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Gov. Tim Walz says he expects his proposed $887 million bonding bill will pass despite the ongoing dysfunction at the state capitol. 

He outlined his proposal during a visit to the Rapidan Dam site. The Blue Earth River breached around the structure during flooding last year.

“The reason I’m so confident about bonding is [that] everybody matters,” Walz said. “Every community matters. This is [as] much whether you’re conservative or liberal on it, you care about these projects. They’re very personal. They’re very local. I think Minnesota has always done a pretty good job with that.”

The proposed bonding bill includes funding to build a new state patrol headquarters, address housing and environmental needs, and improve infrastructure. Walz also announced that he’s proposing about $10 million from the capital bonding bill for the state DNR’s Dam Safety Program, which could be used to remove the damaged Rapidan Dam structure. 

During the press conference Walz dismissed concerns about the impact of the ongoing disputes in St Paul. 

“It’s all just noise,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, it’s going to be 67-67 in the House, and you’re going to have a one vote majority in the Senate. 

“We’re going to have to sit down and get these things done. The reason I’m not so concerned about this is, it’s like I said, they will get there, they will. That’s how this is going to end up. You can take that to the bank, but that’s the way this is going to end up. And the courts will rule accordingly. And as I’ve always said, I respect their rights to do that, and we’ll follow along.”

Rep. Mary Franson, the top Republican on the House Capital Investment Committee declined to weigh in on the Walz proposal until having more time to study it. It takes 81 votes to pass a bonding bill in the Minnesota House. 

Republican Sen. Karin Housley, a key player in the debate, said while some critical projects need to get done, she isn’t on board with the Walz plan. 

“There’s room to bond for important, bipartisan projects but this isn’t the time to be maxing out the state’s credit card on ‘nice-to-haves,’” Housley said in a written statement.

What the bonding bill could do for Blue Earth

At the Rapidan event Blue Earth County Commissioner Kevin Paap said the funding from the bonding bill is needed to help restore some of the normalcy in residents’ lives who rely on the roads and bridges to commute and transport agricultural goods through the region. 

“Whether it’s during the natural disaster that we see behind us, or just as important after the natural disaster, as we go through the next phases as we see here, the bridge removal and as we look at river restoration, dam removal, hopefully sooner, sooner versus later,” Paap said. 

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Erin Campbell said that $790 million of the proposed bill is from general obligation bonds and the other $97 million is from trunk highway cash. About half would go toward improving what the state already built and needs to maintain or improve. 

“State buildings are nearly 40 years old on average,” Campbell said. “That’s an age that’s often accompanied by needs for significant and often very costly repairs and improvements with billions of dollars of deferred maintenance. It’s really critical that we reinvest in the state properties that we’ve already built in order to ensure that they can continue to meet the needs of the state and the people of Minnesota.” 

The infrastructure package also received support from some local trade unions, including General and Construction Laborers Local 563. 

“Infrastructure is a backbone of a thriving society,” said Stacey Karels, business representative of Local 563. “It connects us to opportunity, helping businesses grow, ensuring families traveled safely and giving communities the tools to meet the challenges of tomorrow. When we invest in infrastructure, we invest in our shared future.” 

The flooding which breached the dam also heavily damaged the nearby County Road 9 bridge  Blue Earth County aims to have it removed before spring melt this year that might cause further damage and risk loss of the channel and degradation — even potential for collapse. 

Blue Earth County Board also approved a resolution authorizing staff to work with state and federal agencies for replacement of the bridge, removal of the dam and the objective then would be to stabilize the river channel and return it to more of a natural state. 

Contractors are in process of removing the bridge deck, and will follow with beam removal and pier structures and abutments. The project is completely funded under emergency authorization through the Federal Highway Administration, and there will be emergency relief funds for design and construction of a new bridge through the agency that’ll be scheduled. 

County officials hope to start in 2026, but because of its complexity the project will require more environmental permitting. They’re hoping to complete construction in 2027. 

County engineer Ryan Thilges said the county is still calculating the actual expense for dam removal, and will also need to hire engineers for the design phase of the project. 

“But also as part of that, we have an intense amount of environmental permitting that has to happen,” Thilges said. “That environmental document will identify all of the different environmental permits that will be necessary before we can do the full dam removal.”

Thilges added it might be a while before the removal project gets underway. The Dam Safety Program is needs based and other aging dams statewide are also eligible for funds. 

MPR News correspondent Catharine Richert, senior reporter Dana Ferguson and politics editor Brian Bakst contributed to this report from St. Paul.

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Using the breached Rapidan Dam as a backdrop Gov. Tim Walz pitched his $887 million bonding bill. As well as funding for infrastructure, Walz wants to fund a new state patrol headquarters, and address housing and environmental needs.

Walz proposes $887 million bonding bill for infrastructure projects, not worried about Capitol impasse

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