North Dakota governor wants to spend $50 million to build Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Plans for a $150 million Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum got a big boost from the bully pulpit in Bismarck when Gov. Doug Burgum proposed investing heavily in the project.

Burgum advocates tapping the state's Legacy Fund earnings to contribute $50 million to jump-start what he calls “North Dakota’s Mount Rushmore,” a center that would be built near a revamped entrance in Medora to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

“We have an opportunity to do something that no other state has done,” Burgum told The Forum Editorial Board. “This would be a flagship opportunity.”

Famously, Roosevelt spent time in the Badlands beginning in 1883 after his wife and mother died on Valentine’s Day. Roosevelt ranched and hunted in the Badlands, experiences he credited with enabling him to become president.