By Maya Betti
The city of Northfield will provide $50,000 to the Community Action Center (CAC) for emergency rental assistance for people facing eviction amid recent federal immigration enforcement and related economic disruptions.
The City Council, meeting Feb. 17 as the Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), voted 6-0 to approve the funding for the CAC, which operates a food shelf and provides services in housing, health care access and other services. Council Member Kathleen Holmes abstained from voting due to a professional contract with the CAC.
This decision will double the city’s 2026 budget for rental assistance through the CAC; with the additional funding the HRA will spend a total of $100,000 on rental assistance this year.
The additional $50,000 will come from the HRA’s reserves.
CAC Interim Executive Director Anika Rychner said the organization has seen a sharp increase in requests for rental assistance since early January as families lost income while sheltering in place out of fear.
As of mid-February, the CAC has received more than 250 requests for financial assistance across Rice County. Roughly 150 of those came from Northfield.
Some households have already received eviction notices.
Requested assistance typically ranges, Rychner said. People typically request somewhere between $600 to $1,200 in assistance – enough to cover one month’s rent. According to the The CAC the additional $50,000 could stabilize approximately 50 to 55 families for a month.
“I think sometimes these requests can feel like a charity or a grant,” Rychner said. “And I think it’s important for our community to know that this truly impacts all of us in different ways — and that to maintain people in their own housing is much more cost effective than paying for all of the costs to come if these families lose their housing.”
According to Rychner, income loss among 50 households could result in roughly $265,000 in reduced local economic activity when considering lost wages.
Mayor Erica Zweifel said she was “grateful” the city has an opportunity to help limit that wider impact.
“I think it is so smart to move forward in this way, to catch it at this point, and to help people in this moment, keep them in their homes, keep them [as] valuable, contributing members of our community,” she said.
The CAC will provide a report to the HRA in early 2027 detailing the use of the funds.
“I think it makes a lot of sense for us to intervene here when we can and hope that the situation improves,” Council Member Jessica Peterson-White said. “Because the negative impact on our community is tremendous right now.”
The next regular Northfield City Council meeting is scheduled for March 3 at 6:00 p.m.. Meetings are held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 801 Washington Street, Northfield, MN.
Maya Betti is a Junior at St. Olaf College, one of the executive Editors of the Olaf Messenger, and a news intern with KYMN. Contact her at news@kymnradio.net
