Approximately 70 percent of all Minnesotans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water. Wells used for drinking water must be properly sealed when removed from service to protect both public health and Minnesota’s invaluable groundwater resources. The Minnesota Department of Health with the assistance of the Board of Water and Soil Resources protects both public health and groundwater by assuring the proper sealing of unused wells.” Clean Water funds are being provided to home owners as a 50% cost-share assistance for sealing unused private drinking water wells.
The project is part of the Six Mile-Halsted Bay Subwatershed Plan, a planning partnership currently underway which aims to protect and improve natural resources within this priority subwatershed by working closely with partnering agencies to integrate capital investments and maximize public return on investment. This project will enhance two existing stormwater ponds to enhance treatment of phosphorus as well as incorporate treatment of the Church Lake outlet, a lake which routinely fails to meet state water quality standards and contributes to the water quality impairment of East Auburn.
This project seeks to inventory twenty registered feedlots identified as having an Unpermitted Liquid Manure Storage Area. Specifically, this inventory would include offering cost-share for soils investigations. These feedlots are located in three townships that have also been identified as having groundwater that is vulnerable to nutrient pollution, necessitating a need for nitrate testing per MN Department of Agriculture. These townships also house the vast majority of remaining unpermitted Liquid Manure Storage Areas in the County.
Working with the Somali Museum of Minnesota, MNHS is developing an exhibit that will help Minnesotans understand this recent immigrant community. The exhibit will showcase cultural traditions and material culture of Somalia, cover the immigrant experience in the journey to Minnesota and will review the accomplishments and cultural adaptations Somali people have made since making Minnesota home.
Minnesota Department of Health has been collaborating with cities and other community water suppliers since 1993 to develop and implement source water protection plans. Support from the Clean Water Legacy expands and accelerates the number of water suppliers that can be assisted each year in undertaking protection planning and implementation activities.
This program aims to meet emerging and unique project needs in the Minnesota State Parks and Trails system. The program has initiated activities around Buffalo herd management and has plans for other activities to be determined.
MNHS and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation increased awareness and knowledge of Minnesota history by providing quality programming for visitors to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. In 2016, new content was added to the Minnesota State Fair History Walking Tour brochure, including a wide array of diverse images of people at the fair. Audio and visual content was also available through the tour's smartphone component, and staff presented audio/visual content via social media throughout the fair.
This agreement is for Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to provide statewide conservation reporting system support services in order to support Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) programs. Support services will be aimed at both MPCA staff and local government recipients of grants.
The Statewide Sediment Network was established to measure the levels of suspended sediment concentrations and particle size distributions at eight sites across Minnesota to evaluate the amount of sediment carried by rivers. USGS sample collection and laboratory analysis techniques provide a more rigorous, robust, and technically accurate measure of sediment in water than the current use of total suspended solids as the measure of sediment in water.
The goal of this project will be to research and develop statewide winter maintenance best management practices (BMPs) for inclusion in the Statewide Chloride Management Plan and Winter Maintenance Assessment tool (WMAt). The WMAt is a necessary technical resource and planning tool for stakeholders and permittees to implement the chloride reduction strategies described in the Statewide Chloride Management Plan. This project will enhance the WMAt so that it is an effective planning tool to assist local winter maintenance professionals to reduce salt use.
Nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) is one of the contaminants of greatest concern for groundwater in Minnesota. This funding is being used for activities that help identify the severity and magnitude of nitrate contamination and implement practices at the local level to reduce nitrate in groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is working with many local partners and passing funding through to local government units (counties, cities, soil and water conservation districts) to address this concern.
The MDA's technical assistance helps ensure that current and accurate scientific information is made available and used to address water quality concerns in agricultural areas of Minnesota. This funding has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices, share information from research and demonstration sites and enhance outreach and education to the agricultural community and local government partners.
The goal of this project is to update and revise the Twin Cities Metro Area (TCMA) Chloride Management Plan to a Statewide Chloride Management Plan (CMP). The Statewide CMP will provide stakeholders the information and tools necessary to improve and/or maintain water quality with respect to chloride.
The Legislature created the Statewide Survey of Historic & Archaeological Sites to provide opportunities to expand our understanding of historic and archaeological sites statewide.
Projects are defined by an oversight board and are conducted through competitive-bid contracts.
Stream flow information is essential for understanding the state of Minnesota's waters. Clean water funding has allowed the DNR to expand a network of stream gages that support planning and implementation for clean water protection and restoration. These gages are also used as part of the interagency Flood Forecasting/Warning System. This expanded stream gaging network has also significantly increased the real time data available to recreational water enthusiasts via the internet.
MNHS continues to strive for environmental, economic and social sustainability in its sustainability program. To pinpoint opportunities for ongoing progress, the sustainability program will harmonize a broader range of institutional needs and objectives. The program will establish integrated, continuous, electronic reporting that unites environmental, social and economic risk analysis. This reporting will be used to further reduce our environmental impact and improve the sustainability of our operations as a whole.
With the approval by the U of M Board of Regents of a recently proposed MA program in Heritage Studies and Public History, the Teaching Heritage Collaborative will shift focus to the development of program curriculum and recruitment. In addition, the History Day partnership between the U of M and MNHS will be enriched through further development of campus engagement programs.These will include new cohorts of the Summer History Immersion Program for high school students as well as on-campus research experiences during the school year.
The administration of the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant Program ensures rigor, fairness, honesty, integrity, and consistency in the distribution of ACHF funding. Grants staff consult on, review, evaluate, respond to, mentor, coach, shape, and monitor grant projects from initial applicant contact to project closeout, reporting, and monitoring.
Through a competitive process, the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants Program awards grants to historical organizations statewide to support projects of enduring value for the cause of history and historic preservation. Each of the more than 500 active historical organizations in Minnesota serves an important role in preserving significant stories of the people and events of Minnesota.
As required by law, the Minnesota Historical Society appoints a citizen advisory panel, the Historic Resources Advisory Committee, to guide grant decisions for the program.
Then Now Wow is a long-term educational exhibit designed specifically for Minnesota's children and families. This year staff created a comprehensive marketing strategy to increase overall attendance while driving specific increases among diverse families. New programs, including a monthly offering called WOW! Family Sundays, will give families the opportunity to discover the connections between old and new through activities, games, hands-on art projects and sharing stories.
The Together in Time project meets the needs of a diverse, aging population by empowering them as lifelong learners, encouraging them to tell stories, and supporting their caregivers in carrying out their essential roles.
Crack seal and seal coat 1.5 miles of trail at Lake Minnewashta Regional Park and 3.4 miles of trail on the Dakota Rail Regional Trail. This maintains user satisfaction of 164,000 visits, and 107,000 visits annually to Lake
The primary goal of this project is to examine the calibration and validation of recently extended Hydrological Simulation Program – FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models for the Mississippi River-Headwaters, Mississippi River-Grand Rapids, Mississippi River-Brainerd, Mississippi River-Sartell, Mississippi River-St. Cloud, Leech Lake, Pine River, Crow Wing River, Long Prairie River, and Redeye River watersheds and revise the calibration.