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Minnesota Zoo to get $6 million in emergency funding

The zoo's drive-thru experience, Beastly Boulevard, has also been extended.

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — After closing its doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Minnesota Zoo is slated to get some desperately needed financial help.

The zoo will receive $6 million in COVID-19 relief funding from the state to maintain operations. The Legislative COVID-19 Response Commission approved the proposed expenditure request on Tuesday.

In June, Governor Tim Walz said the zoo was on the brink of closing if it didn't receive funding as part of his proposed bonding bill.

"The zoo depends on two-thirds of its total budget (from) gate fees and donations," said State Rep. John Huot last month, who sponsored the amendment. "They totally lost that as they had to close one of the first weeks in the COVID crisis to protect their staff and the state's asset out there, the animals."

To try and recoup some of the lost revenue, the Minnesota Zoo reopened its doors to a drive-thru experience, Beastly Boulevard, on June 25.

Initially set to only run until July 5, the zoo announced this week that it's extending the dates after tickets sold out. The Beastly Boulevard experience will now run until July 12.

Tickets for Beastly Boulevard are available online at mnzoo.org/beastlyboulevard. They're $25 per vehicle for zoo members and $50 per vehicle for nonmembers.

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