BEMIDJI — Beltrami County and Bemidji are seeking a legislative fix to an “unintended loophole” that has local governments on the hook for $2.5 million in recovery costs from the June 2025 storm.
Winds as strong as a Category 3 hurricane caused over $11 million in damage across northwestern Minnesota, concentrated in the Bemidji area. The total fell about $800,000 short of the federal disaster assistance threshold.
But Minnesota is one of the few states with its own disaster assistance program, so the state Disaster Assistance Contingency Account will cover 75% of recovery costs.
That still leaves a significant bill for local governments to foot. Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince told the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee on Wednesday, April 8, that has created a second storm, this one financial.
A bill introduced by Republican Rep. Bidal Duran would make a one-time exception to the state’s cost-sharing model and cover the remaining 25% for local governments in Beltrami County.
Disaster recovery funds can be used to repair public infrastructure, like buildings, roads and parks, and cover emergency work, like debris removal.
The storm damage totals actually did exceed the federal disaster threshold, but $1.5 million damage on the Leech Lake Reservation couldn’t be included in Beltrami County’s damage estimates because the Leech Lake Band pursued federal assistance directly.
“While appropriate and consistent with federal policy, this process had the unintended consequence of reducing the county’s official damage assessment to just below the required threshold, despite the fact that the true impact across our shared region clearly exceeded it,” Beltrami County Administrator Tom Barry testified to the committee.
“As a result, the county is left bearing a disproportionate financial burden for a disaster of regional scale.”
If damage had met the threshold, federal dollars would have covered 75% of costs, and the state would have stepped in to cover the remaining 25%.
The $2.5 million in uncovered costs also spans Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman and Todd counties, but Barry estimated the vast majority, $1.7 million to $2.1 million, is in Beltrami County. The county's total budget in 2026 is around $36 million.
As the second poorest county in the state with median incomes well below the state average, Barry said the county doesn’t have the capacity to absorb those costs.
“Please,” he told the committee. “Our community suffered an unprecedented loss in the June 21st windstorm, and now we risk falling short of full recovery due to an unintended loophole.”
The bill was laid over by the committee. The Department of Public Safety opposed the bill, arguing it undermines long-standing precedent.
“As a fellow elected official, I understand the value of precedent. I understand the value of being fair and equitable,” Prince said. “But sometimes situations come up that are exceptional that defy the standard and that cause bodies to relook at policy and reconsider them.”
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