Nearly $2.5M in legacy funding coming to SE Minn parks and trails

Jennifer Bredow

(ABC 6 News) – Just over $12 million in Legacy Funding grants will be provided to parks and trails across Minnesota. Nearly $2.5 million of that money will be coming to southeast Minnesota.

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) just finished its application review process and will now ask the Minnesota Legislature to approve the recommendations through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, one of four funds created by the 2008 Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The Legislature has annually approved GMRPTC requests, since Legacy Funds are already dedicated and may only be spent to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance.

“The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission received 20 eligible applications for Fiscal Year 2023 grants, and we’re pleased to recommend funding, in part or in whole, for their excellent approaches to improving parks and trails for users,” said GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson.

“We’re also going to allocate $212,053 of that amount to create new opportunities for underserved communities.”

For more information click here.

The parks and trails in southeast Minnesota include:

  • Rochester Cascade Lake Park
    • $379,000.00
  • Red Wing He Mni Can/Barn Bluff Park
    • $527,145.00
  • Cannon Valley Trail
    • $490,463.00
  • Austin Jay C. Hormel Nature Center
    • $255,552.00
  • Olmsted County Chester Woods Park
    • $338,800.00
  • Winona Bluffs Traverse
    • $403,320.00