MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The settlement announced today for victims of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse includes $1.5 million for a memorial commemorating victims of the 2007 disaster.
The money will be a donation from Robins Kaplan Miller and Ciresi and other law firms that represented the victims.
Mayor R.T. Rybak calls it "a new landmark in the history of civic giving in Minneapolis." And, he adds, the "entire city, region and state owes them a debt of gratitude."
Rybak says in a statement that the announcement comes on the heels of significant progress made recently on a redesigned memorial at a new location near the Mississippi River, and he hopes to move forward on it soon. The mayor says the gift from the law firms has lifted the financial challenges the memorial faced.
