BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota’s Senate has passed legislation to commit public money for a Theodore Roosevelt presidential library in western North Dakota.
Senators voted 34-13 after a more than hour-long debate to use $50 million from the state treasury and loans from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to help fund operating and maintenance costs of the proposed library in Medora.
The money must be matched by $100 million in private funds to build the facility. The legislation says $10 million from the private funds would be use to digitize presidential documents at nearby Dickinson State University. The project has been a top priority of Gov. Doug Burgum.
The measure now goes to the House, where the prospects of its passage may be dimmer than in the Senate.
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