At Minn. Zoo, some upgrades will wait

Published 11:08 am Monday, June 3, 2013

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — The new Hawaiian monk seals at the Minnesota Zoo will have to wait.

Officials at the zoo in Apple Valley wanted to renovate a million-gallon tank in Discovery Bay to house the seals. The zoo needs another $1 million to finish that work before the seals can move in.

But state lawmakers didn’t approve the $15 million the zoo requested in construction borrowing.

Plans to remodel the zoo’s snow monkey exhibit are also on hold.

The zoo is moving forward with privately funded projects. That includes a new “Crossroads Park” with a carousel featuring endangered species. That will go where the zoo’s Replay Park now sits on the Northern Trail.