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Alex Friedrich
St. Paul, Minn.

Stars, money align for new Twin Cities planetarium

Exhibit at the Bell Museum of Natural History
Visitors walk past an exhibit at the Bell Museum of Natural History on the campus of the University of Minnesota, in a 2008 file photo.
Tim Post/MPR News, file

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The University of Minnesota will break ground next spring for a new planetarium and home for its Bell Museum of Natural History.

The new planetarium will fill a gap created more than a decade ago when the planetarium at the old Minneapolis Public Library was demolished, said Steve Birke the Bell's advisory board chairman. As many as 120 people will be able to sit under a large dome and watch high-tech presentations on the planets and stars.

The $58 million building should open on the U's St. Paul campus by spring 2017 at the latest, he added.

The university will borrow more than $51 million to finance construction. The Legislature has agreed to pay $3.5 million a year to cover the debt.