ST. PAUL 鈥� Subzero temps didn鈥檛 stop a crowd of 100 Minnesota housing advocates Tuesday morning from bundling up and gathering in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda carrying signs that read 鈥淎ffordable Housing can鈥檛 wait鈥� and 鈥淪tart with home!鈥�
Minnesota Habitat for Humanity, Minnesota Housing Partnership and Beacon Minnesota organized the Tuesday, Jan. 21 rally, which featured remarks from Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan and legislative housing chairs Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, and Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 not lost on anybody in this building that days like today are life-and-death situations for our unsheltered neighbors,鈥� Walz said, referring to the subzero temperatures. 鈥淭hank you for being the hearty Minnesotans you are today.鈥�
While no statewide housing bills have been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature so far this session, the rally urged priorities like zoning reform, rent stabilization, increased housing supply, tenant protections and access to home ownership. Advocates at Tuesday鈥檚 rally said they are also looking to push a constitutional amendment that would secure long-term, dedicated funding for housing.
Last year, the Legislature saw similar housing priorities surface. The 鈥渕issing middle鈥� housing bill, which aimed to build more multifamily housing like duplexes across the state, gained the most traction but ultimately failed to pass opponents who said it was too 鈥渙ne size fits all鈥� for Minnesota cities. By the end of the session, almost all of Minnesota鈥檚 housing bills came up short in 2024 following the state making
With a legislature in chaos and a tighter budget , lawmakers at Tuesday鈥檚 rally didn鈥檛 shy away from talking about the difficulties housing bills could face this year.
鈥淚鈥檓 so proud that when we had the opportunity, we put over $2 billion total into housing,鈥� Port said at Tuesday鈥檚 rally. 鈥淏ut now, even though we have a different economic outlook, we cannot stop advocating for housing to be one of the top priorities of this Legislature.鈥�
Igo was the only Republican to speak at Tuesday鈥檚 event. He called attention to the slogan of the day, 鈥淪tart with home,鈥� and how he sees housing as a smart investment in other aspects of communities like education and the economy.
鈥淭he state, together, thrives when we 鈥榮tart with home,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can bridge the gap between left and right and realize that we need to work together for housing. It鈥檚 going to be tough with finding the money 鈥� because the state is in tough times, but we can find money in other ways, by looking at regulations, by looking at ways to streamline things.鈥�
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Flanagan focused on the goals of homeownership during her remarks, sharing with the crowd that she became a homeowner in St. Louis Park just last year.
鈥淚t matters that my daughter has a place for sleepovers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t matters that there鈥檚 a place for her to do her homework, and even when there is a ruptured pipe in the basement, it鈥檚 our ruptured pipe in the basement.鈥�
In 2024, half of all renters found housing unaffordable in Minnesota, and cost-burdened households in the state rose from 590,538 to 641,549, an increase of 9% from 2023, according to Minnesota Housing Partnership鈥檚 2024
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