At a retreat held March 15, the Edina City Council finalized five priority requests to present to state legislators during the 2025 Minnesota legislative session. The agenda represents the city's formal wish list for state action on local concerns.

Topping the list are two infrastructure funding requests: improvements to the interchange at Highway 100 and Vernon Avenue, and repairs to the pump house at the Edina Aquatic Center. The city is also seeking a sales tax exemption for projects at Bramar Park and Fred Richards Park, which would reduce costs for those recreational facility upgrades.

The council also wants state lawmakers to change rules governing Tax Increment Financing districts. Currently, cities must begin TIF-funded projects within five years of approval. Edina is asking the state to extend that deadline to 10 years for two districts in the greater Southdale area, giving the city more flexibility in scheduling development projects.

Perhaps the most notable request involves workplace safety for city employees. The council is asking legislators to expand assault charge protections to municipal workers who enforce local codes and ordinances. Under current state law, assaulting a peace officer, firefighter, or school official can result in elevated criminal charges. But building inspectors, utility workers, and municipal liquor store clerks — who also encounter confrontational situations while enforcing rules — do not receive the same legal protections. The city wants that changed.

As one analyst explained during the meeting, a legislative agenda adopted by a city council serves as "that city council's statement to the state legislature of what it wants to see accomplished in the upcoming session." The approved priorities will now be formally communicated to Edina's state legislative delegation as lawmakers consider bills during the current session.