The Minnesota Senate today approved legislation authored by Senator Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) to designate a stretch of Highway 5 in Chanhassen, in and around Chanhassen and encompassing Paisley Park, as ‘Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway.’
The highway sign will be in purple to honor Prince’s legacy through his trademark color.
“It is very special to see this legislation to honor Prince Rogers Nelson through to the end,” said Coleman. “This has been a project that I’ve been pushing since my time of the Chanhassen City Council. Prince’s profound legacy lives on in Minnesota and in our community of Chanhassen.
Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway is a meaningful way we can commemorate the great accomplishments of a man known and admired worldwide, but who chose to call Chanhassen home. I am thrilled to the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway become a reality.”
The push to name the stretch of road after Prince was put forward by longtime friend and Paisley Park employee Mark Webster, who says this is the perfect way to honor Prince.
“He never asked for nobody for anything, I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give him,” says Webster. “The City of Chanhassen, the State of Minnesota, the world, he deserves every bit of this.”
As with all memorial highway renaming, the costs of the signs and the ongoing maintenance must come from non-state sources. Prince’s fans have privately raised the money necessary to cover the costs of the signs and are committed to help fund the necessary maintenance according to the bill.
Governor Walz said he will sign the bill, and it should be in place later this summer according to Coleman.