Thousands Want Christopher Columbus Statue Replaced with Prince

Legal boundaries may interfere with this effort

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Thousands of people in Minnesota are rallying behind an effort to bring prince to the capitol.

Nearly 5,000 people have signed a petition to take down a statue of Christopher Columbus at the Minnesota state capitol and replace it with one of the late singer, “Prince.”

The petition says Columbus does not represent the values of Minnesotans and Prince does.

A member with the capitol area architectural and planning board said any new memorials must have statewide significance.

“We want to protect this space for the general public and not just for people who want something to commemorate,” said Paul Mandell with the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board.

Another rule which could derail the Prince memorial is the person must be dead for 10 years.

Prince fans also are trying to get his home studio at Paisley Park declared a national historic site.