White Bear Lake Area Historical Society grant funding provided, and money appropriated.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brion Curran and 2 co-sponsors

The bill would authorize and appropriate state grant funds to the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society to support its operations and programs.

Author added Virnig

Purpose and intent

HF 243 proposes to provide state grant funding to the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society and to appropriate money for this purpose. The bill is focused on supporting the historical society, presumably to advance its operations, exhibits, preservation efforts, or community programming related to local history in the White Bear Lake area.

Key provisions and changes

Grant funding for White Bear Lake Area Historical Society: The bill designates state financial support to the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society. The exact grant amount is not specified in the available summary, but the bill’s primary action is to authorize and appropriate funds for this organization.

Appropriation of funds: The bill includes an appropriation to cover the grant (i.e., earmarked state dollars allocated to the historical society). This involves specifying the source and total amount of funds to be disbursed to the organization.

Administration and timing: While details are not provided in the summary, typical provisions would include how the funds are to be administered (e.g., by the Minnesota Historical Society or a state fiscal agent), reporting requirements, and timelines for disbursement and use. The bill’s introduction and first reading indicate it is the initial step in the legislative process, with potential subsequent committee action in Capital Investment.

Who would be affected

Primary beneficiary: White Bear Lake Area Historical Society, which would receive designated grant funds to support its activities.

State and local stakeholders: Depending on the grant’s purpose, local residents, visitors, researchers, and stakeholders in White Bear Lake area history could benefit from enhanced preservation, programming, or facilities funded by this grant.

State government: Involvement of appropriated funds means oversight, accounting, and potential reporting obligations to the legislature and the public.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduced and referred: The bill was introduced on February 10, 2025, and referred to the Capital Investment committee, indicating it is part of the state’s capital investment (bonding/grants) process.

Author and sponsors:

House author: (not listed in the excerpt)
Co-sponsors: Bianca Virnig (Virnig added as author on Feb 17, 2025), Brion Curran, Peter Fischer

Next steps: The bill would typically proceed through Capital Investment committee hearings, potential amendments, and a floor vote. If advanced, it would move to the broader appropriations or finance processes and await reconciliation with the Senate version.

Notes

The available information does not include the exact funding amount, grant duration, match requirements (if any), reporting obligations, or eligible uses of the funds. Those details would be specified in the bill text and any adopted amendments during committee.

As with all bonding/appropriation bills, final passage depends on legislative negotiations, budget alignment, and votes in both chambers.

Bill