Minneapolis Star Tribune
Editorial, January 24, 2005
A window of opportunity is closing fast. If a planetarium is again to be part of the downtown Minneapolis library, as it was for 52 years, the Legislature must provide funding for it in the next several months.

Construction of the new library is proceeding apace. By this summer, enough work will be complete on the structure's topmost floor to make the planetarium's reemergence in that spot much more difficult and expensive -- and, hence, much less likely.

That situation makes the $25.5 million bond-authorization request by the Minnesota Planetarium Society a matter of real urgency for the 2005 Legislature. Count it among the most compelling reasons for early action on a bonding bill this session.

The case for state support for a major new planetarium in downtown Minneapolis is strong. Before the old planetarium was lost to the wrecking ball in 2002, it helped 75,000 Minnesotans a year, from all over the state, see and learn about the stars.

A new state-of-the-art facility would likely serve twice that many people each year. A majority of them would be schoolchildren, who would gain the inspiration of seeing stars as well as education about space discovery.

Increasingly, it takes a visit to a planetarium for Minnesotans to fully appreciate the night sky. Man-made lights are so prevalent, even in many smaller cities, that the "light pollution" they create obliterates all but the brightest stars from naked-eye view. By one estimate, 95 percent of Minnesota residents can no longer see the Milky Way on a clear summer night.

Planetarium promoters aptly ask: Can we claim to be the North Star State and deny ourselves the chance to see stars?

The bonding bill that will come to the Senate floor today includes full funding for a planetarium atop the new Minneapolis library. The House's version should follow suit. At this late date, partial or phased-in funding won't do. It's all or nothing.

Then when a bill arrives on Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk including planetarium funding -- an item he omitted from his bonding proposal -- he should remember all he has said about the good Minnesota derives from science education, natural resources and cultural amenities, and sign it.