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Ronald Reagan Billboard Appears in Minnesota

hotair.com

A billboard has appeared in Minnesota featuring a photograph of former President Ronald Reagan and the words, "Remember real hope and change?"

The billboard, first reported by Ed Morrissey at the blog Hot Air, is reminiscent of the "Miss Me Yet?" billboard that appeared in Minnesota last month.

The identity of the person or group behind the Reagan billboard is not yet known; the Bush version was attributed to "a group of small business owners who feel like Washington is against them" and who wanted to remain anonymous.

The billboard stands on I-94 in or near the town of Albertville, outside of Minneapolis. The town is reportedly part of the 6th Congressional District, which is represented in the House by Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Keith Franklin, the owner of Franklin Outdoor Advertising, confirmed the billboard's existence to Hotsheet. "I went by it Friday night and I went by it Sunday night," he said. Franklin said his company owns the billboard and that the company was not disclosing the identity of the person or group that paid for it.

Questions have been raised about whether the photograph of the billboard was photoshopped, in part because the text is so clear and crisp when contrasted with the rest of the image. The small text in the center of the wooden portion of the sign, just below the black outline of the main billboard, for example, is unreadable, even as the rest of the billboard is extremely clear.

One possible explanation, since the billboard does seem to exist, is that the photograph was at some point touched up for clarity.

Update March 16, 11:25 a.m. ET: CBS Station WCCO in Minneapolis/St. Paul caught some video of the billboard, which you can see below:
Local Video from WCCO in Minneapolis/St. Paul

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