Gov. Tim Walz’s administration is facing criticism after it was revealed that the governor and his family will be temporarily relocating to a luxurious lakeside mansion.

The home being rented with taxpayer money will cost over $17,000 per month. Gov. Walz will live in the Sunfish Lake home for 18 months while the governor’s residence in St. Paul is renovated.

Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, released a statement Tuesday condemning the expense, calling it “the wrong message to send taxpayers” and “out-of-touch.”

“As Minnesotans struggle with soaring interest rates impacting the housing market, high inflation, and much more, it is incredibly tone-deaf for Gov. Walz to make taxpayers fork over $17,000 a month in rent payments for a palatial lakeside mansion for him and his family,” said Novotny.

[Why Sunfish Lake? Why not stay in the city of St. Paul? As a former Minnesotan, that seems very odd to me. So does an 18-month renovation of the mansion on Summit Avenue, a grand area of mansions and beautiful homes. You could build a new home in half that time or less. Sounds like a government boondoggle to me. (I’ve actually been in it once as a guest of then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty.) — Ed]