March 2026 Newsletter

Your Monthly N4MN Update 🍀 March 2026 🍀 🎉🎉 Three important housing bills have been introduced at the State Capitol and are moving through the legislative process. We urge you to take a minute to send a letter to your legislator about each bill. The Starter Homes Act (HF 3895 / SF 4123) has been introduced at the State Capitol and is heading to its second and third committee hearings, hopefully early next week! The Starter Homes Act is a practical solution that works to solve our almost 100,000-home shortage by legalizing accessory dwelling units, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, permitting more housing types in more areas, and providing cities with tools to expand housing options in their communities. Tell Your Legislators: Support the Starter Homes Act One-time Emergency Rental Assistance (HF 3403 / SF 3596) was passed by the Senate on Wednesday, March 11. Now, the bill will need to pass the House. The bill provides $40 million in one-time rental assistance to counties and tribes to cover rent for low-income families facing eviction. Tell Your Lawmaker: Support Rental Assistance The Right to Renew Act (HF 997/SF 1671), also known as Just Cause Eviction Protections, has been introduced and is likely to head to committee hearings next week. The Right to Renew Act ensures that renters who have abided by their lease can renew their lease and prevents landlords from not renewing a lease for arbitrary reasons. This provides essential stability for renters, families, & communities to thrive long term. Tell Your Legislators: Support Right to Renew As these bills head through hearings, now is an important moment to build support. Early feedback from constituents helps shape the conversation and increase the chance of all three of these important bills passing. 📆 Upcoming Events 📆 March Member Social Join us on March 19th at 6 PM at Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills! Meet friends, connect in real life, and go for a walk to see some new homes being built! RSVP Now Save the Date - Drag Bingo Neighbors for More Neighbors is returning to Roxy's Cabaret for a fan-favorite, drag bingo! Save the date now for April 30th. Doors open at 6 PM and Bingo starts at 7 PM! RSVP Now 📝 Complete our Annual Member Survey 📝 YOU, our members, are what make it possible for N4MN to thrive and work towards everyone having a home in the neighborhood they choose. Neighbors for More Neighbors is regularly checking our organizational health. Please respond to our Annual Member Survey to help us improve your experience engaging with N4MN. Your response will also help us raise money from foundations and donors to fund our work. N4MN defines a member as someone who takes three actions (sending emails counts!) or makes a recurring donation. Complete the Annual Member Survey 🎬 Take Action 🎬 Board applications opening in April Are you passionate about the issues we stand for? Looking for a new volunteer opportunity AND a resume booster? Consider joining the Neighbors for More Neighbors board! Board experience is neither required nor expected. As a board member, you serve a 2-year term, which can be renewed if desired. We hope you’ll apply! Board Expectations: Be committed to our mission & policy priorities Attend monthly board meetings Contribute as a volunteer leader beyond board meetings by taking on volunteer tasks or attending events. Expect a 3-5 hour commitment per month, including board meetings. Contribute to the organization’s financial standing either through personal donation, assisting with fundraising, and/or amplifying fundraising efforts to those you know. Want to learn more? Contact Alexa at alexa@moreneighbors.org. 📖 Extra, Extra, Read All About It 📖 Last week, the Minneapolis City Council heard testimony from hundreds of residents in support of the Pause Evictions, Save Lives ordinance that would extend eviction pre-filing notices from 30 to 60 days. The city council ultimately advanced the measure with a 7-6 vote. However, the measure was vetoed by Mayor Frey on Wednesday, March 11th. Read more about the testimony, vote, and veto. Email the Minneapolis City Council and urge them to override the veto. "Housing affordability has become one of Minnesota’s biggest issues... The cause is clear — Minnesota hasn’t built enough homes to keep up with demand. When supply falls behind, prices rise faster than wages. Waiting to address the problem makes it harder to solve. The good news is that Minnesota can fix this, despite the urgent challenge." Read more on how Minnesota can address housing affordability from two respected research firms, PEW and AEI. A common argument we hear is that zoning decisions are best made at the most local level. The recent Blaine ADU saga shows that even when towns pass laws to allow more housing, they aren't willing to actually let that housing be built. Read more about the latest on Blaine's ADU laws, which show why common-sense statewide standards like those created by the Starter Homes Act are so important. Volunteers had another busy month writing blog posts, digging into the housing shortage, and exploring how the issue (and the potential solutions) affect all of us. Take a trip back to Econ 101 and read about how housing supply (or lack thereof) affects housing prices. Minimum lot size, floor area ratio, setbacks, bulk controls... There are a lot of phrases used when digging into why and how we can build homes in our cities, and some of them can be confusing. But don't fear! Read our walkthrough of the most common bulk controls and how they affect our housing options. If you enjoyed the bulk control explainer above (or already know all of the zoning terms), dive deeper into the history of lot sizes and how decades-old decisions limit our housing options today. We plan to publish additional information as we progress through the legislative session. Check in on our News & Stories page for the latest from Neighbors for More Neighbors. 📰 Other Neighborly News 📰 If you attended our Sibling Rivalry event last September, you may have heard reference to 'that CVS' as a major talking point in the upcoming St. Paul mayoral race. Well, after years (and then one extra week) of waiting, the Midway CVS is planned for demolition next Monday, March 16th. Read more and stay tuned for more on how a Land Value Tax could prevent vacant lots like this from forming in high-traffic areas. At the national level, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren recently introduced the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Read more on this legislation, which represents the most significant bipartisan housing reform effort in decades. ⏪ February Event Recap ⏪ Annual Kickoff Thanks to everyone who joined us at our annual kickoff! We hope you enjoyed learning about our wins and progress in 2025, as well as our big plans for 2026. A huge shoutout to everyone who helped us raise more than $10,000 in rental assistance for the Harrison Neighborhood Association and CANDO. Caucus Night Neighbors for More Neighbors volunteers visited three caucus nights in February to provide information about how we can allow more homes in Minnesota and to collect signatures for the Yes to Homes petition. Are you interested in tabling at a caucus this month? Contact angela@moreneighbors.org to learn more and sign up! Start with Home Rally and Petition Delivery On February 23rd, Neighbors for More Neighbors and the Yes to Homes coalition took over the capital rotunda and let legislators know that this session needs to 'start with home'. Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped deliver petition signatures from every senate district in the state. Read more about the rally. Do you find these emails informative and helpful? Support our work & keep these emails coming by becoming a sustaining donor HERE. Every dollar helps to continue our work to ensure everyone has access to abundant and affordable housing.