Jodi Harpstead, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, announced her resignation Monday. She will leave the department Feb. 3.
Gov. Tim Walz appointed Harpstead in 2019 to lead the massive agency, which administers federal health care and food assistance programs, homelessness and housing resources and disability services, among other programs. The agency accounts for nearly one-third of the state budget.
Harpstead oversaw DHS as the Legislature split it in three, placing some of the agency’s responsibilities in the newly-created departments of Children, Youth and Families and Direct Care and Treatment.
“I’m pleased that we were able to balance new, stronger process controls with greater responsiveness to community partners, worked with the DHS grants and contracts team to imagine a re-design of the agency’s thousands of grants, and built an unparalleled team of strong senior leaders,” Harpstead said in a press release announcing her departure.
The agency faced criticism during Harpstead’s tenure for its failure to follow its own grant management policies. An April 2024 audit found that the agency didn’t follow procedures for avoiding conflicts of interest and gauging whether nonprofits were financially stable enough to receive state grants.
The agency has also struggled to rein in fraud in recent years. DHS had contracts with more than two dozen individuals facing criminal charges in the Feeding our Future fraud case. DHS is also investigating a bevy of autism service providers on suspicion of fraud.
Gov. Tim Walz announced an anti-fraud initiative earlier this month, including an executive order and proposed legislation to catch and stop the theft of public money from safety net programs after numerous audits, prosecutions and investigations uncovered massive fraud schemes that have misappropriated hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
-
Danique van Kesteren/Bandcamp"Dark Sky Reserve" by Robin Kester is KAXE's Album of the Week for Sept. 15-21, 2025. -
Contributed/University of Minnesota CrookstonAn official census will be announced by the Board of Regents in early October, but U of M Crookston said it expects to pass the record set in the 2014-15 school year. -
The American Bear Association-owned sanctuary near Orr started with one man feeding black bears to co-exist. The nonprofit continues the practice to educate visitors. -
And: Highway 7 near Iron will be closed for about five days starting Monday; and the U of M seeks nominations from NW MN for Growing Local Leadership course.
-
Megan Buffington/KAXENevis Public School reported the student for threatening to bring a gun to school on Sept. 11, 2025. -
Contributed/Minnesota DNRThe Cook County/Grand Marais Joint Economic Development Authority is seeking 12-15 members from Cook and Lake counties to serve on an advisory committee for the Taconite Harbor Redevelopment Project. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEBeltrami County is proposing a 41% reduction in community funding for libraries in Blackduck and Bemidji, as well as the Beltrami County Historical Society and Paul Bunyan Transit, for the 2026 budget. -
During the Phenology Report for the week of Sept. 9, 2025, Staff Phenologist John Latimer talks fall colors, fuzzy caterpillars and hummingbird migration. -
The cost is 40 cents per pound for businesses and billing will be accomplished through the landfill office on Sept. 18, 2025. Computer equipment and other electronics are accepted. -
Events this week include Flapjack Festival in Brainerd, 'Annie' in Pequot Lakes, Open Mic Night in Park Rapids, Starapalooza at Long Lake Conservation Center and the Fall Bazaar in Buhl.
