SIGNIFICANT SETBACK

A state bonding bill, which helps provide needed funds for different infrastructure projects across the state, wasn’t voted on this year in St. Paul, which has now left some communities in Greater Minnesota, and elsewhere concerned about how crucial projects will get done.
One of the communities left without needed funding is the city of Byron.
Byron City Administrator Al Roder, said city officials had a bonding request for the planning and funds needed for design work for two interchanges on Highway 14, at County Road 3 and County Road 5.
Now when or if the funding will come is up in the air.
“This is a significant setback to our efforts for moving the Highway 14 project forward in the short term,” Roder wrote in an email. “We will continue to pursue any other avenues available to us for moving forward with this project.”
He said in the previous bonding bill, Byron received no funds.
Roder said the funding request was $8 million, and confirmed a request for federal dollars has been made.
Down the road in Kasson, city officials are relieved no funding was being proposed this year from the city.
“We did not have any projects we were asking for in 2024,” City Administrator Tim Ibisch wrote in an email.
Last year’s bonding bill however, was beneficial for the community.
“Kasson did [receive] funding from the 2023 bonding bill for a water retention project and rebuild in SW Kasson. It is currently being planned and engineered,” Ibisch wrote.