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Public hearing: CAP board staff say USS Ward gun meets rule for possible removal amid conservation concerns
Summary
Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board staff reported that an application to remove the USS Ward gun meets Minnesota rules subpart 6, condition C — citing active deterioration — and will ask the board to review the application on Jan. 28, 2025; written public comments are open through Jan. 7.
Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board staff concluded that an application to remove the USS Ward gun from the Capitol Mall meets the threshold in Minnesota rules 2 402 7 0 3 subpart 6 (condition C), citing the artifact’s active deterioration and the department’s inability to properly care for it outdoors.
Kinan Chimozu, the 2024–2025 planner fellow with CAP staff, told the public hearing on Jan. 7 that staff received the removal application on Aug. 19, 2024, and reviewed it under the cited Minnesota rule. "The applicable condition is condition C," Kinan said, reading the rule language and explaining that condition C applies when an artwork requires maintenance or storage beyond what the Department of Administration can provide.
The public hearing drew veterans, conservators and museum advocates who urged relocation to an indoor, climate-controlled display. "This gun is an artifact that deserves and demands better protection from the elements," said Brooks Berg, a retired Navy captain and volunteer with a World War II roundtable. Conservator Paul Storch summarized his written condition report and recommended removal: "The Ward gun currently on outdoor display is actively deteriorating, resulting in continued metal loss and disfigurement," Storch said, noting flaking surfaces, exposed recoil-tube springs and corrosion driven by salt aerosol.
Bill James, area president of the Navy League of the United States (Upper Midwest), and others recommended moving the gun to a planned museum at Camp Ripley so it can be restored and displayed for public education. A written exhibit comment read into the record by Executive Secretary Eric emphasized that a restored USS Ward gun would serve as a central tableau in the new museum galleries.
CAP staff reiterated the next procedural steps: written comments are being accepted through Jan. 7, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.; staff will compile comments and issue a summary and recommendation to the board at a public meeting on Jan. 28, 2025. If the board votes that the criteria in subpart 6 have been met, the application would move to the commemorative artwork review committee and a subsequent comment period likely in February would address the removal question itself.
No formal board decision on removal was made at the public hearing. The hearing served to collect testimony and data relevant to the staff assessment of condition C and conservation options. CAP staff said they will be present at the Jan. 28 meeting to present their recommendation and the public may submit additional written comment through Jan. 7.
