Northern MN lawmakers propose constitutional amendment for land transfers

ST. PAUL — Two Northern Minnesota lawmakers are proposing a constitutional amendment to require a legislative supermajority for land transfers.

Republican state Sen. Steve Green of Fosston and state Rep. Matt Bliss of Pennington introduced the measure Tuesday, Jan. 21. This came one week after DFL state Sen. Mary Kunesh of New Brighton brought back an Upper Red Lake transfer bill to the Senate floor after it fizzled out in committee last session.

The amendment proposal was applauded in a news release from the Save Upper Red Lake for All Coalition — a group opposed to transferring state lands or waters around Upper Red Lake to the Red Lake Nation.

Bliss and Green’s proposed amendment to the state’s constitution would require a three-fifths supermajority vote in both legislative chambers to approve the transfer or sale of public land below market value.

Bliss stated in the release that the proposed transfers of thousands of acres of public land would devastate communities like Waskish and limit access to Upper Red Lake, due to Red Lake Nation’s unique status as one of the only closed reservations in the United States.

“This amendment is a practical safeguard,” Bliss said. “It maintains the state’s ability to divest surplus parcels under 640 acres—necessary for inventory management by the Department of Natural Resources—but ensures that large-scale transfers receive the same level of scrutiny as bonding bills, which also require a supermajority vote.”

Red Lake’s sovereign laws limit access to its resources, such as Lower Red Lake and the western shore of Upper Red Lake, to only its members and those working for the betterment of the Band.