Hwy. 5 gets a purple makeover in honor of Prince

Gov. Tim Walz signed into law Tuesday a bill that renames part of a state highway after Prince, citing his transformational impact on the music scene both in Minnesota and around the globe.

Outside of Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Walz made the bill official using purple ink in honor of Prince’s trademark color. The seven-mile stretch of Highway 5 from Highway 41 in Chanhassen to Mitchell Road in Eden Prairie is now the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. Purple highway signs will soon mark the road.

“Prince was a proud Minnesotan through and through, and it’s only fitting that we honor this icon in the community he called home,” Walz wrote in a Twitter post.

Sen. Julia Coleman (R-48, Waconia), Rep. Lucy Rehm (DFL-48B, Chanhassen), and Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL-49B, Eden Prairie) attended the signing along with Prince’s family and friends.

The Senate passed SF 279, authored by Coleman, 55-5 on Thursday, while the House unanimously approved HF 717, authored by Rehm, last month on the seventh anniversary of Prince’s death. Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL-49B, Eden Prairie) is a co-sponsor of the House bill.

Rehm said it was an honor to “carry this legislation for Chanhassen.” She said Prince not only gave the world music, but his “art, energy, and the beautiful poetry of his lyrics was a constant symbol of peace, love and unbridled joy in a world where we are often left ‘alone in a world that’s so cold.'”

Coleman said the project is a long time in the making. “I’m thrilled that purple signs will soon go up to honor this Minnesota icon,” she said.

Funds to purchase the signs for the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway are being raised privately through a GoFundMe page, with a goal of $11,000 yet to be reached.