Dakota County Administration

Dakota County Administration, doing business as Dakota County Courthouse, is a U.S. local government entity (Minnesota county) that acts as a federal grant recipient for homelessness services, trail infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and public safety programs. The county operates as a prime grant recipient (45 awards, 42% of total activity) and as a sub-recipient under Minnesota state pass-through agencies (62 awards, 58% of total activity), with no federal contract prime or subcontract presence in recent years.

The county's federal footprint is concentrated in three grant-funded capability areas. First, homelessness services dominate prime grant activity: the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development has awarded Dakota County $846,061 (awarded June 1, 2026, completion May 31, 2027) and prior-year awards under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267) to establish and operate permanent housing, permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, and supportive services projects. Second, recreational trail infrastructure and safety improvements anchor work with the Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Region, including a $1.51 million project grant awarded August 18, 2025 (completion June 30, 2027) to implement safety enhancements at ten road crossings along the 28-mile Mississippi River Greenway corridor between Saint Paul and Hastings, Minnesota, using rapid-flashing beacons, improved lighting, elevated crossings, and turn-lane modifications. Third, public safety and emergency management funding flows through the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance for electronic-crimes unit operations and body-worn camera deployment, and through FEMA for port security grants. The county also holds a $623,950 Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Process and Technology Improvement grant (CFDA 10.580) awarded September 30, 2022 for SNAP technology modernization, a Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40552) awarded December 1, 2024, and a Department of Health and Human Services Maternal and Child Health Bureau Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children award dated March 1, 2024.

Customer concentration is fragmented across 26 distinct federal agencies, but five account for 50% of award count: the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (19 awards), the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (13 awards, primarily sub-awards for county and state highway projects), the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime (9 awards), FEMA Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards (8 awards), and the Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Region (4 awards). The sub-award split is heavily weighted toward Minnesota state pass-throughs, particularly the Minnesota Department of Transportation (roadway reconstruction, multiuse trail, and ADA improvement projects) and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Human Services (disaster relief, crime victim services, and public health funding). Place of performance is Hastings, Minnesota and subordinate locations throughout Dakota County.

Activity has remained steady at 8 to 17 awards annually over the past five years, with four awards (primarily Continuum of Care and transportation trail projects) facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore subject to recompete.