By Bonnie Culverhouse –
As the fiscal year for City of Minden draws to a close, Minden City Council and citizens learned just how much bang for their buck the city is receiving before, during and after state Legislative sessions.
Caroline Mladenka, the city’s lobbyist reported during workshop and the council’s regular meeting that Minden secured more than $5.5 million in state appropriations across five line items in the 2026 regular session.
“Without Ms. Mladenka, that would’ve been zero dollars,” Mayor Nick Cox said.
The funds are appropriated in the breakdown at the bottom.
Mladenka said of the $1.7 million for the Robertson lift station (which services residences and businesses in Shreveport Road area around the business that was once Fibrebond) $800,000 is in cash.
“So you can get started on it right away,” she said. “The rest is in Priority 5.”
Above and beyond is $125,000 for a generator at Robertson.
“That’s adding another cash item, which means you can use that money right away,” Mladenka said. “Mayor Cox identified that as a high priority items, so we worked with the legislators on that.”
The $3.2 M, two million gallon water ground storage tank, which is already in progress, is receiving $547,000 in Priority 1 cash.
“We got cash on that two years ago, as well as last year, and this is to bring it to the finish line,” she said.
Another item was Marshall Street water improvements.
“That’s infrastructure, so that’s cash,” she said. “We got over $250,000 for Marshall Street.”
That item was unanimously approved during the regular council meeting.
Last on the list is money for a new fire station which will be built on Shreveport Road, west of the railroad tracks.
“We are waiting on lines of credit to be granted for the station,” Mladenka said. “But it’s really good we have the appropriations in there. We have $590,000 in Priority 2.
“We will work in the 2027 session to get that moved up,” she added.
Cox said $5.5 million does not include the money the lobbyist has secured in in 2025, the year she was hired by the council. Her contract is for approximately $10,000 a year.
“She more than earns that,” Cox said.
“Minden has a real presence in Baton Rouge,” Mladenka said. “Your mayor is easy to work with and your senator and representative are as well.”
