Minnesota set to rename highway after Prince
Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway would cover a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5. The Minnesota House passed the bill 121-0 on the seventh anniversary of his death.
The Minnesota House passed a bill on Friday that would rename a highway after the late musical legend Prince.
As KARE 11 reports, Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway would cover a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 in Chanhassen and Eden Prairie. Purple signs would be installed on that segment of the roadway this summer, according to the bill, House File 717.
In a statement, Rep. Lucy Rehm of Chanhassen, one of the bill’s authors, called it “a tremendous privilege” to “honor Prince’s contributions to our state, our country, and the world.”
Prince died of a fentanyl overdose at age 57 at his Paisley Park home in Carver County, Minnesota, on April 21, 2016. Since then, Mark Webster, a security guard at the estate, has pushed to rename Highway 5 after the iconic native son of Minneapolis, according to KARE 11.
On Friday, the seventh anniversary of Prince’s death, the bill passed the House 121-0. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign the legislation, once the Senate votes on a companion bill, before the legislature adjourns on May 22, KARE 11 reports.
“This is for all the fans, for the people who love Prince,” Webster said after the vote. “Prince gave a lot to us. This is about giving something back to Prince and honoring him and his legacy.”
In her speech on Friday, Rehm channeled Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” lyrics to celebrate the bill’s passage, MPR News reports.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get signs on Highway 5. Memorial signs in law forever – and that’s a mighty long time,” she said to the Minnesota House chamber. “You can always see the signs, day or night.”
Last summer, the years-long legal battle over Prince’s $156 million estate came to a close when a Minnesota judge ruled that publisher Primary Wave and three of the late musician’s siblings would equally split the artist’s assets, theGrio reported.
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