Minnesota officials say funds for this fiscal year’s low-income home energy assistance program, or LIHEAP, were finally received after months of delays, but concern remains as the Trump Administration proposes eliminating the program in 2026.
A release from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which facilitates the program in the state, stated the agency stands to lose $125 million in funding. Minnesota's Energy Assistance program helps 125,000 income-eligible households each winter pay for utility bills. Participants also have access to emergency heating funds like propane tank refills and furnace repair.
“Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program has proven its value as an effective, efficient way to ensure families have homes that are safe and warm,” said Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. “For more than four decades, the federal government has been a reliable partner in funding LIHEAP to keep energy affordable for all Minnesotans. Eliminating this vital program is not government efficiency. It’s abandonment.”
Homeowners and renters in Northern Minnesota are expected to be heavily impacted by this funding cut, as a higher percentage of households receive energy assistance due to the region’s higher energy costs.
“Minnesotans are facing serious energy affordability challenges,” said Citizens Utility Board Executive Director Annie Levenson-Falk. “Nearly 91,000 Minnesota households had their regulated electric or gas service shut off for nonpayment last year, more than any year for which our organization has compiled data, going back to 2015. And that doesn’t include customers of municipal or cooperative utilities, or families who struggled to afford propane or fuel oil refills.”
The Minnesota Department of Commerce reports 75% of energy assistance recipients are seniors, people with disabilities or families with young children; and that the program helps lower the costs for all utility ratepayers by reducing the costs of past-due or unpaid bills onto other customers.
“During the winter months, we receive urgent calls almost every day from people in Duluth and across the Iron Range who are facing disconnect notices, running out of propane or heating oil, or dealing with a broken furnace,” said Jean Pelletier, an Energy Assistance Program coordinator in the Arrowhead.
“These are life-threatening emergencies, and energy assistance allows us to step in and help. If LIHEAP disappears, we will have no options to help our neighbors, including people in our communities who live on fixed incomes. I know people who could lose their homes without this support.”
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Plus: MnDOT will host a listening session at the Fosston High School Gymnasium on June 23, 2025, ahead of planned construction on Highway 2; the Minnesota DNR is seeking a wide range of perspectives for fisheries input groups on Lake Winnie and Rainy Lake; and animal experts urge pet owners to remain vigilant during bouts of Canadian wildfire smoke.
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And: Heintzeman, other Northern Minnesotans on water stewardship task force; federal cuts could hurt one of Greater Minnesota’s leading industries; local women elected officials feature in Beltrami County panel; and St. Louis County crafting new traffic safety plan.
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The Beltrami County Historical Society will present “Women Elected to Lead: Voices from Local Government” on Saturday in Bemidji.
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St. Louis County is building a new safety action plan for county roads outside Duluth. The public can share safety concerns and suggestions.
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The charge stems from an assault, apparently stemming from a $100 debt, that left another man dead in Beltrami County on June 15, 2025.
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The Minnesota DNR is looking for local or statewide anglers, local business and resort owners and others with a stake in activities on Lake Winnibigoshish or Rainy Lake.
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Emergency officials are still assessing damage after two tornadoes on Monday and are warning of unlicensed or uninsured contractors trying to take advantage of those needing repairs.
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The agency will host an open house at the Fosston High School from 4-6:30 p.m. on Monday.
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Manufacturers are pushing for the renewal of funding for a program that helps small to mid-size companies.
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The first tornado began northwest of Pillager and ended after crossing Gull Lake. The second touched down north of North Long Lake near Merrifield before ending just before Ironton.