Minnesota set to pay homage to Prince with highway

Minnesota is one step closer to honoring the late legendary musician Prince, as the Senate passed a bill 55-5 on Thursday to rename a stretch of Highway 5 in Chanhassen and Eden Prairie after him.

The legislation to rename a seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 from Highway 41 in Chanhassen to Mitchell Road in Eden Prairie as the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” passed the House unanimously last month on the seventh anniversary of Prince’s death.

It now heads to Gov. Tim Walz, who is expected to sign it into law.

Sen. Julia Coleman (R-48, Waconia), who authored SF 279, said Thursday that she has been pushing the project since her time on the Chanhassen City Council.

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“Prince’s profound legacy lives on in Minnesota and in our community of Chanhassen,” Coleman said. “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway is a meaningful way we can commemorate the great accomplishments of a man known and admired worldwide but who chose to call Chanhassen home.”

In honor of Prince’s trademark color, the highway sign will be colored purple. According to Coleman, sign costs and maintenance will be covered by non-state sources, with the funds privately raised by Prince’s numerous fans.

Prince’s former residence and recording studio, Paisley Park, located on Highway 5 and Audubon Road in Chanhassen, has become a global pilgrimage site for fans after the musician called the area home for almost three decades.

The House legislation HF 717 was authored by Rep. Lucy Rehm (DFL-48B, Chanhassen) and co-sponsored by House Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL-49B, Eden Prairie).

“Prince meant a lot to many people and was a good steward of our arts and culture here in Minnesota,” Kotyza-Witthuhn said. “It was easy for me to support an effort to memorialize him, especially since part of the seven-mile stretch runs through Eden Prairie.”