LCCMR elects Chairs and Vice Chairs

SAINT PAUL, MN (05/13/2025) (readMedia)-- The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) elected Rita Albrecht (Bemidji), Sen. Foung Hawj (DFL-St. Paul), and Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL-Minneapolis), as Chairs, and Sen. Steve Green (R-Fosston), Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa), and Seth Moore (Grand Portage) as Vice Chairs, during the LCCMR meeting held on April 28, 2025. Elections followed the appointment of new and returning members to the 17-member commission tasked with making recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature for special environment and natural resource projects funded through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF).

Appointments to the LCCMR were recently announced with House leadership appointing house members, Senate leadership appointing senate members, and the Governor appointing three at-large citizen members. Of the recent appointments, six members are new to the commission.

Governor Walz appointed Albrecht and Michelle Beeman (St. Paul) to the LCCMR for terms ending December 31, 2028, and Monica Hedstrom (Mahnomen) for a term ending December 31, 2027. Hedstrom's appointment comes at the recommendation of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. The Senate Subcommittee on Committees appointed Senators Green, Hawj, Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth), Aric Putnam (DFL-St. Cloud), and Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) to the LCCMR for terms ending December 31, 2026.

Per a power sharing agreement in the House of Representatives, Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park) appointed Representatives Peter Fischer (DFL-Maplewood), Jordan, and Leon Lillie (DFL-North Saint Paul) to the LCCMR. Jordan and Lillie's terms on the LCCMR will end December 31, 2026, and Fischer's term will end December 31, 2025. Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) appointed Representatives Heintzeman and Roger Skraba (R-Ely) to the LCCMR for terms ending December 31, 2027. Representative Dawn Gillman (R-Dassel) is appointed for a term beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending December 31, 2026, assuming Fischer's seat.

These appointed members will join current LCCMR members William Faber (Cushing), Shona Langseth (Preston), Moore, and Michael Reese (Hancock), whose terms end December 31, 2025. The LCCMR thanks departing LCCMR members Representatives Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley), Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul), and Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul), and citizen members Nancy Gibson (St. Louis Park) and Jeremy Peichel (Roseville) for their service and dedication to Minnesota's environment and natural resources.

The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund is a permanent dedicated fund in the Minnesota state treasury that was established by 77% voter approval of a constitutional amendment in 1988. The amendment directs forty percent of the net proceeds of the Minnesota State Lottery into the Trust Fund through the year 2050. Since 1991, approximately $1.1 billion from the ENRTF has been spent on over 1,700 projects that protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources in every county of the state.

The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources is made up of 5 state senators, 5 state representatives, and 7 citizen members. The function of the LCCMR is to make funding recommendations to the Minnesota State Legislature for special environment and natural resource projects, primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The LCCMR developed from a program initiated in 1963. Since then, approximately $1.5 billion has been appropriated to over 2,600 projects recommended to protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.

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