Members of the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (PLRAC) and local residents joined over 400 arts advocates from around the state, at the Capital March 8th and asked their legislators in person to support restoring arts funding to 2003 levels at $14 million per year for the Minnesota State Arts Board and the eleven Regional Arts Councils and to include the Arts in any sales tax dedication bill.
Brenda Flintrop, Executive Director of Prairie Lakes, noted that 400 arts advocates roamed the capital in 30 teams and held meetings with over 80% of all legislators. The team led by Flintrop met with six legislators from south-central Minnesota, including Senators: Dick Day and Kathy Sheran and Representatives Kathy Brynaert, Tony Cornish, Bob Gunther and Terry Morrow. Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, a non-profit advocacy group sponsors the annual event at the capitol. The purpose is to show the state legislature that the arts community speaks with one voice. From urban to rural, from large arts organizations to small, the arts play a significant role in our lives and the Minnesota State Legislature plays an important role in continued funding.
State arts’ funding is distributed to the eleven Regional Arts Councils geographically located throughout the state of Minnesota, and they provide grants to small arts organizations, community groups, artists and to schools for local arts programs. In FY 2006 PLRAC awarded 80 grants totaling $91,070, with grants ranging from $320 to $2,000 each; and about 37% of those activities focused on youth.
“Public funding for the arts is very important for south central Minnesota residents. Non-profit arts groups strengthen the economic development of small towns and promote tourism. Arts availability in a community enables local employers to attract and retain higher skilled employees,” noted Brenda Flintrop.
During meetings with individual legislators they were also informed about the Artists Economic Impact Study completed in 2006; by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts; Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Craft Council. The first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measured the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a looked at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans. “Artists in southwest MN have a $7.2 million dollar impact on Minnesota's economy, supporting nearly 300 full time jobs and delivering more than $800,000 in state and local government revenue. These regional findings are part of a statewide study that shows artists in MN have a total statewide economic impact of $205.2 million dollars. However, the study also found, on the whole, that MN artists are twice as likely as other Minnesotans to go without health insurance. This survey information will also be presented to the public in Mankato on March 15, at 5:00 p.m., at the Prairie Lakes Board meeting at Bethany Lutheran College, 700 Luther Drive, Mankato, Room 104 of the Fine Arts Building,” noted Brenda Flintrop.
The Economic Impact Study is available on-line from MN Citizens for the Arts, mca@mtn.org/mca. For more information about arts activities and grant programs contact the PLRAC office in Waseca at 1-800-298-1254, plrac@hickorytech.net or www.plrac.org.
The full statewide and eleven regional reports are available on-line from MN Citizens for the Arts, mca@mtn.org/mca. For more information about arts activities and grant programs contact the PLRAC office in Waseca at 1-800-298-1254, plrac@hickorytech.net or www.plrac.org.
