ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesotans are one step closer to driving their little red Corvettes on a highway named after music legend and Chanhassen's most famous resident, Prince.
On Friday, the Minnesota House passed a bill that would rename a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 in Chanhassen and Eden Prairie as "Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway."
House File 717 specifies signs on that stretch of the highway would be purple and installed in the summer of 2023.
“It’s a tremendous privilege to work with Minnesotans and all the advocates to recognize and honor Prince’s contributions to our state, our country, and the world,” Rep. Lucy Rehm (DFL-Chanhassen), an author on the bill, said in a statement.
The bill unanimously passed the House with a 121-0 vote on the seventh anniversary of Prince's death at his home in Paisley Park.
A companion bill is currently working its way through the Senate and is expected to be signed by Governor Tim Walz before the legislature adjourns on May 22.
Mark Webster, a security guard at Paisley Park, has been pushing to rename this stretch of Highway 5 after Prince for at least three and a half years now.
"What I felt today in the state capitol was 100-percent bipartisanship. Everybody was happy. Everybody wanted this to happen," Webster said. "This is for all the fans, for the people who love Prince. Prince gave a lot to us. This is about giving something back to Prince and honoring him and his legacy."
Mary Anne Wasik, a Prince fan since she was 12 years old, called the road a "perfect" tribute.
"It's something that will last forever," she said, "like his music."
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