Agriculture
The Trump administration cut funding for schools and food banks and their partnerships with local farmers, leaving all three groups with budget shortfalls across Minnesota. From the Twin Cities, to Duluth, and down to Luverne County, Minnesota farmers, schools and food banks are going without the help they need from the government to make it through the year.
Veterans
The Trump administration has laid off Veterans Affairs employees – and veterans themselves – across Minnesota. Veterans in Minnesota will struggle to access the care and services they were promised, while one Air Force veteran who became the deputy director of the Small Business Administration in Minnesota to continue serving his country was suddenly laid off.
March 2025: Trump Administration Cut Funding To Minnesota Nonprofit That Helps Renters With Housing Discrimination. According to the Minnesota Reformer, "Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, which provides legal services to low-income Minnesotans, announced Wednesday that the federal government canceled a $425,000 grant that funds legal help for people facing housing discrimination or sexual harassment from landlords. The grant cancellation is part of the sweeping federal spending cuts directed by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has long paid private nonprofits to do the work of fielding complaints and litigating cases against landlords who violate the Fair Housing Act. In Minnesota, that work is largely handled by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in partnership with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. The grant is a fraction of the overall MMLA budget, but funds the entirety of the fair housing program, said Julia Zwak, managing attorney of the housing unit at MMLA. " [Minnesota Reformer, 3/12/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Fired At Least 3 Employees Who Worked For Grain Science Lab In St. Paul. According to MPR News, "Matthew Moscou is a plant pathologist who worked at the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Cereal Disease Lab in St. Paul for about two and a half years. [...] Moscou was one of at least three federal employees who lost their jobs from that particular lab, a small research facility on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. His termination letter from the USDA states that it was based on 'performance.' But, he and a few other colleagues who were fired say they never received negative evaluations. " [MPR News, 2/21/25]
March 2025: Trump Administration Cancelled Program That Provided $18 Million For Minnesota Schools And Food Banks To Purchase Produce From Over 100 Local Farmers. According to Minnesota Reformer, "The Local Food for Schools program provides funding for states to purchase food from local farmers and distribute it to schools and child care programs. A similar initiative, the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, buys and distributes locally-produced food to in-state food banks. For fiscal year 2025, Minnesota had been awarded roughly $13.3 million to purchase food for schools, and an additional $4.7 million to cover products for food banks. Those funds will no longer be distributed. [...] USDA data shows that more than 100 Minnesota farmers and food producers participated in the LFPA program. Those producers will now have to find other markets for their products." [Minnesota Reformer, 3/11/25]
May 2025: A Minnesota Small-Business Owner Said She Could Not Bring In New Shipments Because Of Trump's Tariffs.
April 2025: Trump Administration Fired Every Staffer In Office That Manages Program Helping 125,000 Households In Minnesota Pay Their Heating And Cooling Bill. According to Minnesota Reformer, "More than 125,000 Minnesota households get help with their winter heating bills through the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, but that’s at risk now because the entire staff that run the program has been fired. As part of massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, every staffer was laid off from the Division of Energy Assistance, NPR reported this week. The nonprofit energy consumer advocate Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, known as CUB, released a statement Wednesday decrying the cuts. 'Energy Assistance is a vital and extremely popular program,' said Annie Levenson-Falk, CUB’s executive director. 'Even a delay in funding will mean that eligible Minnesotans risk utility shutoffs or being unable to refill empty propane or fuel oil tanks.' " [Minnesota Reformer, 4/2/25]
April 2025: The Trump Administration’s Cuts To AmeriCorps Sent Volunteers Home Before They Could Repair Cabins And Trails In Minnesota. According to Business Insider, “Javon Walker-Price was squashed in a van on Wednesday afternoon, driving from Nebraska to Iowa, when the news came: His group of AmeriCorps members was being sent home. By Thursday, Walker-Price's whole crew had to be on planes. They were only three months into a ten-month service contract and had been preparing to go to Minnesota to fix cabins and trails at a campground. ‘It happened so fast,’ Walker-Price, 20, said. ‘One minute we were working, and the next minute we were told to pack our bags and come back to Iowa as soon as possible to get on the flight. It took everybody by surprise.’ Walker-Price is just one of the thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers who are dealing with — or bracing for — the firings that have decimated many other federal agencies. Members of the White House DOGE office visited both AmeriCorps and Peace Corps headquarters earlier this month, throwing the agencies' futures into question. A representative for the Peace Corps told BI that while the agency is subject to the federal hiring freeze, ‘volunteer recruitment activities continue,’ and no staff have been cut.” [Business Insider, 4/18/25]
