Rural Minnesotans often face long wait times when calling 911, and some state lawmakers are looking to change that.
A bill by Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, R-Fredenberg Township, would establish a grant program to help rural emergency medical service companies that are losing money. Zeleznikar said in an interview that people in Greater Minnesota have trouble getting EMS efficiently because ambulances have to cover larger areas.
Zeleznikar said her bill would support the aging population in Northern Minnesota who may need ambulances frequently.
“We want to make sure that whether you live, work, or visit in greater Minnesota, that you’re going to be able to have resources respond,” Zeleznikar said.
Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, and Rochester are not eligible for grants under the bill because it targets rural areas.
The Legislature and governor sent $24 million to struggling EMS companies last year, but this bill would be a more permanent solution, supporters say.
Statewide, the EMS industry faced a $66 million deficit in 2022, according to the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board. Greater Minnesota comprises $30 million of that deficit.
EMS response times are much lower in rural areas than urban areas, according to a 2023 EMS system report. The average response time was 37 minutes in Lake of the Woods County and 22 minutes in Itasca County, compared to only 10 minutes in Ramsey County.
EMS companies in rural Minnesota often rely on volunteers, but retention and recruitment rates are low for these unpaid positions, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Tim Meyer, senior director of Emergency Services at Sanford Health, said at a committee hearing last week that the volunteer staffing model does not work anymore.
“The EMS industry needs legislative support,” Meyer said. “Lives really depend on it.”
Rep. John Huot, DFL-Rosemount, said he was concerned the bill would limit local control, by mayors and council members, of EMS funding in rural areas.
The bill is unfinished and can be changed before it becomes law, Zeleznikar said.
“I think we’ll get there,” she said in an interview.
Another bill, by Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, who has volunteered as an emergency medical technician for 31 years, would establish grants so that EMTs could receive a living wage while they complete training. The bill would allocate $750,000 in the fiscal years of 2026 and 2027 from the general fund of the Office of Emergency Medical Services to ambulance service training programs.
Backer said the grants would introduce EMTs into health care service so they might eventually become paramedics, nurses and doctors.
“Anytime we can get people in the pipeline for greater Minnesota as an EMT, it’s a good thing in my opinion,” Backer said in an interview.
The Mayo Clinic successfully implemented a similar “earn as you learn” initiative in August 2024, according to Dan Anger, director of education and training at the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service. Anger said the program was successful because all eight students who were accepted became full-time employees.
“It boosts retention because it fosters loyalty for those people that are paying them to train,” Anger said.
Backer said EMS has been on the back burner in state government, but these bills are some of his top priorities.
“I’m going to carry all of them to the finish line,” Backer said.
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news in all areas of the state.