EXCERPT: “Last winter, as the 2019 legislative session approached, advocates for Minnesota cities and counties, especially those in rural areas, hoped for an increase in the amount of financial aid local governments receive from the state to help them cover their budgets. While cities and counties already receive millions of dollars in state aid every year, they had been looking for more for years, arguing that the amounts they were getting had not kept up with inflation or with the rising cost of public services. This year, they had a crucial advocate in their corner: Gov. Tim Walz, the rural Democrat who won last fall’s election after running on a ‘One Minnesota’ campaign theme that included promises to restore funding for the two aid programs dear to cities and counties: Local Government Aid (LGA) and County Program Aid (CPA).” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2L1cxCn