March 2025: Trump Administration Executive Order Called For Reduction To Federal Agency That Helped Fund Duluth Museums And Libraries. According to KBJR, "The Dorothy Molter Museum in Ely preserves Northwoods wilderness heritage, sharing the life and legacy of an Ely area icon. However, leaders say its future is now at risk due to an executive order signed last Friday. [...] Now, a Trump executive order directs the elimination of several federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 'There doesn’t seem to be a lot of explanation about why this particular entity was targeted, so it’s very frustrating,' Edberg said. The museum covers operational costs but depends on grants like those from the IMLS for professional development and improvement projects. The Duluth Public Library is in the same basket. Duluth Library Foundation Executive Director Erin Kreeger said operational costs are covered by city funding, but they also receive donations and grant money. 'So, when we see one of those funding arms cut off, it can really impact members of our community in finding those spaces to connect, stay informed, and find enrichment in their lives,' Kreeger said. Kreeger said other libraries that rely on grants for operational costs have more to lose." [KBJR, 3/18/25]
April 2025: Trump Administration Terminated $300,000 Grant To St. Olaf College To Preserve WWII-Related Records. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, “The four-paragraph letter got straight to the point: The Norwegian-American Historical Association at St. Olaf College was losing a nearly $300,000 federal grant, effective immediately. ‘Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities,’ the letter from National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) acting Chair Michael McDonald read. The historical association was just months into a three-year project to preserve and digitize records documenting Norwegian Americans’ relief efforts for occupied Norway during World War II. Now the group’s half-dozen staffers will have to find another way to pay for it. ‘It was awful,’ said executive director Amy Boxrud. ‘We’ve been cautiously optimistic that a signed grant with the government would be honored, so we were really devastated that the grants that are already underway were being rescinded.’ The historical association is among thousands of museums, libraries, historic sites, colleges and universities and other organizations together losing millions of dollars in federal funding as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency takes aim at the decades-old agencies that support them.” [Minnesota Star Tribune, 4/9/25]
March 2025: Trump Administration Cut $226 Million In Funding To Minnesota’s Health Department Which Officials Said Would Result In 150-200 Layoffs. According to KARE, "Minnesota health officials are scrambling after learning the federal government is cutting $226 million in federal grants. State health officials say they first learned about the cuts on Tuesday and leadership held an all-staff town hall meeting Wednesday afternoon to explain the cuts to their employees. "'There were a lot of emotions for sure. Super gut punch, shock, a lot of immediate processing,' Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Deputy Commissioner Wendy Underwood said. State health leaders are still analyzing how these cuts will impact the state healthcare system, but here’s what they do know: - The grants were approved during the COVID-era. - The $226 million amounts to about 25% of MDH’s total budget. - Several initiatives and programs will be affected, including free vaccine clinics, transportation to medical appointments, educational outreach, and others. - The funding cuts will lead to layoffs. 'We anticipate it could be between 150 and over 200 team members,' Underwood said. " [KARE, 3/26/25]
March 2025: City Of Minneapolis Laid Off Three Employees And Cancelled Five Vaccine Clinics After Trump Administration Cuts. According to KARE, The City of Minneapolis also announced Wednesday afternoon that three city employees will be laid off due to these federal cuts. A city spokesperson said city officials have also decided to cancel five vaccine clinics that were scheduled to take place in April." [KARE, 3/26/25]
March 2025: 12 VA Employees In Minneapolis, MN Were Laid Off By The Trump Administration. According to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, "Cuts at Minneapolis VA health care system What we know: No medical staff are impacted by these cuts, but 12 other employees are being laid off. FOX 9 is told some of the jobs impacted are researchers, engineers, and technicians. A former employee, who did not want to be identified, has worked at the Minneapolis VA for about six years in a variety of roles." [FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, 3/2/25]
February 2025: Minnesota Army Veteran Working At Department Of Veteran Affairs In Minneapolis Was Fired By Trump Administration. According to KSTP, "John Helcl decided to take a job with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis, but that job lasted about a month. 'It’s disheartening,' said John Helcl, former federal probationary employee. 'It’s really a tough bind; we will get by.' Helcl, an army veteran and former law enforcement officer, was fired from a job where he reviewed other employees’ job performances at the VA. The day Helcl was let go, more than 1,000 other federal across the country workers were as well." [KSTP, 2/27/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Fired Air Force Veteran Working For Small Business Administration In Minnesota. According to WCCO CBS Minnesota, " POLITICS Minnesota businessman among thousands of workers impacted by federal layoffs By Ray Campos February 22, 2025 / 10:49 PM CST / CBS Minnesota Chris Wicker, who recently worked as the deputy director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Minnesota District, is one of many workers who have been impacted by recent federal layoffs. As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Wicker dreamed of one day helping people start and run their businesses. 'I am from Minnesota originally,' Wicker said. 'I joined the Air Force straight out of high school where I spent six years on active duty as an intelligence analyst. Almost 10 years of national security later, I actually wrote a business plan for a cleaning company while I was in Kabul.' Even during his service in the military, Wicker was already thinking of what he would do after. 'I learned everything about small business training during that time and became really passionate about that work,' Wicker said." [WCCO CBS Minnesota, 2/22/25]