Opioid Settlement Approved; Olmsted County, Rochester Will Share

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St Paul (KROC AM News) -  Money from Minnesota’s share of a national settlement involving opioids will be shared with cities and counties.

Combined, Rochester and Olmsted County are expected to receive several million dollars as their share in the settlement.

The Minnesota legislature this past week approved the distribution of the $300 million the state is expected to receive from the National Opioid Settlement it agreed to last year.  Counties and cities will receive 75% of settlement funds with 25% going to the state.

According to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, Olmsted County was to receive nearly $4.3-million and the city of Rochester’s compensation was put at $1.6-million.

Here is the AG’s list of compensation amounts for cities and counties.

Minnesota State Rep. Liz Olson of Duluth is the chief author of the bill:

“Tragic deaths as a result of opioid overdoses continue to be a crisis in our state, with the epidemic unfortunately getting worse,” Rep. Olson said. “This legislation will enable cities, counties, Tribal governments, and the state to use funding from this historic settlement effectively and efficiently to continue combating the crisis as quickly as dollars come in. We were all thrilled to see accountability last year in the form of a significant settlement with drugmakers, and now, we can bolster our efforts to prevent senseless tragedies and heartbreak due to this crisis.”