The Golden Turkey Committee tried to warn Minnesotans not to continue sending lottery money to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), but not enough listened. The result will be 25 more years of stupid spending from this fund and 25 more years of projects to feature in our annual award. A prime example set to break ground this fall is the National Loon Center in Cross Lake, Minnesota with a price tag of $18.5 million dollars. Apparently, the lunatics backing our state bird became jealous of the National Eagle Center in Wabasha (also funded with state money) and decided the state needed a center dedicated just to loons. The lunacy of this huge expenditure of taxpayer money to build an extravagant center to honor a bird earned this project a nomination for the 2024 Golden Turkey Award.
The loon center’s funding followed the familiar pattern of past Golden Turkey winners from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. First, ask for a small grant to get the idea moving. In this case, it was $4 million from the ENRTF in 2019. Project backers used that money to hire architects to design site plans and beautiful drawings to help Minnesotans dream about what the finished project will look like. They created a webpage and set up a foundation to begin raising money for a “local match.” But the local match is always dwarfed by the different sources of government money.
In 2023, loon backers hit the jackpot in the bonding bill — receiving another $2.5 million, enough to plan the groundbreaking. At this writing, Minnesota U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar are working hard to convince their colleagues in the world’s most important deliberative body to donate another $1.7 million in federal money to this loony project.
The center will take up 10 acres of prime waterfront real estate in Cross Lake including a 15,000 square foot building, a bird sanctuary, boardwalks and docks.
Adding to its $18.5 million cost, the building will be built using the expensive B3 design process required of any project funded with state money. The B3 (Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond) process artificially inflates construction costs to comply with progressive environmental regulations. Among other things, the B3 guidelines require buildings to be 90% more energy efficient than average.
This project is a great example of how legislators can compartmentalize funding. They can argue for hours over an additional $20 million for the public safety bill without any regard for the $20 million this project will take from taxpayers, because it’s from a different funding source. The taxpayers can’t tell the difference, which is why the Golden Turkey Award exists.
First the eagle, then the loon — maybe next year we can get millions of dollars to build the National Golden Turkey Center. A bird can dream.
To cast your vote for the 2024 Golden Turkey, click here.