Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Gov. Tim Walz proposed $160 million in additional cuts from numerous state programs as part of a revised budget that he released Friday, adjusting for the recent downtick in available money.

The additional cuts would buy the state more savings in the budget two years out, which is 

 without shifts in money coming into the state or budget cuts.

The proposal would limit year-over-year growth rates in Medicaid waivers. It also would reduce state funding to private schools and includes a 5 percent reduction in special education transportation costs. 

But it also would make one-time payments to combat avian influenza and fund police training. Walz said the trims could put the state in a better position down the road.

“By addressing the budget challenges we face today, we’re setting Minnesota up for long-term success and protecting the resources necessary to make Minnesota the best state to live, work, and raise a family,” Walz said in a news release.

The budget is the Legislature's top priority this year and it will have to get some buy-in from Republicans. While Democrats control the Senate, the House this week became split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. 

GOP leaders in the House said the proposed cuts didn’t go far enough in the face of a 

“There is a lot of work still to be done if this is where Democrats are starting,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and two other top Republicans said in a statement.

A budget should be finalized before the Legislature adjourns on May 19. If lawmakers can’t pass one by July, they’ll risk a state government shutdown. 

Among the largest recommended cuts included in the revised budget are:

Politics and Government News

2025 Minnesota legislative session

NewsPartners

Homepage

Dana Ferguson

Author

Clay Masters

Lawmakers will consider the spending plan as they prepare budgets of their own. They have to write a proposal that can satisfy both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature.

Walz proposes more cuts, seeks one-time aid for avian influenza and police training

Go Deeper.

Like this?