Roosevelt library CEO: Funding on track despite backpedal

MEDORA, N.D. (AP) — The planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library won’t get all the money initially promised from a Walmart heir but officials say they surpassed its $100 million private fundraising goal anyway. Rob and Melani Walton had pledged $50 million to the project but KFGO radio first reported that the couple wound up committing to $15 million instead. Melani Walton, a Williston native, had been a member of the library’s board but resigned last month (March 2022). Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Library organizers set the fund-raising bar at $100 million in order to access an additional $50 million in state money. Library Foundation CEO Ed O’Keefe declined to say how much money has been raised, citing “the quiet phase of the capital campaign.”