All Projects

Continue and expand a River Watch program on the Minnesota River engaging teams of high school students in water quality monitoring and reporting the data to the MNPCA

The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will complete the innovative community engagement process started with the previous Legacy grant. CMSM will build upon the progress created with the previous Legacy grant by transitioning the team's focus to carrying-out of strategic access strategies that engage a diversity of community members in the exhibit development process, resulting in the completion of fabrication plans for exhibits and environments that are accessible; engaging; and reflect the diverse art, culture, and heritage of southern Minnesota.

Building on the exhibit development community engagement process carried through three successive Legacy grants, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota used the 2013 direct appropriation to prepare for and begin building exhibit components for its permanent facility by combining professional museum expertise with local resources, volunteers, and community involvement.

In 2007, the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) conducted an environmental scan of early learning opportunities for children in southern Minnesota. It became apparent that the region creates few opportunities for children to engage in self-directed learning experiences in social settings; in particular, opportunities that create access to arts, culture, and heritage. This is still true today.

Building on the exhibit development community engagement process carried out through four successive Legacy grants, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota will use the 2014-15 direct appropriation to complete fabrication and installation of several exhibit components for its permanent facility. Local resources, volunteers, and community involvement will be combined with museum expertise to complete this process.

To document in in-depth oral history interviews the early history of Face to Face Health & Counseling Service.

This project had three components: 1) An arts club that meets weekly and provides arts education and peer mentoring; 2) A theater play that will showcase issues/challenges within the Somali community in the community. The workshops are designed to introduce youth to traditional Somali arts and encourage them to extend the tradition through their own artistic practice. 3) Showcasing Somali Art, presentation and intercultural community engagement at the Somali Independence day Festival in 2016.

The program that we are proposing has three components; 1) weekly arts club that provides arts education and peer mentoring for youth that are designed to introduce youth to traditional Somali arts. 2) A Somali arts show and cultural learning opportunity taking place at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis through The Southern’s Arts Residency and Art Share Programs. 3) Showcasing Somali art at the Somali Independence day Festival in 2017.

To restore siding on the Charles P. Noyes Cottage (Fillebrown House), which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Local television station (KTTC) donated 485 BETA videos and 557 16mm films to the History Center of Olmsted County. New storage methods and materials were implemented to preserve and stabilize these donations. The historic collection was sorted, organized and rehoused into archival containers which were then labeled, cataloged and entered into a Past Perfect database.

This valuable resource, now stored in the HCOC research library, has been made more accessible to the public.

The number of people from other cultures and languages is increasing in Minnesota. It is important that they learn the behaviors that will help Minnesota preserve and enhance its natural resources. Yet, communicating and effectively interacting with people across cultures to change behaviors on natural resources, conservation, pollution prevention and stewardship is challenging. Most environmental information is designed for reaching native English readers. Translating and printing information often does not reach the intended audiences, who are often part of an oral culture.

Reed canary grass and other invasive plants are preventing natural tree regeneration and threatening floodplain forests, upland forests, and wildlife alike. The Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries provide a critical habitat corridor for hundreds of species of birds from waterfowl and other game birds to warblers of special concern. This proposal builds on three previous and successful projects and will expand Audubon's work on State and Federal Lands as well as introduce projects on permanently protected private lands.

Reed canary grass is preventing natural regeneration of trees and threatening floodplain forests and wildlife along the Mississippi. This effort builds on previous LSOHC funding to control reed canary grass and plant trees as part of a long-term effort.

Our program/project will protect and maintain intact forest ecosystems through the use of perpetual conservation easements and other tools. This program/project will directly protect approximately 187, 277 acres of forest and wetlands with permanent conservation easements and 1,344 acres with fee acquisition.

The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council work with forest landowners, managers and loggers to implement a set of voluntary sustainable forest management guidelines that include water quality best management practices (BMPs) to ensure sustainable habitat, clean water, and productive forest soils, all contributing to healthy watersheds. This project will monitor the implementation of these forest management guidelines and BMPs on forested watersheds in MN.

To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the 1878 N. H. Forsyth property in Houston, MN.

An illustrated, self-guided tour booklet was developed and produced that describes Fort Snelling during the WWII years. The guide contains many photos of historic and current views and the sketch maps are easy to follow to locate the identified sites. Approximately 200 copies were distributed to libraries, cultural institutions, participants in the Upper Post redevelopment process, The Veterans Administration Hospital, services organizations and the MN soldiers Home.

The Frogtown area of St. Paul is a culturally diverse, low-income neighborhood having less green space per child than any other neighborhood in the city and was recently identified as an area in need of a new park. This appropriation is being used by The Trust for Public Land, in partnership with the City of St. Paul, to acquire a portion of twelve acres of a currently vacant space in the area to establish the multi-purpose Frogtown Farm and Park.

To document in 10 interviews the history of Bhutanese refugees in Minnesota.

To hire a qualified museum consultant to conduct a general preservation needs assessment survey and long range collections preservation plan.

To hire professional conservators to assess museum collections and write a long range conservation plan.

To hire qualified professionals to replace the roof on the George W. Gardner House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places and home of the Germanic-American Institute.

To hire a qualified historian to conduct primary source research on George Stoppel's mid-19th century immigration journey.