Unclaimed property money targeted for museum fix

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican senator from Oklahoma City is proposing to fund the completion of a Native American museum by tapping $40 million from the state's Unclaimed Property Fund.

Sen. Kyle Loveless said his bill to complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum along the banks of the Oklahoma River is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Seven years after the start of construction, the sprawling $170 million museum at the crossroads of Interstates 35 and 40 remains unfinished.

A total of $40 million in private donations has been raised to complete the project, but the state Legislature has balked at passing a bill to provide $40 million in matching funds.

Oklahoma's Unclaimed Property Fund currently has about $90 million.