Funding for the Red River State Recreation Area remains safe, East Grand Forks Mayor Lynn Stauss told the City Council on Tuesday.
There had been some fears that the budget crunch Minnesota faces would cause the state to cut out the campground near downtown.
In conversations with Department of Natural Resources officials, Stauss said the $200,000 the state promised earlier for adding 35 campsites is secured. He expects bids to go out in February, he said.
Even the $110,000 a year the state pays the city to run the campground appears safe, he said. DNR officials still have to file the paperwork, he said, but it's all but a done deal. He expects to hear more at the start of 2009, he said.
The campground has grown by leaps and bounds since opening in 2005, routinely filling its 72 campsites every weekend in the summer. City leaders see it as a valuable contributor to the local economy.
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Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
