About LocalGov Ledger

LocalGov Ledger is an independent public archive of local government meeting records. Local governments and school boards make public meeting records hard to find. We put them in one place — meeting videos, agendas, packets, minutes, transcripts, and records requests, all searchable and preserved so the public can find them even if the government changes or removes its links. Right now that means every county board, city council, school board, and special-purpose board (economic development authorities, housing and redevelopment authorities, watershed districts, joint powers boards) in Washington, Ramsey, and Anoka counties, with more governments added as volunteers build them out. You can also browse every person in the ledger across all governments.

Who this is for

This archive is for everyone: residents who want to know what their elected officials are doing, journalists looking for primary sources, researchers studying local policy, advocates tracking specific issues, and anyone who believes public records should actually be public. You don't need an account to read, search, or watch. If you want to contribute documents or write stories, you can sign in and submit — everything goes through review before it appears publicly.

Who builds this

LocalGov Ledger is owned, run and paid for by one person, who covers all of its costs. It receives no outside funding — no donations, grants, advertising, or sponsored content — and is not affiliated with, funded by, or endorsed by any government agency. It makes no political endorsements. Volunteer contributors help by uploading records, reviewers check them, and the platform recognizes that work with points, levels, and badges to keep the archive growing; contributors are not paid. The code is designed to be copied so other communities can stand up their own ledgers. If any of this changes, we will say so on this page. If you'd like to help, reach out through the contact page.

How we work

Where the records come from

Every record links to its original government source — the official video, agenda, packet, or minutes on the government's own website. We keep hosted copies so that if the government removes or reorganizes its site, the record still survives here. Transcripts are auto-generated from video captions using speech-to-text. They are not official, not certified, and not corrected by the government. Where the text and the video disagree, the video is authoritative. Some meeting records carry a condensed AI-written summary instead of a full transcript; these are labeled AI Summary.

Where salary and disclosure data comes from

In order of authority, we draw salary and disclosure data from:

1. The government's own § 471.701 notice publishing the positions and base salaries of its three highest-paid employees (cities and counties over 15,000).
2. Board or council resolutions that set pay for elected officials and appointed staff.
3. Statements of Economic Interest filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (county commissioners) or the county elections office (other local officials).
4. Campaign finance reports filed with the appropriate filing officer under Minn. Stat. 211A.02 subd. 6.
5. Third-party payroll databases (govsalaries.com and similar), which are useful for finding a name or a year but are not authoritative — we label any figure drawn from them as gross wages and note that it was compiled by a third party, not published by the government.

School board members are not covered by Minnesota's economic-interest requirement.

Officials, pay, and disclosures

For each elected and appointed official, we publish what the public record shows — pay, career outside office, financial disclosure, and campaign finance — with a link to the source for every claim. The records live in different places. Statements of Economic Interest for county commissioners are filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board. Campaign finance reports for local offices are filed with the filing officer — the county, city, or school district itself — under Minn. Stat. 211A.02 subd. 6. School board members are not covered by the state economic-interest requirement; a 2025 bill to extend it was laid over in committee and did not become law. Salary figures are the published amount, with the document linked. Where a government sets pay by resolution rather than publishing a salary schedule, we say so rather than estimating. For Statements of Economic Interest, we summarize each official's statements year by year from copies preserved by the Internet Archive, and link both the Campaign Finance Board's live page and the archived copy. The Campaign Finance Board does not allow automated retrieval, so we do not collect from its site directly.

Connections and money flags

A person's page may also show documented connections to other officials (they served on the same government at the same time, or moved and seconded a motion together), money flags (a donor also has a financial relationship — a contract, a grant, an appointment — with a government that person serves), and family ties (a household member with a financial relationship to a government they serve). Each is presented as two public facts placed side by side, with a source for each. Their appearance together is not evidence of any connection between them and is not an allegation of wrongdoing.

News coverage

A person's page may include an “In the news” section logging genuine news-media coverage about them — real reporting from newspapers, public radio, and television stations, never a campaign site, social media, or the government's own press release. Each entry is a short, neutral, factual summary of what the article reports, with a link to the original and, where relevant, one or two topic tags in the same style used for meeting topics (short, specific, Title Case nouns like Budget or Public Safety) so coverage can be cross-referenced against meeting activity on the same subject.

Procedural interventions

Some government pages include a Procedural Interventions log: moments in a meeting when procedure itself became the issue — a chair interrupting a speaker, denying the floor, citing a rule, or applying a time limit. Each is drawn from the transcript and graded against that board's own Operating Procedures and Guidelines, not against our own judgment of fairness.

Stories and labels

Every story carries one of four labels, shown in plain capitals above the headline: FACT-CHECKED ARTICLE (claims verified against primary sources), ANALYSIS (what happened and what it means), OPINION (the author's viewpoint, not reporting), and CORRECTION (a correction to something we previously published). Every piece includes the author's name (or "Anonymous — identity known to the editors"), a short bio, and a disclosure statement describing any relationship to the government or people covered. Opinion pieces are marked "This is the author's view." beneath the byline.

Contributors

Contributors may be Named (their display name appears publicly) or Anonymous (shown as "Anonymous — identity known to the editors"). Either way, everything submitted goes through human review before it appears publicly, and most items receive a second-round check. Contributor emails are never shown. Points, levels, and badges recognize the work of building the archive.

Corrections policy

When we get something wrong, we publish a Correction. Corrections are public, dated, and linked to the original piece. They are never deleted — the original error remains visible alongside the correction. To request a correction, use the feedback form and tell us what needs to be fixed and where. We review correction requests within 3 business days.

What we will not do

We do not use official seals, flags, gavels, or any emblem that implies government endorsement. We are nonpartisan and do not endorse candidates or ballot measures. We do not edit or crop images to flatter or harm any person. Any image we publish — a document, map, or screenshot — is captioned with its date and source.

Our standards

• Verbatim transcripts are auto-captions and not official. They are clearly labeled.
• Story labels are shown prominently so readers know what they are reading:
  • Fact-Checked Article: Claims have been verified against primary sources. Errors are corrected promptly and noted.
  • Opinion: The author's viewpoint. Clearly labeled as opinion, not reporting.
  • Analysis: Examination of what happened and what it means, drawing on the record.
  • Correction: A correction to something we previously published. The original error is noted.
• Author disclosure. Every story includes the author's name (or "Anonymous — identity known to the editors"), bio, and a disclosure statement describing who they are and any relationship to the government or people covered.
• Corrections. When we get something wrong, we publish a Correction story labeled as such, and the original error is noted.

How to contribute

Have a meeting agenda, packet, minutes, or transcript? You can submit it for review. Uploads are scanned and checked by AI. Items the system is highly confident about may appear right away, marked as newly added, and are reviewed by a person afterward; everything else waits for review.

How to read this site

The documents are the record. Everything the Ledger writes about them (summaries, topics, labels and connections) is assisted by AI and can be wrong. Always check the linked source before relying on anything here.

Rehosted copies

If you believe a copy hosted here should not be, contact us and we will review it and, where appropriate, replace the copy with a link to the original.

How to submit a correction

If you see an error in a transcript, story, or meeting record, submit feedback with a note explaining what should be corrected. An editor will review it and, if needed, publish a Correction story in Stories.

Independent public archive. Not affiliated with any government.