Success: $35 Million Secured for Fourth District Community Projects

You can read my statement on the successful passage of the entire agreement here—including some of the highlights I'm most proud of securing after receiving input from local advocates, agency leaders, and experts.

In addition, I'm so excited to announce that all 15 of my office's Community Project Funding requests have been included and will be funded soon!

I worked together with leaders from around the Fourth District to advance funding for projects that will have a direct and tangible positive impact in our community. In total, more than $35 million is coming directly to the East Metro to improve our drinking water, boost the arts and small businesses, help children and youth succeed, and much more.

Here's the full list:

• Gillette Children's Hospital Research Investigative Lab ($1,500,000)
  The investigative lab will be used to conduct research related to assessment of motor control, movement disorders, spasticity, and pain, and would include a rehabilitation research and clinical care space.

• The Sanneh Foundation Youth Workforce Development ($1,000,000)
  This program combines youth career exploration with local employers, tangible work experience, social capital building developmental relationships, and Social and Emotional Learning into a comprehensive year-long youth workforce development program to help bridge the opportunity gap for young people in Minnesota.

• Hamline University Pipers to Professionals Program ($1,000,000)
  This funding will provide underserved students support services while they engage in a paid internship, to effectively promote student development for professional employment.

• Saint Paul North End Community Center ($4,000,000)
  This funding will help complete construction of the North End Community Center on Rice Street in Saint Paul, which will be a community space with amenities that encourage and promote relationship building and physical activities.

• Familiar Faces: Engaging Frequent Users of Emergency/Shelter Services ($2,000,000)
  This project will be geared toward frequent users of emergency services who have cycled in and out of shelters, jails, and hospitals, for whom a much more targeted approach is necessary to ensure their needs are met and resources are allocated effectively.

• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump ($2,200,000)
  This funding will help replace an inefficient natural gas steam boiler with a Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump—a more energy efficient heating and cooling system. It is expected to reduce emissions by up to 50%, lowering facility operating costs so more resources can be used to enhance programs that serve our community.

• Washington County Hybrid Patrol Vehicles and River Patrol Boats ($1,600,000)
  This funding will allow the Washington County Sheriff's Office to invest in the latest hybrid vehicle technology to help reduce fuel consumption and the impact the fleet has on the environment. Robust and safe watercraft are necessary to perform safety patrols, search and rescue, critical infrastructure protection, and responding to emergencies.

• Latino Economic Development Center Plaza del Sol ($1,000,000)
  The funding will be used for the rehabilitation of Plaza del Sol, to house at least eight small businesses. Additionally, the commissary kitchen will be the launchpad for dozens of new Latino-owned small businesses annually.

• Neighborhood Development Center Cybersecurity Information Center ($1,600,000)
  This funding will be used in partnership with Metro State University to build out space as a cybersecurity information center to assist small neighborhood businesses, as well as launch a program for budding cybersecurity professionals to hone their skills.

• City of Birchwood Village Lift Station ($480,000)
  This funding will be used for the replacement of the City's current sewer lift station, which is subject to corrosion due to a neighboring community's water main break that flooded and damaged the station.

• City of Woodbury Drinking Water Treatment Facility ($3,450,000)
  This funding will be used to connect to a new water treatment facility addressing PFAS contamination in order to improve drinking water quality for residents.

• Ordway Center for Performing Arts Facilities Improvement ($3,930,000)
  This funding will help replace the roof above the Ordway's Music Theater, upgrade its lighting infrastructure, and install LED light fixtures – so it can continue to provide opportunities to engage, entertain, and inspire our community.

• Penumbra Positive Racial Identity Development for Youth ($1,000,000)
  This funding will support the development, testing, and early implementation of Penumbra Theatre's PRIDE (Positive Racial Identity Development & Empowerment) curriculum, supporting children of all races as they learn about concepts and experiences of race, identity, and social justice at developmentally critical stages.

• Playwrights' Center ($4,000,000)
  These dollars will fund the redesign and renovation of the Playwrights' Center, which supports playwrights and promotes new plays to production at theaters across the country.

• Agricultural Research Service Cereal Disease Lab located at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus ($7,000,000)
  This initial funding will help lay the groundwork for the planning and development of a new next generation laboratory facility that will make gains in addressing emerging pathogenic strains in important agricultural crops in order to mitigate risks to U.S. agriculture and our global food supply.

You can find reactions from leaders of all of the above organizations at mccollum.house.gov. I'm proud to be delivering for Minnesota priorities and communities.