagogies<00:08:46.519
- However, I am not a recipient of the North Star Promise scholarship, and with the current State Grant
- was asking whether the practicality of the situation would be better off to expand the North Star Promise
- <00:37:05.680>
program expand the Northstar promise program expand the Northstar promise program
Keywords:
higher education, scholarship, financial aid, state grant, tuition assistance, Pell grants, student retention, education equity, disabled veterans, veterans' dependents, dependent children, college affordability, books and fees, University of Minnesota, public colleges, Office of Higher Education, veterans benefits, military families, permanent disability, 100 percent disability
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Our academy encompasses four campuses across Duluth, serving pre-K through high school.
- We operate 12 bus routes throughout the city of Duluth.
- We operate 12 bus routes throughout the city of Duluth.
- We operate 12 bus routes throughout the city of Duluth.
- <01:58:51.400>
her Senator housley's uh I had promised her Senator housley's uh I had promised
Summary:
The Education Finance Committee met on February 5, 2025, to hear testimony from representatives of Minnesota’s Catholic and other nonpublic schools, focused on state nonpublic pupil aid, transportation, counseling, nursing, and related support programs. Meg Forette of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis argued that Catholic schools serve more than 30,000 students across many districts, educate a diverse population, and achieve strong academic results while operating at far lower per-student costs than public schools. She urged lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to nonpublic funding, saying they would be inequitable and harmful to lower-income families, and also raised concerns about state teacher-licensing requirements conflicting with Catholic values.
Trisha Menshu, principal of St. John Paul II Catholic School in Northeast Minneapolis, described a student body with high levels of poverty, learning needs, and academic gaps, and said state-funded nurse and guidance-counseling services are essential to keeping students safe, healthy, and on track for high school. She said the school absorbs many costs itself, including medical supplies and significant staff time, and credited the support programs with helping students make strong academic growth and graduate on time. In response to a senator’s question, she clarified that the school uses the nursing aid for limited nurse time and pays other medical-related costs from operating funds, with no billing back to public school districts.
Committee members asked follow-up questions about the relationship between teacher licensing and Catholic values, and about how medical needs for nonpublic students are funded. Forette said the concern was not with welcoming all students but with how DEI-related trainings and language are presented in ways that conflict with Catholic teaching. The committee then moved on to the next testifier, Andrew Hiliker of Stella Maris Academy in Duluth, who began by describing his school’s growth and the state’s role in supporting all students, regardless of school choice.
MN
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee 4/8/26
Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- , Duluth, Worthington, Northfield, Duluth, Chanhassen,<00:04:58.040>
Shakopee, <00:04:58.760>- we've recently talked about the PROMISE we've recently talked about the PROMISE Act<01:13:50.960
- Wouldn't the PROMISE Act like that.
- this feels so similar to the PROMISE this feels so similar to the PROMISE Act.<01:19:18.840>
- <01:49:38.640>
act more discussions on the promise act more discussions on the promise act
Bills:
HF4477
Keywords:
Minnesota business recovery loan program, small business loan, zero-interest loan, forgivable loan, business recovery, economic development, small business emergency loan account, Minnesota Initiative Foundations, nonprofit lenders, greater Minnesota, Twin Cities metro, seven-county metropolitan area, immigration enforcement, business interruption, revenue loss, job preservation, business stabilization, state appropriation, forward fund, loan forgiveness
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Floor Session Apr 22nd, 2025
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- pray that these men and women cry out to you and receive the wisdom and knowledge that has been promised
- Born on April 1st, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, Alice was one of 14 siblings.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate - 04/02/25
Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate
Transcript Highlights:
- Paul that Senator Pappas has, or in Duluth, or International Falls, wouldn't be aided by this.
- <00:42:23.119>
energy commercialize these promising energy commercialize these promising energy - Senator Green, one more question, I promise.
- <00:52:29.680>
Senator <00:52:30.000>Green, more question, I promise. - Senator Green, more question, I promise.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee 5/6/25
Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- He said it was specific to a couple of different parking structures in Duluth.
- It is promising that we will not abandon those people who have already been left out for many years.
- <01:40:42.320>
It <01:40:42.560>is <01:40:42.960>promising <01:40:43.520> - It is promising that we just budgeting.
- It is promising that we h<01:40:44.400>
we <01:40:44.719>will <01:40:44.960>not <
Keywords:
workers' compensation, insurance programs, employee protection, Minnesota statutes, safety regulations, prevailing wage, certified payroll, payroll reporting, construction contracts, public works, project registration, labor standards, contractor compliance, subcontractor reporting, state government, Department of Administration, Commissioner of Labor and Industry, Metropolitan Council, highway construction, public construction
MN
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Floor Session - part 3 May 19th, 2025
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Our hospitals—we just built two major hospitals; we have two huge hospitals in Duluth with spouses that
- environmental permitting and regulations—not rollbacks, just some clarifications to try and give that promise
- Permitting and regulations—not rollbacks, just some clarifications to try and give that promise of a