Walz Signs $1.2 Billion Bonding Bill With $26 Million for Central Minnesota

(KNSI) – Central Minnesota communities are set to share in nearly $26 million worth of road, water, and trail work after Governor Tim Walz ceremonially signed the state’s $1.2 billion bonding bill on Friday.

Walz put pen to paper at the Third Street Bridge construction site in St. Paul, a project itself paid for through earlier bonding bills in 2020 and 2023. “I’m proud of the 2026 bonding bill, a $1.2 billion investment in our state’s infrastructure that caps off eight years of more than $8 billion in investments across Minnesota,” Walz said.

The governor said the package was built with fiscal responsibility in mind and is meant to secure jobs, strengthen the economy, and support public works, transportation, housing, and water systems for decades.

Statewide, the 2026 bonding bill steers $437 million toward water infrastructure, $252 million toward asset preservation, and $180 million toward transportation. Most of the money flows to projects run by local governments, nonprofits, and Tribal governments.

State officials say the bill pushes Minnesota past $8 billion in infrastructure spending over eight years, a stretch that included the record $2.6 billion bonding bill in 2023, the largest in state history.
Closer to home, the awards are spread across three central Minnesota counties.

Stearns County and St. Cloud

St. Cloud came away as the area’s biggest winner, landing three separate grants. The city will receive $3.4 million to buy right-of-way and build public infrastructure for the 5th Avenue South Campus and Downtown Connection project, along with another $3 million for the Mississippi Riverwalk Connection, which covers trail and pathway construction, riverbank stabilization, and shoreline restoration.
Stearns County will get $3 million to design and rebuild 322nd Street between County State-Aid Highway 4 and County State-Aid Highway 133, in and around St. Cloud.

The single largest local award goes to Cold Spring, which secured $5.5 million to design and engineer upgrades to its wastewater treatment facility. Holdingford will put $1 million toward designing and building a new primary lift station, and South Haven picked up $3.5 million for new water distribution and sanitary sewer systems and the reconstruction of city streets.

Benton County and Sauk Rapids

Benton County will receive $3 million to redesign and rebuild County State-Aid Highway 1, also known as Mayhew Lake Road, between 14th Avenue and 35th Street in Sauk Rapids. The work includes building and rebuilding six roundabouts along the corridor.

Sherburne County

In Big Lake, the city will direct $3.5 million toward designing and engineering improvements and renovations at its wastewater treatment facility.

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