State Representative
Richard Mulder

LET'S CUT OUR LOSSES WITH PRAIRIE EXPO

Last week, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill allowing the Southwest Regional Development Commission to levy taxes through several counties to help eliminate a $1.6 million dollar debt for the Prairie Expo facility in Worthington. This means you will once again be asked to foot the bill for a bad idea.

Several years ago, developers pleaded with lawmakers to help fund this project. They told us this interactive discovery center would teach students and tourists about Minnesota's native prairie, settlers, and modern agriculture. They told us it would attract as many visitors as Jackpot Junction. In short, they told us if we helped build it, the people would come.

I opposed this project from the start. To me, it seemed like government would once again be forced to fund a private business. But Representative Ted Winter and others pushed hard for the bill, saying it would be a huge tourist draw.

Needless to say, his prediction was completely wrong. Jackpot Junction attracts more people during a good week than Prairie Expo has ever drawn. Last August, this Interstate 90 eyesore "temporarily" closed. It didn't have enough funding to survive. Even though the doors have been shut for 8 months, we continue to cough up money for this boondoggle in the forms of management and insurance expenses. In my opinion, Prairie Expo is a state malignancy.

Yet you will be asked to bail out this money pit. Your county commissioners will soon vote whether or not to raise your property taxes to keep Prairie Expo up and running. I wonder how many people from Redwood Falls or Lake Benton made the drive to Worthington to visit Prairie Expo when it was open. I also wonder how many of you want money taken out of your pocketbooks to aid this facility.

I feel we should reorganize Prairie Expo through Federal Title 9 laws. As a government funded

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program, this facility cannot be sold to the private sector. Once reorganized, state government could get rid of this headache once and for all. Besides, if Prairie Expo has the capability to be a huge tourist draw, surely a private investor will step up and cash in.

Until that happens, taxpayers are being asked to rescue this sinking ship. Ted Winter and others pushed for that to happen, as this bill will ask nine county boards to raise your property taxes. I urge you to call your county commissioners and tell them how you feel. Ask them if they supported the project the first time around, and now that it's doomed, ask them if they still want to spend your hard earned money on a bad idea. Don't let the county commissioners who supported this pork-barrel project con you into paying more money. If only one county votes against the plan, everyone's property taxes will stay the same. And if that happens, maybe the state can finally turn the Prairie Expo monstrosity into something useful, like a hay barn.

Sincerely,

State Representative Richard Mulder

District 21B