Your Help Needed

What is happening-

When the Minneapolis and Hennepin County library systems merged effective January 1, 2008 the County inherited the 2005 bonding commitment for the Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center (MPSDC) of $22 million. The County Board is now considering whether to move forward with the Planetarium. The Hennepin County Board held a Board Briefing on the Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center on May 15, 2008, but action has yet been taken. This is a critical time for supporters of the new Planetarium to let Hennepin County commissioners and State Legislators know of their support.

What to do-

Contact your Hennepin County Commissioner – NOW!

Contact your State Legislators – NOW!

Pass this message along to other supporters.- NOW!

What to say-

Of course that is up to you but here are some talking points. Pick one or two points that are important to you.

Minnesota ranks 50th of all the states by having no major public planetarium

The Planetarium is a family venue that can only be provided with some County support

At the old planetarium, which was torn down with the old Minneapolis Central Library, 70% of the visitors were from suburban Hennepin County

The Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center would be a keystone supporting Minnesota's STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education initiative important to preparing Minnesota students for 21st century job opportunities.

The Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center will have a state-wide educational outreach, working with teachers and students with curriculum that is aligned with Minnesota science standards

The County needs to act soon to support a MPSDC capital campaign or it is likely that the $22 million in State bonding authority for construction of the facility will be lost.

The County will be making a decision in the next few weeks whether to provide support that would enable a capital campaign to raise the private funds necessary to build the Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center.

If the capital campaign is not initiated in the next few months, the $22 million in bonding authority is likely to be lost and the MPSDC will not be built.

Please contact your County Commissioner and State Legislators and urge them to move forward with the Planetarium.

Resources

To find your Hennepin County Commissioner: http://www16.co.hennepin.mn.us/voterinfo/commissioner/search.jsp

To find your State Legislators: http://geo.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/districts/start.html

County Administrator Richard Johnson: county.admin@co.hennepin.mn.us 612-348-7574