Winona Chamber President Calls on Legislature to Replenish Unemployment Fund

Winona Area Chamber of Commerce President Christie Ransom

WINONA, Minn. (KWNO)-Winona Area Chamber of Commerce President Christie Ransom is calling on the Minnesota Legislature to fully replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund.  

Ransom says businesses will be hit with a tax hike if lawmakers fail to properly replenish it by next month.  

“Everyone being punished would be pretty detrimental and especially for our small businesses. This would really really be painful for them because this would be a really large tax increase,” Ransom said in an interview on KWNO’s In the Know Tuesday.  

The GOP-controlled Minnesota Senate passed a bill that allocated $2.7 billion to the fund last week. Gov. Tim Walz has called for $2.7 billion to go towards the fund to be replenished as well.  

A measure to pay back the fund in the House puts $1 billion towards the fund and another $1 billion for frontline COVID workers instead of the previously agreed to amount of $250 million.  

House leaders are aiming to leverage the urgency to replenish the unemployment fund into bonuses for more workers. Ransom says politics shouldn’t be involved in the issue. 

“This defiantly isn’t something that political,” Ransom said. “This is something that’s just good for business and good for Minnesotans all around.”