Minnesota leaders must craft a two-year budget by the end of June this year, and they all seem to agree on one thing: The state will have to reduce spending to deal with a potential deficit in the future.

What they still need to figure out is just how much to cut and how to do it. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled Senate, tied House, and DFL Gov. Tim Walz all have slightly different targets to address a deficit looming later this decade.

Right now, the state is running on a two-year budget of more than $70 billion — some of that one-time spending — and Walz is seeking a budget of around $66 billion.

Budget officials project that Minnesota will have a modest surplus of around $456 million in the next two years. But as spending outpaces revenue, the state is expected to have a multibillion-dollar deficit in 2028-2029.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)

Senate DFLers, House Republicans and DFLers and Walz are largely looking to address that with cuts and slowing spending in high-growth areas like reimbursements for disability services — which Minnesota Management and Budget warns may swallow up to half of the budget by the 2030s if left unchecked.

Growing special education costs also continue to strain the budget and also may face cuts, Walz said in January when he presented his budget recommendations.

House targets

The House, where the DFL and Republicans each have 67 seats, is calling for $1.2 billion in cuts for the upcoming 2025-2027 budget and another $2.6 billion in the following two years.

They announced their plan to cut roughly $3.8 billion in the next four years this past weekend, after the Senate DFL announced its goals on Friday.

The Senate is calling for a total of about $2.4 billion in cuts in the same timeframe. The governor is seeking around $2.7 billion in cuts. All their plans rely largely on controlling costs at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

House Ways and Means Committee Co-Chair Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said their framework “responsibly slows expenditures in areas that are growing faster than the rate of inflation.” Again, the biggest cuts are under Human Services, which would see a $1.3 billion reduction in the next four years.

Rep. Melissa Hortman, House DFL leader. (Courtesty photo)

The House proposal calls for significantly larger cuts than the governor or Senate DFL proposals. House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said the proposal looks that way because her caucus had to compromise with Republicans.

“If Democrats were setting targets on our own, these targets would, of course, look very different,” she said at a Monday briefing at the state Capitol. “We would have asked the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share in order to make additional needed investments in public education and affordable health care.”

House Republicans have said they wouldn’t pass a budget with new taxes.

In a statement, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said she looked forward to committees putting together a “common-sense budget” based on their compromise outline.

“House Republicans are holding strong on fiscal responsibility, securing budget targets that would represent the largest spending cut in state history and taking a major step towards fixing the Democrat deficit,” she said.

House Speaker Lisa Lisa Demuth. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Minnesota had an $18 billion surplus two years ago. Under a budget enacted by the DFL-controlled state government in 2023, the state is now spending more than it is taking in, though there’s some remaining padding, meaning there’s no deficit for now.

That last budget grew spending nearly 40% to over $70 billion — a few billion of that one-time spending.

Senate targets

The Senate DFL’s targets include a $754 million reduction in the upcoming biennium and a bigger cut of $1.7 billion in 2028-2029. Like the House and the governor, the focal point is controlling the growth of Department of Human Services costs, largely because of the disability waiver program.

“Our committees are working in earnest to finalize a budget that protects historic gains and the generational investments in education, healthcare, and affordability for family budgets the Senate DFL has championed,” Senate Majority Erin Murphy said in a statement about the targets.

Senate Majority Leader Erin P. Murphy. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)

Senate Republicans said the state should do more to address government waste and spending on services for people in the U.S. illegally before making cuts to programs.

“These targets seem to align with Governor Walz’s plan to cut services for disabilities and special education, which is the wrong way to balance the budget,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said in a statement.

Minnesota Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski).

What’s next

With targets out, committee chairs will now have to figure out how they’ll meet those goals and get budget bills together.

There’s an April 11 deadline to pass those out of committee.

The Legislature is in session until May 19, and lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a budget this year.

If they don’t do so on time, the governor will have to call a special session where they can finish their work.

Minnesota’s current two-year budget runs until the end of June. So if there isn’t a new budget passed by then, the government will shutdown until the Legislature can pass one.

State leaders passed a budget with no need for a special session in 2023 when the DFL controlled the Senate, House and governor’s office.

The DFL shares control of the House with the GOP this year, and in recent history, divided government isn’t great at finishing its work on time.

In 2021, 2019, 2017 and 2015, divided Minnesota Legislatures reconvened for special sessions to finish up the budget after running out of time during the regular session.

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Criminal charges will not be filed against the parents of Rudy Sweere, a 3-year-old rural Wadena boy who died from an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound in December, according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office.

On Dec. 29, Otter Tail County dispatchers were notified of the shooting in northwestern Minnesota, and law enforcement, emergency medical services and rescue personnel responded, finding the child with a gunshot wound to his head. The boy was transported to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation into the incident revealed that the residence had childproof safety mechanisms in place, including secured doors and cabinets. The incident occurred in a room where the child was not permitted unsupervised access. However, a door equipped with a childproof mechanism was inadvertently left partially ajar for a brief period, allowing the child to enter. The handgun was stored in a closed drawer.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, the Otter Tail County Attorney’s Office determined there is no reasonable likelihood of a successful prosecution,” the sheriff’s office said. “As such, no charges will be filed.”

Under Minnesota statute, it is a gross misdemeanor to negligently store or leave a loaded firearm in a location where a person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to it, unless reasonable steps are taken to secure the firearm.

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Authorities have identified a northern Minnesota skier who died in a weekend accident at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

Christian Richard Hufnagle, 21, of International Falls, was pronounced dead at the Aurora hospital, according to the Gilbert Police Department.

The agency, which handles calls for Biwabik, reported that first responders were called to the hill for an injured skier Saturday. The release did not indicate the nature or time of the accident or the skier’s injuries.

Giants Ridge Ski Patrol staff brought Hufnagle off the slopes, and the Biwabik Ambulance Service transported him to the nearby hospital, but lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.

Police said the Giants Ridge Ski Patrol was assisting in an investigation of the accident.

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Richard Carlbom has been elected as the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Carlbom has served as mayor of St. Joseph and currently serves as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Tim Walz.

Carlbom was elected during Saturday’s State Central Committee Business Conference at Edina High School.

“Our DFL coalition is united and ready to fight back and win,” Carlbom said in a statement. “Minnesotans are fed up with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and we are going to help them get involved right now, not two years from now. This is our chance to grow our party and help Minnesotans join the fight for a better future. Democrats across the country have looked to the Minnesota DFL as a model for how to win and improve people’s lives, and we are going to build on those successes together.”

The position was previously held by Ken Martin, who was elected the head of the Democratic National Committee in February. Martin’s selection came as Republicans in November took control of the White House and Congress.

“A heartfelt congratulations to the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, my friend: Richard Carlbom,” Martin said in a statement. “I’ve known Richard since he was first elected as Mayor of Saint Joseph. He’s fought for Minnesota families his whole career and — with the Trump Administration coming after communities everywhere — he understands exactly what’s at stake right now. Minnesota has one of the strongest state parties in the country and I am confident it will remain in good hands under Richard’s leadership.”

Carlbom got his start in politics as a College Democrat in 2002. He was elected as mayor of St. Joseph in 2004 just months after graduating from St. John’s University in Collegeville. Soon after, he became a field organizer with the DFL during the 2006 election cycle. He went on to work as campaign manager for then-U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in 2010, when Walz overcame a national Republican wave and won reelection.

In 2012, Carlbom was the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families — the ballot campaign that made Minnesota the first state in the nation to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.

Carlbom has served as Walz’s deputy chief of staff since March 2023.

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