ST. CLOUD -- Governor Tim Walz was in St. Cloud Thursday as part of his Statewide Public Safety Tour.

The governor is proposing $300-million to help communities across the state address their most urgent public safety needs.

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Walz says this proposal would provide local leaders the necessary funding to invest in the resources they need to better serve their communities.

So if you're saying we're not able to hire enough people because of the resources, pay or folks jumping to other professions we need to expand the pool. So if these proposals help with that or not we want to know.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says their biggest struggles right now include retaining and recruiting enough officers and firefighters, without lowering their public safety standards.

Under the proposal, St. Cloud would receive roughly $1.2-million over the next three years to invest in retention and recruitment efforts and other community outreach or educational efforts.

Walz specifically pointed out support of the COP House and Co-Responder programs as initiatives other communities should look into.

What we love what St. Cloud is doing here is the individual communities are innovating. And some of the programs may not work that's fine, but we need to be encouraging other communities to take chances, so when we have programs like the COP House, let's replicate them elsewhere.

Walz credits St. Cloud for their devoted partnership and collaboration efforts with the surrounding communities due to their regional draw.

Other stops in the governor's tour include Stillwater, St. Louis Park, Duluth, Brooklyn Park, Eagan and North Minneapolis.

 

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