Cities of Fairmont and St. James Compete for a Good Cause

This year marked the first food shelf fundraising challenge between the cities of St. James and Fairmont. Led by current mayors and longtime friends, Jon Wilson and Lee Baarts, the competition came about as a way to engage the community in a friendly rivalry while supporting their respective county’s food shelves.

The challenge coincided with the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, with the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches providing matching funds for contributions. It was promoted on social media, in local newspapers, and by TV station KEYC.

As a result, it saw widespread participation from city leaders, residents, nonprofits, schools, and businesses. The challenge also leveraged existing food drives and encouraged extra effort from these groups. The winning city was determined by the count of donated money and pounds of food, adjusted per capita.

According to Stevie Ciske, the Watonwan County Food Shelf coordinator, the St. James community raised 12,084 pounds of food and $25,102, and Martin County raised more than 14,000 pounds of food and $15,383. While St. James won the challenge, the true victory was the support provided to those in need.

“Simply, it was just a fun way to help those in need,” Wilson said. “Everyone won in this challenge, that was the best part.”

The challenge also inspired the Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties to do their own friendly competition, creating a positive ripple effect

Revamped 4M Fund Website Boasts User-Friendly Features

The Minnesota Municipal Money Market Fund (4M Fund), a League of Minnesota Cities sponsored investment program for cities and public entities, recently unveiled a fresh website design to enhance user experience for current and prospective fund participants. The revamped site boasts user-friendly features like streamlined navigation, easy-to-find account access, and daily fund rates displayed prominently on the homepage. Visitors can also find the latest information about the 4M Fund’s strong AAAm Standard & Poor’s rating, along with clear contact details, and a transparent data practices section. Visit the 4M Fund website at 4mfund.com.

NLC City Summit Slated for Tampa in November

The National League of Cities (NLC) 2024 City Summit is happening Nov. 13-16 in Tampa, Fla. This is an event where city staff and elected officials learn about the issues affecting local government and expand their professional network.

At City Summit 2024, NLC will feature workshops that cover trending and emerging topics that impact local governments, share timely resources that can help your community thrive, and provide executive education to build your leadership skills. During this national event, you’ll connect with experts as well as your peers from across the country, and network with thought leaders from the public and private sectors. Learn more and register at citysummit.nlc.org.

City Websites Will Be Required to Meet ADA Accessibility Standards

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been around about as long as the internet. But until recently, the rules surrounding the ADA and access to technology were less clear. A new rule, signed by the United States Attorney General in April, adopts a technical standard for web and mobile accessibility to ensure that people with disabilities can better access important public services.

For most cities, this will require significant upgrades to websites and web applications, including those you may use with third parties for credit card processing, reservations, or other online service features.

Cities with populations less than 50,000, as well as special district governments, will have to comply beginning on April 26, 2027. Cities with populations of 50,000 or more will have to follow the rule’s requirements beginning on April 24, 2026. In the meantime, cities must provide people with disabilities equal access to their services, programs, and activities offered via the web and mobile apps in accordance with existing ADA Title II obligations.

Because of the significant amount of work most entities will have to do to adhere to the new standards, cities are encouraged to start making plans now for implementation.

The League of Minnesota Cities is working with federal, state, and business partners to ensure cities have the information, training, and resources to make the changes necessary to follow ADA rules. We will share resources as they become available. To learn more about the ADA, visit bit.ly/ADA-rule-change_2024.

What Do We Do When a Local Newspaper Closes?

Recently, headlines announced more local newspapers closing shop across Minnesota. Providing information to residents and posting legal notices are still necessary functions of government that are tied to newspapers. When a city is faced with a local newspaper closing, there are factors to consider.

Cities with populations over 1,000 must publish meeting minutes, or a summary of the minutes, in their official newspaper. The publication of the minutes must occur within 30 days of the meeting date, or, if the council does not meet more than once every 30 days, by 10 days after the minutes are formally approved. As an alternative to publishing, a city may choose to mail a copy of the minutes upon request. The city bears the mailing cost. Statutory cities under 1,000 in population are not required to publish their council meeting minutes.

When choosing an official publication, Minnesota statutes outline what is considered a qualified newspaper, which includes requirements around circulation area and size, publishing frequency, and space devoted to news of local interest.

When there is more than one qualified newspaper to choose from, statutes indicate an order of priority. When choosing a newspaper, cities can enter into contracts for up to three years. If no qualified newspaper exists, publication is not required.

For more information, visit lmc.org/newspaper-publication.