Yesterday, the Minnesota Disability Law Center (MDLC), a division of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, published an Impact Report summarizing its work from October 2024 to July 2026. The report includes testimonials from attorneys about the ways MDLC protects the rights of people with disabilities, as well as its impact by the numbers, including the number of Minnesotans with disabilities that have been positively impacted through litigation, receipt of benefits, and bills at the legislature affecting statewide disability policy. The report also discusses MDLC’s facility monitoring and investigative work, as well as specific cases that have had the biggest impact.

Each year, Minnesota Lawyer’s editors spotlight the exceptional leaders shaping the state’s legal profession by naming their Legal 250. Minnesota Lawyer’s Legal 250 for 2026 has recognized Jennifer Stohl Powell, executive director of Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM), as one of the state’s most influential immigration lawyers. A minimum of 250 outstanding honorees across a number of legal practice areas are carefully selected on the basis of prolonged success and an ability to skillfully navigate changing client needs, legal developments, technology, and economic and community environments.

If you’re an attorney with legal aid or work as a public service professional in other nonprofits or government, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) may be an important tool to manage your student debt. Designed as a workforce investment for those seeking public interest careers with lower salaries, PSLF requires qualifying payments be made on a federal student loan, after which the balance is forgiven.

In a recently published article in Bench and Bar magazine, co-writers Dee Baskin, executive director of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota (LRAP-MN), and Heather Vlieger, grants & development manager with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, discuss recent changes in the program affecting borrowers, how to stay on track, and why PSLF protections remain critical for those committed to serving their communities.

On May 27, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and Robins Kaplan LLP reached a settlement in their class action lawsuit on behalf of Sartell Mobile Home Park residents. Filed last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted final approval of the settlement, in which residents alleged they were pressured into signing illegal lease agreements, overbilled for utilities, and exposed to raw sewage within the park where their homes are located.

Court-approved relief will address current conditions, while damages from the prior owners will be pursued to compensate community residents, current and former, for their claims and hardships. One plaintiff, a longtime resident, expressed cautious optimism, saying “I’m just wanting things run smoother and not have to worry about this in the long run. I don’t want any more issues.”

Lou Her, immigration lead attorney with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) in St. Paul, spoke to the Sahan Journal recently about Minnesota refugees who have been left in limbo as a result of the Operation PARRIS program. Enhanced screening procedures for those already in the process of establishing permanent residency, has caused upheaval and uncertainty for many legal aid clients and their attorneys.

As many as 5,600 Minnesota refugees have been targeted by the program since January, and many have been required to undergo additional interviews and scrutiny. Some interviews have lasted for hours at a time, and some have been required with less than 24 hours’ notice to appear. In the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, immigration attorneys and organizations have seen refugees still awaiting decisions even after their additional interviews, and some interviews have been cancelled or rescheduled causing more confusion and distress.

Earlier this year, Law.com published a two-part series about initiatives to use AI in the provision of legal aid. As part of its legal technology analysis, Law.com looked at the 2026 Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) announced last December by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). 2026 TIG grantee, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), along with project collaborators Legal Services State Support and Justice North, aims to utilize AI technology to improve client referral and intake processes.

The two-part series addresses the use of AI both as a measure to address the justice gap generally and to leverage available resources for maximum efficiency at the program level. With the amount of demand for legal services continuing to rise, TIG projects offer one way to address that demand by looking at processes of referral, intake, and triage, among others.

On April 16, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) recognized the winners of its annual Bernard P. Becker Legal Services Staff Awards for 2026. The four honorees were commended for their outstanding commitment to providing legal services to low-income people.  Awards were presented at the Bar’s Assembly Meeting.

• Legacy of Excellence Award
  Jessica Webster, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid's Legal Services Advocacy Project

• Law Student Award
  Teresa Padrón, University of Minnesota Law School

• Emerging Leader Award
  Peter LaCourse, Justice North

• Advocacy Award
  Mary Rea, Legal Services State Support

Lisa Salazar, supervising attorney of the immigration unit at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) was recently honored with the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association’s (MHBA) Access to Justice Award. The award was given in recognition of Salazar’s unwavering commitment to expanding access to legal services and strengthening the justice system for Latinos in Minnesota and beyond.

The MHBA’s 21st annual gala, held on March 27, 2026, at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, recognizes outstanding achievement, spotlights MHBA’s impact, and raises critical support for its programs. This year’s Access to Justice award was especially significant because of the unprecedented challenges facing Minnesota’s immigrant communities.

