March held Thursday in St. Paul to protest cuts made by Trump administration

State workers rally against federal cuts, layoffs

State workers rally against federal cuts, layoffs

A march was held near the Minnesota Capitol on Thursday to protest efforts by the Trump administration to reshape spending by the federal government.

The event comes one day after the Walz administration launched a new website to track how much federal funding Minnesota has lost under the current administration. The dashboard, which will be updated by the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), will be updated daily, according to Governor Tim Walz’s office. You can find the dashboard by CLICKING HERE.

According to that site’s dashboard, Minnesota has lost nearly $300 million in federal funds, and roughly $56 million has been disrupted, according to state agencies.

On Thursday, state workers protested the cuts, saying money used to track measles, the bird flu, heating assistance and flooding mitigation has been slashed. In addition, 170 workers at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) were laid off last week, and the agency says another 130 people are at risk of losing their jobs.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty. People are afraid. We’re still trying to get a full picture of what this looks like and what the impact is going to be,” said Lydia Fess, an employee at the MDH who received a layoff notice.

Thursday’s march traveled from the Freeman Office Building to the Centennial Building.

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