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Marianne Combs
St. Paul, Minn.

Arts grants delayed because of lower consumer spending

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A number of grants funded by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Amendment have been delayed.

Sue Gens, Executive Director of the Minnesota State Arts Board, said it's due to lower consumer spending than predicted when appropriations were decided two years ago.

"The constitution says that none of those funds can overspend - it's not like a credit card where you can spend more than is coming in and pay it off later. If the money isn't in the fund it can't be spent."

The Arts and Culture Heritage Fund, the Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Clean Water Fund and the Parks and Trails Fund all depend on Minnesota's state sales tax revenue.

Gens said she hopes the deficit - when spread across various agencies - will be manageable.

Agencies are waiting for end of the year revenue numbers before making their final allotments.

Correction (Jan. 9, 2017): An earlier version of this story mistakenly included the Environment and Natural Resources Fund among the funds that depend on the state sales tax.