Tribute to House’s longest-serving female member proposed with grant program name change

Rep. Mary Murphy was the longest serving woman in the history of the House.

Representing her district near Duluth from 1977 to 2023, the DFLer from Hermantown championed the library construction grant program.

Now, the House Capital Investment Committee wants to honor the memory of Murphy, who died from complications of a stroke on Dec. 25, 2024, at age 85.

Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Mpls), who co-chairs the committee, sponsors HF1090, which would rename the program to the “Mary C. Murphy Library Construction Grants Program.”

Easily receiving committee approval Tuesday, its next stop is the House floor.

“Through her leadership, over 120 libraries have been made more accessible to better serve residents across the state,” said Karen Pundsack, executive director at Great River Regional Library.

A competitive dollar-for-dollar matching grant program, the program provides public libraries with funding for renovation, construction, and improvement projects for more accessible library facilities. Libraries can receive up to $450,000 to remove architectural barriers and up to $1 million to renovate or expand an existing building or construct a new library.

Dakota County Library Director Margaret Stone called the grant program a key to keeping libraries accessible.

“It drives a partnership between local entities and the state so that libraries can be more attractive, accessible and up to date,” she said. “Representative Murphy worked hard for funding this program so that everyone in the state could enjoy their library.”