When the 2024 legislative session kicks off a week from Monday in St. Paul, one big focus will be funding infrastructure and building projects around Minnesota. This comes as the state and federal government are spending more money than ever to help communities build up against the effects of extreme weather. That includes $35 million the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently announced for cities to update their stormwater systems for a changing climate. It’s the first phase of $100 million in grants approved by the legislature last year.

Moorhead engineer Bob Zimmerman is one of the city officials around the state who are thinking about how to use those funds. And Heidi Roop leads this kind of planning as the Director of the University of Minnesota’s Climate Adaptation Partnership. They joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how to prepare Minnesota communities for a warmer, wetter, more unpredictable climate.