Dedicated state funding to help build more affordable housing — one key recommendation of a special task force commissioned by Governor Mark Dayton. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Mary Tingerthal says they heard from employers across Minnesota about lack of affordable housing: “Whether it was Centracare in Saint Cloud… or Hormel down in Austin, every one of them talks about the fact that there are sometimes in these communities that are thriving no housing at all.”
Tingerthal stresses it’s “not a plan that simply calls for government spending,” but rather a partnership with private sector investors. The task force also recommends a crackdown on predatory rental practices and better pathways to homeownership, particularly for households of color.
Governor Dayton has minimal influence on future housing policy because the legislature is not in session and his term ends this year — but the governor argues his successor should look at affordable housing as an investment. “If people don’t have a good place to live, they’re not gonna stay here or be here, and they’re not gonna be available to build our economy and build our society.”