Mississippi is cornering the market on taxpayer-funded music museums.
First there was a state-funded museum dedicated to country legend Tammy Wynette. Now the state is going to have a museum for the Grammy Foundation in Cleveland, Miss., and it’s going to be built with federal and state taxpayer dollars.
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in his annual report on federal government waste, the “Wastebook,” said the Grammy Museum played a sour tune as part of the list of 100 “silly, unnecessary and low-budget” projects, which add up to $25 billion.
The federal government gave Delta State University $1.25 million — through the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic
Development Administration — to help build an access road and upgrade infrastructure in preparation for the 2015 opening of the $18-million Grammy Museum Mississippi.
The state also contributed $6 million to the 280,000-square foot project, which also got money from private donations and is being built on Delta State’s old golf course. The museum is scheduled to open Sept. 26.