Upgrades for two ice rinks in Minneapolis suburbs made a list of the "top 100" pork projects from the stimulus bill, in a report released by two Republican senators Tuesday.
The rinks — the Bielenberg Sports Center in Woodbury and Eagan Civic Arena in Eagan — received a combined $1.8 million in stimulus funds to update their heating systems.
Titled "Summertime Blues," the list was created by Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma in an attempt to highlight problems with the $787 billion stimulus bill passed last year.
"There is no question job creation should be a national priority, but torrential, misdirected government spending is not the way to do it," the senators wrote in the report's introduction.
The rink in Woodbury upgraded its geo-exchange heating system for $2.3 million, in a project that's supposed to eventually pay for itself. The city received more than $500,000 in stimulus funds, according to the report.
In Eagan, the ice arena received more than $1.3 million for a new heat pump, which covered about a third of the cost.
Other fun projects on the list: iPods for high school students, cell phones for smokers, and a project for "reducing menopausal hot flashes through yoga."
