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| Date: | October 21, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Peter Winiecki | | Contact Phone: | 651-297-8077 | | Contact Email: | peter.winiecki@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| PEDERSON VOWS TO FIGHT FOR MORE RURAL FUNDING |
(St. Paul) –State Senator John Pederson (R-St. Cloud) and State Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria), Chair of the Senate Environment Committee and a member of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council joined area lawmakers in Monticello and St. Cloud to tour some of the region’s parks and trail systems. The group observed the impact that regional parks and trails have in promoting tourism, job creation and outdoor recreational opportunities for Minnesotans.
“We had a wonderful tour of our area’s regional parks and I am proud of our hard working city and county folks who do a fantastic job planning and promoting our area. Having a strong and vibrant park system will promote a better living center for our community and attract business and jobs creators to our area. Also, promoting tourism and recreational opportunities is good for our citizens and good for creating more jobs,” said Sen. Pederson.
Pederson added: “However, during these hard economic times, our local governments have limited resources and I find it unfair that legacy funds for our state and metro parks do not have to match funds while rural regional parks are forced to match with local funds. This runs against common sense when you consider the much smaller tax base in outstate Minnesota. The Legacy amendment was passed so all Minnesotans can enjoy our parks and trails across our state. I will introduce legislation next session to eliminate the local match for rural parks and allow rural Minnesota to enjoy in the legacy that our state and metro parks enjoy.”
Greater Minnesota regional parks and trails are located outside of the seven-county metro park system. They serve visitors on a regional basis and are managed by a local unit of government, primarily a city or county. Historically, state funds have been available to Greater Minnesota Regional parks and trails through grant programs administered by the Department of Natural Resources for acquisition and development purposes. This year, the legislature provided a larger funding portion for areas of greater Minnesota from Legacy Amendment funding appropriations.
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