Musk axes $1 million Winona State federal grant as DOGE ramps up scrutiny
Winona State faculty and officials were thrilled to receive word just before the election last October of a $1.1 million federal grant awarded to support civic engagement through the university’s newly established nonprofit Civic Center. A news release gushed about the possibilities for collaboration between students and local government workers.
The Winona State Department of Political Science, Public Administration & Ethnic Studies, in partnership with SE MN Together, will establish the Center to provide training for students, public officials, and staff of small government entities in Southeast Minnesota.
Through the Center, Winona State students will gain hands-on experience interacting with government officials and entities, and collaborating to solve public problems. Students in the program will have ongoing opportunities to interact with government officials and entities, work in public service, and collaborate on public issues.
But before the project could hardly get off the ground, the funding came to the attention of Elon Musk’s team of cost-cutters at the now-infamous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Turns out the taxpayer-funded grant was funneled through the Department of Defense. So one of the obvious questions concerned to what extent the project’s goals aligned with DOD’s mission.
The intent of the Center is to provide support and resources to the governments of smaller municipalities and counties. Training topics could include civility, civil discourse, and incorporating the community into more public decision-making, as well as skill-centered trainings around budgets, public meeting procedures, and campaign finance rules. Enhanced training and awareness for local governments will in turn provide benefits to regional communities and help to develop and preserve relationships between governments and communities.
It’s not clear how much communication, if any, Musk’s or Department of Defense investigators had with the school’s Political Science, Public Administration & Ethnic Studies Department in the process of evaluating the grant. But a week ago, the Rochester Post Bulletin says the southeastern Minnesota state university got the bad news.
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, Winona State officials received a notice of termination of the grant from the Department of Defense. The notice referenced a Code of Federal Regulations language that indicates a federal award may be terminated if the “award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities..”
“…This grant represented a significant investment in student learning and regional community support for civic engagement, and we are disappointed the award has been terminated,” an official statement from the university said.
The Winona State grant appears to be one of the first known casualties on an area campus to date, but represents only the beginning as Musk and DOGE scrutinize federal grants at colleges and universities nationwide.