Legislators urge Dayton to focus on Racino to fund Vikings stadium

A bi-partisan group of 31 legislators sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton on  Friday urging him to raise funds for a Minnesota Vikings stadium by allowing full-fledged casinos at the state’s two horse racing tracks. It was signed by 27 Republicans and four DFLers.

The letter points out that a fiscal note on the Racino proposal determined that it would raise $135 million annually. They argue that it would generate enough revenue to pay for a stadium and begin paying back K-12 education funding delays.

“It is our judgment that the Racino-Vikings Stadium-School Shift Repayment proposal has the best chance of being adopted by the Legislature,” they wrote. “It includes the funding source with the greatest public support, and addresses two important issues for the state.”

Among the Republicans signing the letter were Senate Deputy Majority Leader Geoff Michel, Senate Finance Committee Chair Claire Robling and House Education Reform Committee Chair Sondra Erickson. The four DFLers signing on were Sens. Jim Metzen, Dan Sparks, Keith Langseth and LeRoy Stumpf.