Woman wills $1.8 million for loons
A Minneapolis woman left $1.8 million of her estate for the protection of loons, said MPR
Iva Weir, a school teacher, died in 2006 at the age of 85. Her money will now go to the Nature Conservatory in Minnesota for the protection of the Minnesota state bird. WCCO
It is one of the largest donations made to the conservatory for a single species.MPR
Weir was born in Moorehead, Minn. and grew up in Bemidji, Minn. before moving to Oregon in her 20s. WCCO
Chris Weir Koetter of Bemidji is Iva Weir's niece, and she said her aunt loved nature and the loon.
"She was truly a Minnesota girl at heart, and the loon was Minnesota," Koetter said. "She came back several times, and I'd take her out, and she always thrilled at seeing them. She made embroidery of loons, and had them on her mailbox, and I sent her tapes of their calls when those became available, and she just liked them."