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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Census: MN Housing Costs Going Through the Roof

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - It's not just the roof that is 'over the heads' of many Minnesota families - it is also the cost of having that roof in the first place.

When it comes to housing costs, new U.S. Census Bureau data indicates hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans are paying more for shelter than they can comfortably afford. In fact, says Leigh Rosenberg, manager of research and outreach for the Minnesota Housing Project, many are juggling to keep up with their monthly payments.

"For the sixth consecutive year, we saw that both the number and the percentage of households with severe cost burdens rose in Minnesota - and what that means, by 'severe cost burden,' is households that are paying more than half their income for housing."

One-third of all Minnesota households, including 114,000 renters and 152,000 homeowners, are reflected in the statistic. That means one in eight households is paying at least half its income for shelter, explains Rosenberg.

"When housing costs that much, it means families either have to skimp on food or health care, or maybe education. Or, it can mean at times, when the cost burden becomes that severe, that they simply can't afford their housing anymore and they become homeless."

The data also shows almost 700,000 households in the state pay at least one-third of their incomes for housing. Low and moderate income households are the most likely to lack affordable housing, she adds, and says it will take cooperation on several levels to deal with the housing cost crunch.

"We need to make sure that the government continues to help bridge the gap between what families can afford and what housing costs, and to retain strong housing programs, especially through this recession. In addition, both landlords and lenders need to do what they can to help maintain people in their homes."

The new census data is available online at www.census.gov; the MHP Web site is www.mhponline.org.



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