More than $1 million has been granted to small towns in Minnesota for housing, and the good news is hitting home.
The cities of Balaton and Currie are among 15 small towns that will receive $75,000 pieces of the 1.125 milliondollar pie.
The funding will help support housing opportunities in greater Minnesota, and assist housing nonprofits.
The funding comes through the Greater Minnesota Small Cities (Tier II Cities) Housing Aid Grant Program, a competitive grant program created in 2023 to help cities with populations under 10,000, located outside the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, address local housing challenges.
The selected communities will use the funding for a range of housing-related activities, including affordable housing development and financing, support for nonprofit affordable housing providers, and emergency shelter operations. Minnesota Housing received 28 eligible applications requesting a total of $2.1 million.
Balaton EDA President Tara Onken said the money is a meaningful gain and will be put to good use.
“In smaller towns, $75,000 is a lot of money,” she said. “We’re partnering with the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership on a project that will get three new homes constructed in Balaton over the next year — that’s three or more people that can live in town; they don’t necessarily have to move away to find single-level living, or a home that might work for them.”
Onken said adding housing — and, in turn, people — to town not only helps the City’s tax base, it helps keep the community thriving as a desirable place to be.
“People should be seeing activity this summer or fall,” Onken said about new-home construction.
Following review by staff and community reviewers, the agency selected the 15 highest-scoring proposals for funding. Each selected city will receive $75,000.
The program prioritizes projects that serve lower-income households and help communities develop and preserve housing that is affordable and workforce-ready.
Applications were scored on five criteria: commitment to affordable and workforce housing, project and program readiness, community need, community impact, and collaboration.
Following board approval, Minnesota Housing staff will notify selected grantees and begin the grant agreement process. Applicants not selected for funding will be offered a debrief meeting.