For a group of Minneapolis renters, organizing was the leverage they needed in seeking building repairs from their landlord that included heating issues, and sanitary and safety conditions. Represented by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, the tenants union they formed made use of a new law that allows tenants to organize in order to improve their living conditions.

After reaching an agreement for improvements last fall, the landlord failed to meet the terms of the agreement and Legal Aid filed an affidavit of noncompliance. The Court subsequently imposed fines, all payable to the Brentwood Tenants Union (BTU) with additional fines accruing until all obligations are met. The $49,500 fine may be the largest ever awarded to a tenants union in Hennepin County housing court, according to Legal Aid attorney Julia Zwak.

In a case pursued by the Minnesota Disability Law Center of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, a client was repeatedly denied transportation through Lyft because of her service animal. The Minnesota college student, who is blind, reported that Lyft drivers canceled her rides when they saw her guide dog. The Minnesota Disability Law Center reported that by the end of the investigation, their client was left behind seven times on her way to medical appointments.

In addition to a financial settlement, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights will closely monitor Lyft to ensure they comply with Minnesota law granting people with disabilities the right to access transportation services with their service animals. “No one should be turned away from a ride simply because they are traveling with a service animal,” said Chad Wilson, attorney with the Minnesota Disability Law Center.

Legal Services State Support is pleased to announce the launch of a statewide campaign to increase awareness of LawHelpMN.org/immigration as the most reliable, comprehensive gateway for free immigration legal resources in Minnesota. The campaign makes immigration help resources available online and in print to increase accessibility.

“Immigration legal services should be within reach of those who need them, regardless of income. That’s why LawHelpMN exists—to help Minnesotans address legal problems by providing easy-to-understand information about their rights and connecting them to free, trustworthy legal assistance,” said J. Singleton, program manager with State Support. “We can support our communities, counter misinformation, and improve access to justice for all Minnesotans by making trusted immigration information and legal support readily available.”

On February 11, 2026, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid released a report on child confinement in Minnesota schools. The comprehensive report, produced using the federal monitoring and investigative authority of the organization’s Minnesota Disability Law Center, presents detailed findings and photos of what seclusion in schools looks like and the implications of those findings. A press conference was held to coincide with the report’s release at the Minnesota State Capital.

Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a child with disabilities alone in any room or area of a public school building and Minnesota law permits a school district to register seclusion rooms and isolate children with disabilities in these rooms during an emergency.  Under law, seclusion rooms are only to be used for students in grades 4-12 and schools must have a public plan, notify parents, and apply seclusion only in emergencies and by trained and licensed staff. Seclusion is not to be used for disciplinary actions.

This week, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), along with colleagues from the Hennepin and Ramsey County Bar Associations, will host on online forum to address the heightened legal need in Minnesota’s immigrant communities. The online forum will be held on Friday, February 13, at 12:00 p.m. and will offer lawyers the opportunity to connect with leaders from the Legal Services Immigration HUB (Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, and Southern Regional Legal Services, The Advocates for Human Rights, and Volunteer Lawyers Network) and the James H. Binger Center for New Americans.  

The forum will be a moderated discussion, led by Cynthia Anderson, pro bono immigration lead with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, that aims to equip attorneys with strategies to provide meaningful, effective support to immigrant clients during this challenging time. As immigration leaders, forum panelists will provide an overview of urgent and emerging legal needs, as well as practical, how-to guidance for attorneys in diverse practice areas who want to effectively support these needs. Time will be devoted to Q & A.

With increasing frequency over the past eight weeks, Minnesota attorneys and advocates are recommending that residents and families at risk of detainment or deportation have a plan in place. As a first line tool in case of separation, many are suggesting a Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA) be made so that a trusted adult can be legally designated to make decisions and provide care for a child in case their parents are absent.

In Make Plans for Your Kids, Minnesota Advocates Urge Immigrant Parents in ICE Crosshairs, Imprint News discusses the pros and cons of the DOPA and other legal options with several attorneys, including Pheng Thao of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid.

To make sure that families are legally prepared, the Volunteer Lawyers Network launched new Deportation Preparedness Phone Services to help clients understand what they can do to take care of the family members, personal property, and financial obligations they may leave behind if they get detained or deported.

By Lisa Ramirez, Communications Director, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid 

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid’s consumer unit has made its mark, hosting “Low Income Taxpayer Clinics” (LITCs) throughout Minnesota and providing effective representation to clients in IRS disputes. In 2026, the unit is proudly expanding its scope of services by taking on state tax cases, as well.

