As new federal spending cuts seem to be announced almost daily, some may wonder how those cuts might affect people who live in Northeast Minneapolis and the surrounding communities.
Some of the recipients of federal money include East Side Neighborhood Services, the Meals on Wheels program and a national park that goes through Northeast Minneapolis.
Patrick Rowen, executive director of the Metro Meals on Wheels, said about 100 residents in Northeast and St. Anthony receive Meals on Wheels each week, and that so far the $2 million in funding from the federal government has not been changed. The program also receives money from other sources.
“Our biggest concern is the confusion around funding. While most of our programs seem safe from elimination, we will likely see cuts of up to 20% which would mean that 20-25 seniors in Northeast may lose their Meals on Wheels,” Rowen said.
The real impact so far has been the uncertainty, causing vulnerable neighbors anxiety about losing access to Meals on Wheels.
“There just a lot of confusion. So far the cutting has been limited to DEI, immigration and other programs but not Meals on Wheels. But we keep our eye on developments in D.C., and there may be some general budget cutting on the way.
“What we tell folks is that any change will be months down the line and don’t expect anything in the near future. As soon as we learn anything, we will communicate with our clients directly.”
Northeast’s national park
For many, the fact that there are federal programs and spending in Northeast may come as a revelation.
For instance, did you know that the Mississippi River from Dayton to Hastings is a national park? Or that the park has a staff of 20 people, and three have already been let go because of the federal cuts? And there may be more.
Ellen Reed, the executive director of the Mississippi Park Connection (MPC), a non-profit that supports the park, called the cuts and frozen funding “really alarming.”
“I’m a taxpayer, I want to see my taxes used wisely, but I can tell you that this national park is doing a good job with the taxpayer dollars.”
The park and the MPC are involved in tree planting along the shores of the river to preserve the natural canopy. The MPC operates a kayak rental place at Boom Island.
One of the more troubling results of freezing federal funds, Reed said, is that some of the frozen funds were to pay for contracts that have already been completed. MPC contracted more than $2.6 million that was budgeted over four years to do various projects such as removal of ash trees, replanting and hiring AmeriCorps workers.
“We signed the contracts to do the work, and we’ve done our work and now the funds are frozen. When the government cancels a contract after the invoices have been submitted, that’s a problem.”
She said the MPC is raising the alarm because the national park employees cannot. “They just say, ‘We’ll continue to do the people’s work as long as we can.’”
Mary Ostapenko Anstett, president of East Side Neighborhood Services, says federal cuts have not affected the agency — yet. (Al Zdon)
East Side Neighborhood Services
One agency with many helping hands in the Northeast community is East Side Neighborhood Services, an umbrella non-profit that oversees 14 different programs to help people, most in Northeast but also throughout Hennepin County.
The good news, so far, is that none of the federal funding the agency gets is in trouble at present.
ESNS has been operating for 110 years and has programs that deal with food shelves, creative arts, family healing and employment for older adults. The two programs that rely the most on federal funding are the Vital Living program and the Senior Transportation program. Neither has been cut.
The Vital Living program helps people stay in their homes and offers educational classes as well as helping older folks stay connected to other people. The Senior Transportation Program provides door-to-door rides to medical appointments, social needs or recreational opportunities.
Mary Ostapenko Anstett, president of ESNS, said there’s “a feeling of uncertainty” at the agency and at all agencies that get federal funding. She’s not certain why, but in January, the state did not provide any of its payments, which resulted in a late payroll for staff. She doesn’t know if the state action was related in any way to the federal cutting.
While federal funding is stable at this point, Anstett pointed out that all agencies that serve the community are operating with fewer dollars in recent years. ESNS once had a $9 million annual budget and now operates on $7 million annually.
The major change, she said, has been the erosion of United Way money. Many corporations who used to contribute to United Way now search out their own beneficiaries. “They want to have more control over where their money is spent.”
ESNS recently had a fund drive of its own, and reached $46,000 of a goal of $50,000.
Other federal changes
Other Northeast enterprises may feel the pinch of actions by the U.S. government. The U.S. is set to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico. They have been delayed until April 2 as of the printing of this paper but were originally set to go into effect March 4.
All companies that rely on Canadian goods will find the price going up significantly, and all those that export to Canada will face retaliatory tariffs from north of the border.
For example, this newspaper and nearly every newspaper in the U.S. relies on Canadian newsprint. A 25% increase in cost will be felt in newsrooms across the country as well as in Northeast.