[0:00] - We are just tickled to death with this new location. [0:04] - Bloomington Remembers Veterans is a 501c3 organization [0:07] that was created to raise the funds [0:10] for a future Bloomington Veterans Memorial. [0:12] We started in 2018 [0:14] and we've been working passionately as a group [0:16] of volunteers ever since [0:18] to create this beautiful Veterans Memorial [0:20] that will be here at Harrison Park. [0:22] - The city of Bloomington [0:23] and Bloomington Remembers Veterans Organization have been [0:26] working to site a Veterans Memorial [0:29] for a number of years now. [0:31] The opportunity with the Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal [0:35] Project came [0:36] to be recently exploring this site here in Harrison Park. [0:40] The Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project is not [0:44] providing funding for the memorial, [0:46] but the planned infrastructure supports the location here at [0:50] this site in Harrison Park, the natural resource restoration [0:54] that's already planned here, [0:56] and then the accessible route [0:58] to the trails along nine Mile Creek. [1:00] I'll make it a really good and fitting location. [1:03] - We are really excited [1:04] that the future Bloomington Veterans Memorial will [1:06] be at Harrison Park. [1:08] We've looked at a couple of other locations close [1:10] to Civic Plaza [1:11] and while there was a lot of good things about those, [1:14] this is really the ideal location. [1:16] It's peaceful, it's calm, it's a high point [1:19] for entering the Nine Mile Creek Corridor, [1:21] and it's going to be everything that we want it to be. [1:23] - We need a Veteran's memorial in Bloomington. [1:27] Bloomington is one of the few cities in the state [1:32] of Minnesota that doesn't have a Veterans Memorial, [1:35] and we need to honor our veterans. [1:39] - This project is being funded by a lot of resources, a lot [1:42] of people coming together to say this is important [1:44] and to tell the veterans of Bloomington [1:46] that this project matters to them. [1:48] So we are really proud [1:49] to have private donors from individuals to local businesses. [1:53] We have service clubs and folks like that involved. [1:55] We also have the support of the city council [1:58] and of the city themselves. [1:59] And then we also secured a large gift from the state [2:02] of Minnesota, which we're really, really proud of, [2:03] which allowed us to show Bloomington that this is a, [2:06] a sizable project that really matters. [2:08] And then we also have an opportunity for folks to give [2:12] to the memorial by adding their name [2:14] or adding the name of a loved one [2:15] as a veteran to the memorial. [2:17] So that for $350, you can add that name to the memorial [2:21] - And there'll be six armatures that contain the dog tags. [2:26] There'll be QR codes throughout the memorial. Visitors [2:31] get the QR code, find their dog tag that they're looking [2:35] for, the veteran they're looking for. [2:37] - And not only is it on the physical memorial, [2:39] but you'll also have a digital page on a website [2:43] that will be able to tell the story of that. [2:45] Veteran Bloomington remembers veterans is really fortunate [2:48] to be partnering with the city [2:49] of Bloomington on this critical project. [2:52] And we are are really proud to be partnering [2:54] and we're really proud to have landed at Harrison Park. [2:57] The opportunities here are immense [2:58] and the peaceful setting that we'll be able to deliver [3:01] to our veterans is wonderful. [3:03] - The plan is that the memorial will be complete [3:07] and ready to celebrate Veterans Day in November of 2026. [3:12] Project updates will be [3:14] provided on the Bloomington Veterans Memorial webpage, [3:18] as well as the bloomingtonforward.org website.