Three Minnesota zoos that each received $112,000 of the voter-approved Legacy Amendment funds reported to a legislative committee Monday on what they’re doing with the money.
The kinds of wildlife at the Minnesota Zoo, Como Zoo and Lake Superior Zoo aren’t the wildlife we usually associate with the Legacy Amendment, which tacked on an additional three-eighths of a percent to the state sales tax. Most of the Legacy funds go to outdoors and natural resources projects.
But a portion of the tax also goes to an Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. That’s where the zoos fit in.
In the reports to the Cultural and Outdoor Resources Finance Division, the zoos said:
Como Zoo in St. Paul
- Update signs in the primate and aquatics exhibits to provide better information about the animals and their role in the natural world.
- Offer a new animal stage show this summer.
- Develop art exhibits to showcase art that values living things in our lives.
- Continue the Blooming Butterflies exhibit for another summer.
Lake Superior Zoo
- The zoo in Duluth is using the money to pay for a new master plan, exhibit restoration, a zoo science experience and zoo history project. All those things should help in its effort to regain its accredidation, which it lost in 2006, officials said.
Minnesota Zoo
- Designing a Black Bear exhibit on the Medtronic Minnesota Trail.
I love these zoos, especially the fantastic Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. Adding a new black bear exhibit on the Minnesota Trail will be a great addition.
Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America’s Best Zoos