Congratulations to FY2025 Legacy Funding Designees!

Below is a message from Greater Minnesota Regional Parks & Trails Commission (GMRPTC) Executive Director Renee Mattson. You can reach her at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org.

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On November 22, Commissioners gathered for a last review of the FY25 funding applications and finalized their recommendations.

Funding for FY25 was significantly greater than in previous cycles due to carryover funds from FY24, dollars from 2019 that were part of a newly discovered holdback from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new available funding stream from the Lottery in Lieu fund. There were 20 eligible applications, and the Commission is pleased to award funding to 14 projects.

A small fund is also available for emerging opportunities for Connecting People to the Outdoors that may arise in the coming year.

Fiscal Year 2025 Greater Minnesota Legacy Funding Recommendations

Project	Award	District
Sandstone Robinson Quarry Park	$2,257,200	1
Hubbard County Deep Lake Park	$1,042,300	2
Red Lake River Corridor – East Grand Forks	$888,177	2
Warroad Point Park	$2,760,333	2
Gull Lake Trail – Fairview Township & City of Nisswa	$1,456,951	2
Lac qui Parle County Park	$595,380	3
Morrison County Belle Prairie Park	$924,516	4
Isanti County Irving & John Anderson County Park	$255,400	4
Isanti County Springvale Park	$81,000	4
Sherburne County Two Inlets at Bdé Heḣáka – Omashkooz Zaaga’igaans Regional Park	$1,985,875	4
Stearns County Rockville County Park	$210,000	4
Lyon County Garvin Park	$926,809	5
Greater Mankato River Valley Trail System	$1,216,456	5
Cannon Valley Trail	$1,720,593	6
Emerging Opportunities Fund	$33,045
Total	$16,354,035

Project Descriptions

Check out the highlights below for more information on each exciting project approved for legacy grant funding:

• Sandstone Robinson Quarry Park — Phase 2 builds on the work accomplished in Phase 1. Public water access improvements, trail improvements and extension, interpretation, and wayfinding signage. Additional parking for better access to the climbing walls. Four new campsites and one group campsite.
• Hubbard County Deep Lake Park — Improvements to park access road and gravel parking lot. Removal of unusable buildings and structures as well as renovations of useable buildings. Upgraded power supply, lighting, and signage, and improved soft-surface trails.
• Red Lake River Corridor: East Grand Forks — East Grand Forks LaFave Park new boat access ramp that will improve efficiency and increase the number of boats using the Red River. This is the only boat access to the Red River of the North in East Grand Forks.
• Warroad Point Park — Phase I development includes a road extension to a new parking lot to accommodate 96 vehicles with boat trailers and a boat wash to keep out invasive species. Vinyl sheet piling retaining materials will stabilize the marina walls and four floating docks will provide mooring for up to 40 boats. Two vault toilets will provide facilities for marina visitors as well as park users.
• Gull Lake Trail: Fairview Township & City of Nisswa — The final segment of the Gull Lake Trail in Fairview Township, a .6-mile paved trail connecting the recently completed southern 4.1 miles and the northern 3.1 miles of trail. The final segment of the Nisswa section of the Gull Lake Trail is a paved .8-mile of trail beginning at the Cass County/Crow Wing County border running east to Lower Roy Lake Road.
• Lac qui Parle County Park — Phase 1 of the park improvements includes a necessary pedestrian bridge connecting the east and west sides of the park which are separated by the Lac qui Parle river. Wayfinding signage will be installed on both sides of the bridge, and a new gravel parking lot, shoreline restoration, and natural surface trails will complete the Phase 1 work.
• Morrison County Belle Prairie Park — The projects at the park focus on enhancing river access and improving safety and accessibility. New features include an accessible fishing pier, new stairways, an ADA accessible walkway to the river, a picnic shelter, and new restrooms.
• Isanti County Irving & John Anderson County Park — Acquisition of 3.36 acres fee title with a Life Estate. The property has dry upland oak forests and approximately 294 feet of shoreline on Horseleg Lake.
• Isanti County Springvale Park — Acquisition of 18 acres. The property consists of native prairie, upland forests, and season wetlands.
• Sherburne County Two Inlets at Bdé Heḣáka: Omashkooz Zaaga’igaans Regional Park — The Phase 1 developments will improve park access with a new road alignment and signage. A new parking lot with a bus drop-off area and parking for five buses. A new natural surface trail network and trail amenities including interpretive and wayfinding signage. Establishment of a Foraging Forest will offer a learning environment with programming, demonstrations, and harvest celebrations.
• Stearns County Rockville County Park — Acquisition of 19.06 acres of land for additional outdoor recreational opportunities.
• Lyon County Garvin Park — Addition of four camper cabins, five tent campsites and upgraded electrical service.
• Greater Mankato River Valley Trail System — Reuse and installation of the historic Kern Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in Minnesota, which was made of wrought iron and is a very rare structure. The bridge will connect the Land of Memories Park to Sibley Park and the Minneopa Trail over the Blue Earth River.
• Cannon Valley Trail — Replacement of a deteriorated 100 plus year-old wooden bridge with a new steel truss bridge, replacement of 4.6 miles of poor quality 8’ wide trail with new 10’ wide bituminous trail, and two sediment control structures to control sediment deposits from adjacent ravines.
• Emerging Opportunities Fund — Opportunity fund available for grants as new Connecting People to the Outdoors projects arise.

The GMRPTC forwards its recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature for approval through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, which will be take place during the upcoming legislative session.

For more information on these projects and the Greater MN Regional Parks & Trails Commission, visit gmrptcommission.org.