BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — It was a shocking discovery nearly 30 years after losing a child. A Minnesota family says a memorial honoring their 6-year-old son stood in a Bloomington park, until recently when they found out city crews removed it.
“There’s something missing that should be here,” Erik Gusaas said.
He visited Dred Scott Park with his children for the first time Tuesday evening.
“There was a granite memorial 39 inches tall, which was how tall my brother was when he passed away,” he said.
His brother Kirk died from congenital heart defects in 1996, two days after his sixth birthday. After his death, his parents, Karen and Robert, raised around $25,000 from nearly 200 people and groups in the community. They donated the money to the city of Bloomington to build basketball courts and a monument in honor of Kirk, called ‘Kirks Hoops.’ It was unveiled in August of 1997.
“Everyone just came together in a joyful way to celebrate a life cut short and to give back and do something good for the community for other children to enjoy,” his mother Karen Gusaas said.