Wright County Public Health Director Sarah Grosshuesch was among those in attendance Tuesday when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ceremoniously signed a bill that will direct how the state will spend its $303 million opioid lawsuit settlement aimed at funding the fight against opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
The funds are expected to come to Minnesota this summer with 75 percent of the funding ($222 million) will go to local governments with the state keeping $25 percent of the settlement. The funds will be dispersed over an 18-year period and can be used for prevention and treatment programs in local communities. Wright County’s share of the settlement is $3.77 million.
The settlement is part of a $26 billion multi-state settlement with drug manufacturers Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Local Public Health officials in Minnesota counties will be the chief strategists of how funds are dispersed in Minnesota communities.