Otter Tail County opens opioid settlement grants for youth prevention

Otter Tail County is putting about $3.1 million in opioid settlement money to work over the next 18 years, and the next grant round will center on primary prevention programs with a strong emphasis on youth. Applications open June 1 and run through July 15, giving local groups a narrow window to compete for money tied to one of the county’s most visible public-health threats.

County officials say the funding is meant for community efforts that can stop substance abuse before it starts. Otter Tail County Public Health and the Otter Tail County Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Council are accepting proposals that fit the county’s priorities, including evidence-based and evidence-informed programs, along with innovative and culturally specific approaches. The county said the application process was shaped by community input.

To help organizations prepare, the county will host two applicant webinars, one on June 8 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and another on June 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Those sessions will be the main chance for applicants to hear how the county wants to steer the money in this round and what proposals are most likely to rise to the top.

The new focus follows the county’s first round of opioid settlement funding, when up to $400,000 was made available and organizations could seek as much as $50,000 per year for two years. In that earlier round, county priorities covered prevention, especially primary prevention and community prevention, as well as treatment and recovery, including recovery supports and treatment expansion. In April 2025, the county said it had awarded the full $400,000 to five recipients: The Bridge Center in Pelican Rapids, Perham 180, Lake Region Halfway Home, Otter Tail County Probation and Community & Life Services.

The opioid settlement dollars come from the national agreements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Minnesota is expected to receive more than $296 million over 18 years, with up to $222 million flowing directly to cities and counties. Under the state’s settlement transparency system, counties and cities must report spending every year, and Minnesota will publish that information annually.

For Otter Tail County, that reporting will be the clearest public test of whether the money is changing outcomes in Fergus Falls, Perham, Pelican Rapids and beyond, or simply moving through the system. The county’s next round now shifts the focus back to youth prevention, where leaders say the first signs of progress should be visible long before the final settlement payments arrive.