Saint Louis County Administration Building

Saint Louis County Administration Building, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, operates the Saint Louis County Adult Detention Center under contract to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs Mid-West Region and delivers community development, public health, and emergency services through federal grants to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other civilian agencies. The vendor operates as a federal grant recipient (60% of recent awards are prime grants) and as a grant sub-recipient to state agencies including the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Saint Louis County has no socioeconomic small business designation and competes without set-asides.

The vendor's federal footprint splits sharply between contract work and grant work. On the contract side, Saint Louis County holds a single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs Mid-West Region, awarded February 2, 2023, with a $250,000 ceiling running through February 1, 2028, for adult detention center services supporting the Bureau's law enforcement and criminal justice programs across Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. The BPA has generated 26 recurring monthly or periodic calls since inception, typically ranging from $320 to $4,000 per order. Recent calls include $3,200 issued August 20, 2026; $1,360 issued June 19, 2026; and $880 issued March 9, 2026. All work is firm fixed price, performed at the Saint Louis County Adult Detention Center in Duluth, with no set-aside applied.

On the grant side, customer concentration sits heavily with the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, which accounts for 68 awards (the largest share by count, though dollar magnitude is not the primary driver). HUD grants to Saint Louis County fund Continuum of Care Program activities (CFDA 14.267), Emergency Solutions Grant Program work (CFDA 14.231), Community Development Block Grants (CFDA 14.218), and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding (CFDA 14.239) for affordable housing, emergency shelter operations, homelessness prevention, and rapid rehousing support in Duluth and Saint Louis County. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $2.328 million under the Railroad Crossing Elimination program (CFDA 20.327) in November 2025 to conduct planning and development for grade crossing improvements on Canadian National infrastructure. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $1.849 million Cooperative Agreement under the Office for Coastal Management program (CFDA 11.473) in October 2024 to address climate change impacts in Minnesota's Lake Superior coastal region. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $298,625 under the Victims of Crime grant program to support elder abuse multidisciplinary team (MDT) work, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded grants for jail reentry support and substance use disorder treatment coordination. The Department of Agriculture awarded $298,625 under the State & Private Forestry Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program (CFDA 10.697) for the ST LOUIS COUNTY MINNESOTA HI LO FUELS REDUCTION PROJECT. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded two successive Rural Health Network Development Planning Grants (CFDA 93.912) to develop the "Better Together Behavioral Health Network" serving northern Saint Louis County.

As a grant sub-recipient, Saint Louis County receives pass-through funding from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for county state aid highway (CSAH) projects including pavement rehabilitation, bridge replacement, safety improvements, and striping on county roads; sub-awards from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for disaster recovery (FEMA Public Assistance), DWI/Traffic Safety Officer programs, and victim services; and sub-awards from the Minnesota Department of Human Services for Medicaid administration and training and child abuse prevention. The City of Duluth has also passed through sub-awards for social worker services. In recent years, 40% of awards are sub-awards distributed through state agencies and local municipalities.

Activity has been stable to declining. The vendor recorded 13 awards in 2022, a spike to 35 in 2023, then moderated to 29 in 2024, 31 in 2025, and 11 in the first nine months of 2026. Thirteen awards (combined potential value $10 thousand) reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and face recompete. The combined potential value across all 210 awards in the source data is $292 thousand; however, the combined dollars obligated across all awards stands at $89 million, reflecting invoiced performance against small recurring BPA calls and formula grants with multi-year terms carrying substantial cumulative value.