ARE THE VIKINGS GOING TO BE MASS MURDERERS?

We have another wildlife controversy here in good ol' Minnesota and once again it involves what the citizens want vs. what the Governor and his pals (the Minneapolis Sports Facility Association) want.

Oooh, ahhhh. So pretty! NO, NOT REALLY! What you are looking at is a death trap for migratory birds.

The Vikings are planning to build a migratory bird killer (I mean stadium) and despite pleas from the public, bird conservation groups, and the Minneapolis City Council to change the glass in the current design to bird safe fritted glass the MSFA has given the public a big F-U! Kinda ironic really when half the money to build this stadium comes from the publics pocket.

Now we have the name of 70,000 Minnesota citizens on a petition demanding the Vikings change the glass in addition to hundreds that recently showed up in protest of the current design and what do we get, a big whopping NOTHING!

So... let me go off in another direction for a second. Have you ever seen a bird hit a window? Or better yet, have you heard it? I have. The picture window in my living room was great for two things: looking outside into my yard and attracting song birds.  After a while you get use to the sound of birds hitting glass but you never get use to finding dead or stunned birds laying on the ground outside the window.

This little bird survived after hitting our window.  Stunned but eventually recovered.

This little bird wasn't as lucky. It died immediately.

Fixing our bird killing window was simple and the fix for the Vikings stadium design is simple too.

Back to the Vikings Stadium...

Some statistics
40% of all North American waterfowl and 50% of all migratory bird species use the Mississippi as a navigational aid.  Estimate is about 1 billion birds fly by. 

This new stadium is being built on the Mississippi Flyway and the glass in the current design will attract, kill and injure countless birds so it is time we show our Governor and the MSFA just how much we care about birds. Call, write letters and put the pressure on Governor Dayton to step in and force the MSFA to make what is clearly a change that is in the best interest of wildlife and in favor of what the citizens of Minnesota want.

More information on Vikings vs. Minnesota Public

Gov. Mark Dayton Contact Info:
Link to online form

Address:
Office of the Governor & Lt Governor 
116 Veterans Service Building 
20 W 12th Street 
St. Paul, MN 55155 

Phone:
Telephone: 651-201-3400 
Toll Free: 800-657-3717 
Minnesota Relay: 800-627-3529 
Fax: 651-797-1850