March 29th marked the last of the  Hmong and Lao Veterans Commemorative Memorial fundraising campaign. The Hmong and Lao fundraising committees raised the State-required matching funds for the project. The Monument bill is backed by Senator Foung Hawj, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Al Franklin, and many city and state officials. Throughout the last year the community convened many fundraising benefits to meet the private donor requirements established by the state. The State of Minnesota is expected to appropriate $450,000, with the expectation that another $150,000 from private donors be contributed in support of the effort. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton expressed his intent to support the appropriation, which was created by a capital bill proposed by House committee chair Rep. Alice Hausman of St. Paul. With approval later this year, the monument has an anticipated completion date of 2015, the 40th anniversary since the beginning of the Hmong and Laotian diaspora. The memorial will be built next to Minnesota’s Vietnam War memorial off of John Ireland Boulevard in Saint Paul. Community organizer Saysana Pommalth said “Finally, we …