Minnesota Senate votes to rename section of Highway 5 in honor of Prince
A bill to rename a section of Highway 5 in Chanhassen after one of Minnesota’s music legends is headed to the governor.
Lawmakers in the Minnesota Senate overwhelmingly voted Thursday to honor Prince by renaming the section of the roadway that goes through Chanhassen to “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway.”
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“Members, or I suppose, ‘dearly beloved,’ we are gathered here today to get through this thing called the 2023 legislative session,” Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, said when introducing the bill. “Though we lost him far too soon, his music and his legacy will live on forever.”
That’s true, in part, because a section of Highway 5 from Eden Prairie through Chanhassen will be named in his honor. Prince’s Paisley Park studio is located along that stretch of highway and has become a major tourist attraction.
“Thank you all for being here and honoring my brother Prince Rogers Nelson,” said his sister Sharon Nelson.”
Family friends were also there to watch the final vote.
“Prince never asked anybody for anything,” said Prince’s friend, Mark Webster. “I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give him. The City of Chanhassen, the State of Minnesota, the world. … He deserves every bit of this.”
There was bipartisan and lyrical support for the bill.
“We never mean to cause you any sorrow. We never mean to cause you any pain. We only want to see you laughing, laughing and celebrating with this purple sign,” said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis.
Dibble also applauded Coleman for convincing the Minnesota Department of Transportation to allow the signs for the highway to be purple instead of the usual brown.
“Members, you’ll notice passing this bill with the sign being purple is a deviation from standard practices, but as Prince said in his song ‘Uptown,’ ‘Now where I come from, we don’t let society tell us how it’s supposed to be,'” Coleman said.
The bill to rename Highway 5 passed the Senate 55-5 after previously passing the House 121-0.
Once the governor signs the bill, an official ceremony will be held to unveil the new highway signs.