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‘A gift to Minnesotans:’ Prince’s home state names part of highway after him

Gov. Tim Walz speaks before signing a bill designating a section of Highway 5, a road that runs past Paisley Park, the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” in Chanhassen, Minn, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Gov. Tim Walz speaks before signing a bill designating a section of Highway 5, a road that runs past Paisley Park, the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” in Chanhassen, Minn, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.Ben Hovland | MPR News

by Nicole Ki

May 10, 2023

Minnesota has named a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 in honor of Prince.

Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill establishing Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway on Tuesday at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, where Prince lived, worked and performed on occasion.  

Three people walk through a doorway
Mark Webster, a close friend of Prince, welcomes Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

“It’s a gift to Minnesotans,” said Walz. “Minnesotans love Prince. They love him to this day. They love what it stands for. And they love the idea that this genius, this global icon can come out and have roots and be truly Minnesotan.”

The highway starts in Eden Prairie and goes past Paisley Park not far from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the inspiration for the final track of Prince’s 25th album called “Arboretum.

Three people look at a purple grand piano
Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan admire Prince’s purple grand piano at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Prince died at Paisley Park at 57 years old on April 21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Purple signs will stand along the memorial highway to pay tribute to Prince. Those involved in getting the highway renamed said they anticipate the Minnesota Department of Transportation will install the signs sometime this summer.

An aerial photo is seen in Paisley Park
An aerial photo is seen in Paisley Park and Highway 5 on Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Chanhassen, Minnesota. MN lawmakers vote to name a highway for Prince.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

Prince’s longtime friend Mark Webster, who helped plan the highway project, said it was the best gift Minnesota could give to Prince.

“Prince never wanted anything from nobody,” said Webster. “But I think the state of Minnesota giving him this highway is a great thing for the world, for the state of Minnesota to see.”

A man wearing a purple hat holds up a paper folder
Sam Cooke, singer and friend of Prince, smiles as he holds up a copy of the bill designating a portion of Highway 5 as “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” outside Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn. on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

This article originally published on the MPR News website.