Arkansas blocks surplus grants, threatens Gold Star monument

News-Times
News-Times

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled against using grants from the state's surplus funds in a move that threatens plans for a monument honoring Gold Star families.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the court ruled last month that legislator-directed grants from the state's General Improvement Fund are unconstitutional.

A committee in charge of planning the Gold Star monument was supposed receive $90,000 from that fund in the form of two grants.

The Gold Star Family Memorial Monument committee is trying to raise $500,000 for a monument honoring families whose loved ones died while serving in the military. The group plans to build the monument outside the Capitol in Little Rock.

The state's attorney general says grants already awarded should be honored. Those would include the two promised to the monument committee.

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