Eagan--An Eagan open-space group has raised more than $3,000 in individual contributions to help preserve the Caponi Art Park.

On Thursday, Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway handed a stack of about 100 checks to art park owners Tony and Cheryl Caponi. The money will be used to help the city buy the 60-acre sculpture garden and learning center. "The dollar amount is great, but I'm impressed by the number of people" who contributed to the cause, Cheryl Caponi said. She said the donations will help the art park board kick off its fund-raising campaign.

City, county and state agencies have already pledged to pitch in more than $2 million to the acquisition. The Caponis estimate they need to raise an additional $2 million to acquire the land.

The Friends group has identified the park as the centerpiece to its core greenway, a two-mile strip of undeveloped woods and fields it wants to forever preserve. The group distributed fliers at the Eagan Fourth of July parade and knocked on neighbors' doors seeking donations.