Moorhead officials report mixed 2025 legislative results; TIF extension and partial flood mitigation funding noted

Lisa Bodie, the city's governmental affairs director, told the Moorhead Economic Development Authority that the 2025 legislative session and a subsequent special session produced mixed results for Moorhead's priorities.

Bodie said the Legislature approved a five-year rule extension for tax increment financing that will allow Moorhead to capture incremental tax revenue for 10 years instead of five to help repay downtown demolition and infrastructure investments. "It gives people more time," she said.

On flood mitigation, Bodie said the city still has roughly $17,000,000 remaining to complete Moorhead's flood mitigation compatible with the Fargo-Moorhead diversion project; the Legislature approved $9,000,000 statewide but the Department of Natural Resources has not yet confirmed how much of that will be allocated to Moorhead. Bodie said that, because of construction inflation, the city's next-year request would be about $18,500,000 if no funding arrives in the interim.

Bodie noted other outcomes: local government aid was spared cuts in 2025; a sales-tax exemption for construction materials for sustainable aviation fuel facilities was approved (noted as a potential benefit to DG Fuels); and the Moorhead Cultural Mall was named as eligible for arts programming funding through an application process to be administered by the Minnesota Humanities Center.

Items that did not pass included requested modifications to the Border Cities Enterprise Zone and a proposed sales-tax exemption for construction materials for the city hall project, Bodie said.

Why it matters: The TIF extension provides more time to capture revenue tied to downtown redevelopment; the flood mitigation funding remains a material outstanding need with a multi-million-dollar gap. Bodie described the session as one where the city "played defense" amid a constrained state budget.

The EDA asked clarifying questions about how funds will be allocated and next steps; Bodie said city staff and regional partners such as Clay County and FM diversion stakeholders would continue advocacy. No formal action was recorded at the EDA meeting.