MINNEAPOLIS— The majority of Minnesotans agree on one issue: continuing to use lottery money to protect the environment.
If you’ve walked on a trail or swam in a lake in Minnesota, you’ve benefited from the Natural Resources Trust Fund. The fund was designed decades ago with money from the state lottery.
“In 1988, Minnesotans decided to have a lottery and from then on they said, OK, if we’re going to do this, we want some of the proceeds to go to nature,” said Marcus Starr of Conservation Minnesota.
So every time you buy or scratch that ticket, 40 percent of the proceeds go to the fund.
“That money goes to the environment, doing things like parks and trails, clean water research, habitat protection and even cool things like outdoor programs for kids,” Starr said.
Starr says in order to get the fund on the ballot, it had to pass through the Legislature.
He says it happened in a bipartisan way and was probably on the most bipartisan billing of the last two sessions. Representative Athena Hollins endorsed the bill.
“Every 25 years it comes back and we need to reaffirm that this is what we want to do with that lottery money,” said Rep. Athena Hollins.
“I wasn’t surprised that 77 percent of people voted yes,” Starr said.
Every congressional district voted by more than 50 percent to approve this. Something the coalition of organizations that have worked together to raise awareness of the need is celebrating.
“It’s a group of 150 organizations from across the state, from environmental advocacy groups to businesses like Minnesota’s hospitality industry, to hunters like ducks unlimited to pheasants forever to the craft brewery guild that cares about clean water,” Starr said.
The fund generates $80 to $90 million a year. 17-hundred projects completed in the past 25 years; the hope is that more projects to protect the environment will now be possible.
Maintenance of the Superior Trail and the Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul are examples of the projects completed with money from the lottery fund.
Reg Chapman