Historically, state tax work by the unit was limited to cases connected to an IRS case with conditions — the cases had to stem from the same IRS tax issue and had to occur in the same year. This is no longer the case. Today, the unit’s state cases only need to fall within the project’s priority areas and do not need to be connected to a federal case.  

Legal Aid Tax Attorney Aisha Servaty says a tremendous gap in services has existed when it comes to assisting taxpayers in state tax cases and this new model of LITC services will help narrow it.

On January 1, 2026, Justice North and Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM) began operating together under one name: Justice North. For decades, the two civil legal aid programs have worked side by side to serve individuals and families in Minnesota’s northwestern and northeastern regions. With this merger, the two staffs combine their institutional expertise, capacity, and resources to serve 33 counties—more than 52,000 square miles across northern Minnesota—with more comprehensive services and a stronger community presence throughout the region. The historic merger creates one of the largest civil legal aid service areas in the state dedicated to the provision of high-quality civil legal help to those with low incomes.

The two organizations joined forces because of a mutual belief that it would improve their services, streamline their work, and make it easier for people to access the civil legal help they need. All existing Justice North and LSNM offices will keep operating as part of the new Justice North. Offices are located in Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Moorhead, Pine City, and Virginia.

Earlier this fall, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid led a successful challenge at the Minnesota Supreme Court to reverse a 1995 precedent affecting renters using housing subsidies. One protection Minnesota tenants have is that landlords waive their right to evict if they accept rent payments despite knowing about specific lease violations. Until now this protection didn’t apply to tenants who used housing subsidies like Section 8 vouchers to pay rent. They could still be evicted.

Gary Van Winkle, a veteran housing attorney with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, represented a client who continued to pay rent using Section 8 vouchers for months after her landlord learned about a lease violation in 2022. When the landlord began an eviction action against her the following year, Van Winkle took the case in hopes of challenging the long-standing precedent. In pursuing it all way to the Supreme Court, the client and Van Winkle were able to secure an eviction protection that renters using subsidies have been denied for 30 years.

State Support is excited to announce a new project with our legal services community partner, Cancer Legal Care (CLC), a nonprofit law firm providing free legal advice and services to Minnesotans facing cancer.  The Connections Project is a co-envisioned endeavor to broadly share information about LawHelpMN.org with CLC’s connections in the Minnesota health care and cancer support communities. Through this joint communications effort, State Support hopes to develop relationships that will increase the reach of LawHelpMN across sectors, while CLC simultaneously expands the provision of legal support resources to assist with the myriad issues that can come up during a cancer diagnosis.

CLC’s long-standing legal work in Minnesota provides vital services for those whose lives are upended by cancer. Since 2019, CLC’s direct legal services have protected or recovered more than $5,000,000 for their clients by way of successful insurance appeals for denied cancer treatments, life insurance benefits, private disability benefits, and securing monthly income streams through Social Security disability benefits when clients are no longer able to work. Anyone affected by any cancer (patient, survivor, or caregiver) living anywhere in the state is eligible for CLC’s services. To date they have served clients in 79 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.

Minnesota House Speaker Emerita, Melissa Hortman, was posthumously honored with a Courageous Leader Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) at their Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on October 31, 2025. Speaker Emerita Hortman’s children, Colin and Sophie Hortman, attended in person to accept the award on her behalf. Also in attendance from Minnesota were the current and former executive directors of Central Minnesota Legal Services, Daniel Morris and Jean Lastine, along with current and former executive directors of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Milo Mumgaard and Jeremy Lane. Lastine was the convening author of the nomination letter recommending Hortman for the award on behalf of both programs, and all of the statewide legal services community.

In accepting the award for the Hortmans, family friend Robin Ann Williams’ remarks were accompanied by a video of Speaker Hortman in action at the State Capitol, vividly demonstrating what a fighter for equal justice she was. Williams’ tribute was followed by an emotional and heartfelt standing ovation from colleagues across the country.

Earlier this month, voters in Duluth successfully endorsed a new renters’ rights law— the first of its kind in Minnesota — that allows tenants to start a repairs process without city inspection and with a guarantee that their landlord will pay. It is hoped the landslide victory will provide renters with more meaningful leverage when a small repair is needed.

The new ordinance requires renters to give their landlord written notice that a “common” repair is needed and that if it’s not fixed or scheduled to be repaired within two weeks, the cost to correct it will be deducted from the tenant’s rent. After that, a licensed contractor could be hired by the tenant with the reimbursement amount not to exceed half a month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater.

Advocates for the new ordinance had argued for months that existing renter protections at the state and local levels weren’t doing the job, especially for simple repairs, and that tenants were waiting for long periods of time or going to court to try and get issues resolved.