Funding for two local trails, with planned routes through Mower and Freeborn counties, were dealt a severe blow Wednesday night when Gov. Jesse Ventura nixed numerous projects on this year's bonding bill.

With his signature, Ventura vetoed the funding for the Blazing and Shooting Star trails.

If approved by Ventura, the Blazing Star Trail would have received $600,000 in funding and the Shooting Star Trail would have received $450,000 in funding.

But local trail supporters weren't the only ones not happy with decisions made by Ventura.

Cities, schools and organizations throughout the state had their hopes deflated as well Wednesday.

"I'm extremely disappointed," said University of Minnesota president Mark Yudof. "To me, higher education is a priority. The governor vetoed some items that are really of enormous statewide benefit."

The university received $111.9 million in projects, but had $48.3 million vetoed.

Yudof said he was most disappointed that a $25 million research facility for the medical school was not included.

"I just don't get it," Yudof said. "If you want a payback and you want something with statewide significance, this is as clear a priority as I can imagine."

Other higher education projects cut included $8.4 million for an athletics facility in Mankato, remodeling at Hennepin Technical College and veterinary facilities in St. Paul.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system got $158.8 million in projects, but had $50.7 million cut.

Arts took perhaps the biggest hit. Nearly every project was cut, including the Guthrie Theater, the Minneapolis Children's Theater, the Bloomington Arts Center and the Rochester Arts Center.

Joe Dowling, artistic director at the Guthrie, called the $24 million veto there "a serious body blow" to moving the theater closer to the river.

"The governor never bothered to discover the merits of this project," Dowling said.

He said Guthrie officials tried many times to meet with Ventura, but were refused.

Other smaller projects throughout the state were nixed, like $3.5 million for freight rail improvement projects in Winona and Savage.

The Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee, chaired by former U.S. Rep. Tim Penny, had recommended the projects. Penny has been a close advisor of Ventura's.

Winona and Savage are Minnesota's two biggest grain ports. About 12,000 freight cars and 100,000 grain trucks pass through Winona alone each year, said Winona city manager Eric Sorensen.

"It's horribly congested," he said. "The whole point of the project was to streamline the traffic."

The money would have been used to create an overpass at the railroad intersection and four-lane highway to allow trucks to pass through the city smoothly without stopping constantly for trains.

"Here's the governor talking about his interest in international trade, yet he vetoes projects that would improve it," Sorensen said.

Larry Buboltz, mayor of Detroit Lakes and vice president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, said he was "extremely disappointed" in the governor's vetoes of several projects designed to help many smaller cities at once.

Those included money for economic infrastructure, a redevelopment proposal and some wastewater grants -- "things many cities don't have the wherewithal to do for themselves," he said

"Where is economic development needed in this state?" Buboltz said. "One of the reasons we were so prosperous in the 90s was that we were prosperous in the whole state. I'm hoping we don't go back to just being prosperous in the metro area."