St. Louis County Seeks Public Input on Spending Opioid Settlement Funds

St. Louis County's Opioid Remediation Funds Advisory Committee is asking residents, service providers, and community organizations across the county to help shape how it spends opioid settlement money, with a particular focus this round on people caught up in the criminal justice system.

The county is hosting two public listening sessions to gather input on how to use opioid settlement funds, with the committee specifically seeking ideas to serve people in the criminal justice system. Representatives of organizations that focus on substance use disorder or criminal justice intervention services are especially encouraged to attend.

The first session runs from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at the Government Services Center, 201 South Third Ave. W., in Virginia. The second session is at 3 to 4:30 p.m. April 16 at the Government Services Center, 320 W. Second St., in Duluth, with virtual attendance available for both sessions via pre-registration.

The sessions feed directly into the county's grant-making process. Input gathered at both events will help the advisory committee build its Request for Proposals process, with the county intending to issue that RFP at mid-2026, select projects by early winter, and award funding for projects to be carried out in 2027.

The advisory committee was established in early 2022 following the national settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving several opioid manufacturers and distributors. St. Louis County is set to receive around $18 million across a projected timeline of 18 years from that settlement. The committee has already completed three rounds of grant-making, focusing on harm reduction, criminal justice, and upstream prevention, covering a broad mandate that also includes treatment and recovery.

Jana Blomberg, the county contact for the advisory committee, has described the fund as community money: "This isn't just St. Louis County's funds, right? This is the community funds. And so [we're] really wanting to determine the most needed and the best ways to use this funds to support people."

The criminal justice emphasis in this listening round reflects an area the committee has prioritized in past funding cycles, and the new sessions represent the county's method for ensuring that organizations doing that work on the ground have a direct line to the people writing the next RFP.

For more information or to register for virtual attendance, contact Jana Blomberg at blombergj@stlouiscountymn.gov or visit stlouiscountymn.gov.