Nobles County taking applications for opiod settlement proposals

Nobles County Emergency Management Director Tawn Hall said this week that the county is accepting applications for proposals for the Opioid Settlement Funding it has received thus far.

The county established an Opioid Advisory Committee last year to explore multiple ideas on how it could best utilize settlement funds to address the opioid epidemic. Hall said that given the long-term trickle-down nature of the funding and the high cost of proposed initiatives, a subcommittee was formed from the larger Advisory Committee.

It was decided to designate $50,000 of the initial funding for projects addressing immediate needs while allowing the funds to accumulate before distribution. This strategy aimed to support either multiple smaller projects or one large-scale initiative.

To date, Nobles County has received $188,512.68 in settlement payments, with $34,400 allocated for the purchase of a True Narc drug identification device for law enforcement. The drug scanner was identified as an immediate need targeting the areas of criminal justice response and harm reduction.

The Nobles County Board has approved opening $150,000 for community project proposals, with the application period running from June 16 to July 11. Applicants must operate within Nobles County and align with identified funding priorities. The subcommittee will review all applications and make recommendations to the County Board on July 22.

The first review of applications will be on July 14.  Applications must be submitted by July 11 at 4:30 p.m. to be eligible for the first review. If funds remain after the initial awards, a second application period will open on July 23 and close Aug. 8 at 4:30 p.m.

The application is available to the public on the County Community Services page at https://www.co.nobles.mn.us/departments/community-services/.