'Good Grief' over Peanuts characters

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- An 11-member civic group is asking the St. Paul, Minn., City Council to move two bronze statues of "Peanuts" characters from a city park.

The city parks and recreation director says there were discussions before the statues of Peppermint Patty and Marcie were installed in Rice Park, but a complaining women's group says there was little or no public input in the decision.

The Ross Group has been active in downtown beautification efforts for more than a decade. providing flowers on public streets, the Pioneer Press said.

Group members say the larger-than-life statues of the cartoon characters created by the late Charles Shultz overshadow a statute of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the St. Paul-born author of "The Great Gatsby."

Schultz based the "Peanuts" comic strip on his childhood memories of St. Paul.

Statues of Linus, Lucy, Sally, Schroeder, Charlie Brown and Snoopy are in the new Landmark Plaza, across the street from the park.