To offer hands-on art workshops with local artists. The Clay County Fair will hold hour-long classes with Melissa Kossick and Steve Stark, for both children and adults, on portrait-painting, painting with fingers, pointillism, collage, and local historical drawing. The project is meant to have lasting impact on participants by instilling interest and confidence in order to inspiring them to pursue more art projects on their own.
The nine member Counties and Soil and Water Conservation Districts of the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) will be able to enhance our effectiveness to provide elevated levels of technical assistance, education and outreach in the areas of urban stormwater, wellhead protection, nutrient management, conservation agronomy, drainage and agricultural best management practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution in the Blue Earth, Le Sueur and Watonwan River Watersheds.
Rising temperatures and increased precipitation contribute to decreased oxygen and increased methane in Minnesota lakes and wetlands. We will identify impacts on water quality and methane emissions, providing management guidance.
This project builds partnerships among natural resource professionals, college, middle and high schools to work collaboratively to increase youth exposure to outdoor experiences, environmental issues, and natural resource career paths.
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Moorhead, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Voyageurs Conservancy will connect 17,000 Minnesotans to the state's only national park through standards-aligned K-12 education, career-building fellowships, and enhanced programs that engage diverse audiences in the park's conservation.
Wilderness Inquiry will expand its work to provide a continuum of outdoor experiences for youth, adults, and families in communities across Minnesota by:
As of 11/1/2022, the CPL program has provided over 900 grants totaling $109 million to over 200 different grantee organizations, improving or protecting over 339,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new applicants hear about the program and successful grantees return. In ML 2018 there were 107 grants awarded- 18 metro grants, 20 traditional grants, and 69 Expedited Conservation Partners grants. Through these 107 grants, over 18,000 acres were restored, enhanced, or protected. Over $11M was awarded to organizations for projects.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources to provide competitive matching grants of up to $400,000 to local, regional, state, and national non-profit organizations and government entities. In it's first 7 years of funding, the CPL program has provided 410 grants totaling $37 million to 133 different grantee organizations, positively affecting over 220,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new grantees hear about the program and successful grantees return.
Grassland ecosystems evolved to depend on periodic disturbances, such as fire and grazing, to maintain their health and stability. Periodic disturbances help control invasive species, add nutrients back into the soil, germinate plant seeds, enhance wildlife habitat, and more. In Minnesota habitat managers have used fire as a disturbance tool for decades but the use of grazing has been much rarer, mostly because of a lack of necessary infrastructure such as fencing.
The HCSCC contracted with the Midwest Art Conservation Center to conduct a general preservation assessment survey of the HCSCC's collections and exhibit space. The report includes long range plans for improving and preserving objects and conditions.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program, managed by the Department of Natural Resources, provided 56 competitive matching grants to non-profit organizations and governments, appropriating all the available ML12 funds.
As of 11/1/2023, the CPL program has provided over 970 grants totaling $115 million to over 250 different grantee organizations, improving or protecting over 577,000 acres of habitat. Demand for CPL grants has continued to grow each year as new applicants hear about the program and successful grantees return. In ML 2019 there were 99 grants awarded- 15 metro grants, 29 traditional grants, and 55 Expedited Conservation Partners grants. Through these 99 grants, over 34,000 acres were restored, enhanced, or protected. Over $10.6M was awarded to organizations for projects.
The "old school house" on the fairgrounds provides a look back at how things were once in Clay County. This building houses a large number of historical items from school houses in Clay County. The "old school house" is open to visitors of the Clay County Fair for educating all generations to the culture and heritage of Clay County. Typically, the Clay County Historical Society assists the fair board in providing education through visits to the schoolhouse, spelling bees and geography bees during the fair.
Homeward Bound Theatre will bring "The Wonderful World of Woody" to our entertainment tent for 3 shows during the day. The Concord Singers will perform for fairgoers in the entertainment tent one day of the fair. Magic by Chaz will perform his magic feats as he strolls the fairgrounds during the fair. Tent Rental of Luverne , MN will set up a 40x40 tent to provide a good spot for our fair entertainment.
The Minnesota County Geologic Atlas program is an ongoing effort begun in 1979 that is being conducted jointly by the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This portion, called Part B and conducted by the DNR, analyzes water samples to understand water chemistry and sensitivity to pollution.
The county appears to have a general interest in learning about different types of art as well as music. A local artist will provide glass-blowing demonstrations. Demonstrations will be provided during the fair on glass blowing, a form of art that interests a lot of people. The demonstrations will be provided by the House of Mulciber Mobile Engagement Unit which focuses on education of the art of glass blowing. The Clay County area has a rich heritage in country music along with other music types.
Homeward Bound Theatre, a Minnesota-based company, will bring THE OZ BROTHERS to perform at the Fair on July 25 and 26, with 2 stage shows each day plus they will also be strolling around the fairgrounds to entertain fairgoers. The Big Top Tent Rental from Luverne, MN will provide a 40 x 40 tent for the performers and for fairgoers.
Nearly 700 miles of open water flow through Faribault County's borders. Over one-third of these miles are artificial drainage systems. Artificial drainage systems are necessary to remove excess precipitation and improve the productivity of agricultural land, however they also have a direct effect on the water quality and quantity of receiving waterbodies. With limited resources available to manage these systems, innovative and efficient management tools will play a critical role in targeting improvements for water quality.
