Mississippi River Trail - Pine Bend Bluffs Interpretive Node
To hire qualified consultants to develop and install interpretive signage on the Mississippi River Trail in Dakota County.
$4,500,000 the first year and $6,500,000 the second year are for history programs and projects operated or conducted by or through local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources. Funds are to be distributed through a competitive grant process. The Minnesota Historical Society must administer these funds using established grant mechanisms, with assistance from the advisory committee created under Laws 2009, chapter 172, article 4, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (b), item (ii).
Available upon request. grants@mnhs.org
As part of the grand opening of the nearby Pine Bend Trailhead along the Mississippi River Greenway, on August 15, 2019, Dakota County Parks? education staff were stationed at the Marker. Staff helped interpret the marker for visitors who biked, walked or rode (on golf carts) down the trail. Feedback from visitors was positive. Some visitors recalled the marker in its original location and were glad to see it in reconstructed. Others were interested in understanding how the interpretation on the plaque had changed. Many were glad for a wayside rest of sorts along the recreational trail (something of interest to stop and visit).
As mentioned above, Dakota County's portion of the Mississippi River Greenway receives over 200,000 visitors annually, receiving 215,000 visitors in 2019. We will continue to track that data to ensure the Pine Bend Marker continues to be visited by hundreds of thousands in the years to come. Reconstructing this marker along a greenway with a built in audience ensured that we would have visitors to the site.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org