A tall tale? A $300K request for Green Giant museum
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The Jolly Green Giant is in search of some green, as in state dollars for a tribute to the commercial icon and the vegetable-producing legacy he embodies.
A legislator from Vernon Center is pushing for up to $300,000 in state bond funds to help the city of Blue Earth build a Green Giant Museum. The money would be released once $150,000 in private financing is raised.
Republican Sen. Julie Rosen said the mascot and his jingle are known to vegetable eaters nationwide. In Blue Earth, there's a 55-foot Jolly Green Giant statue, which turns 40 years old in 2018.
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Rosen said the story of the Green Giant and the area canning industry needs to be told.
"When you think of the Green Giant, you think of Minnesota. Like I said, it's their history. They decorate him for Christmas and all the holidays," Rosen said. "He really is something to see."
Rep. Bob Gunther, R-Fairmont, is the House sponsor.
The request for state construction financing will compete with many others lawmakers are considering this session as they craft the so-called bonding bill. It takes a three-fifths majority to pass.
It's far from the only financing proposal around a project associated with a famous name. There are also pitches for money toward the Casey Jones Trail, the Lake Snoopy Trail and the Lake Wobegon Trail.