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It’s officially Prince Day in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Minnesota: Read the proclamations

by Jay Gabler

October 13, 2016

It's official: Mayor Chris Coleman has declared today Prince Day in the St. Paul, as the city prepares to welcome thousands of fans to tonight's tribute concert at the Xcel Energy Center. Governor Mark Dayton jumped on as well, declaring it Prince Tribute Day in the State of Minnesota — and then, not to be outdone, Mayor Betsy Hodges declared it Prince Day in Minneapolis too.

In his proclamation, Coleman notes that "Prince played a combined total of ten sold-out performances at the Saint Paul Civic Center and Xcel Energy Center," which now stands where the Civic Center once was, "including three consecutive sold-out shows June 16, 17 and 18, 2004." It was something of an unexpected coup for St. Paul to land tonight's tribute, which was originally planned to take place at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Dayton, in his proclamation, calls Prince "a music industry innovator, a mentor, and a humble philanthropist." Both civic leaders encourage everyone to wear purple today. (Why didn't Dayton just declare it Prince Day? Because he already did that this year: on June 7, Prince's birthday.) Hodges took the night owl award, showing up at Muse Event Center just before 3 a.m. to read her proclamation at the afterparty.

Read all the proclamations below, and tune in to our Local Current stream today to hear our Prince library played A-Z. If you're in the area, watch for The Current at the official pre-party — which is open to all, starting at 4 p.m. outside the arena.

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Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.