Otter Cove Children's Museum will be a state-of-the-art educational and cultural center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, providing a much-needed accessible, indoor play space for the children of Otter Tail County and beyond. Otter Cove was started and driven by a group of moms but the actual place, Otter Cove, is for children and the "critters" who live there; the otter in the Otter Romp Playground, the fox at the cafe, the beaver at the dentist office, the raccoon at the grocery store, the swan on the stage, the mice at the bookstore, and the skunk at the veterinarian.
This project includes new exhibit components and enhancements; facilitating diverse workshops and performances for children and families, and four mini camps for children ages 6-12 during school/summer breaks.
Wilderness Inquiry engages 20,000 Minnesotans through outdoor adventures, promoting equity in access to outdoor activities, places, and careers and supporting stewardship and conservation values for current and future generations.
The Family Center, in partnership with Screen Porch Productions, will implement a year-round performing arts program that provides opportunities for broader and deeper community arts participation.
To research and share knowledge among diverse partners around Anishnaabe cultural practices and their ecological legacies in fire-dependent pine forests.
This project is a cooperative effort including Cass Soil and Water Conservation District, the Association of Cass County Lakes (ACCL), and registered Homeowner Associations throughout Cass County. All of Cass Counties 514 lakes and streams eventually drain into the Upper Mississippi Watershed. Sediment and nutrient pollution continue to be a primary concern when addressing water quality protection issues.
Passport to Culture: Removing barriers to participation will serve 1500 households, reaching approximately 6,000 children and their adult caregivers from across the region. Passport to Culture eliminates the financial barriers to participation by families most vulnerable in our society, providing membership, enhanced by direct program opportunities targeted to serve low income households designed to create a pattern of use of cultural organizations by families.
Trail reconstruction and renewal of 7.8 miles of portions of the segment from Hackensack to the Chippewa National Forest on the Paul Bunyan State Trail.
There are 3 million acres of peatland forests in Minnesota. This proposal will identify management actions that maximize ecosystem benefits of peatland forests, including wildlife, water, timber, and native plants.
This new initiative aims to increase student achievement in and through the arts in nine west-central Minnesota schools. With the ultimate goal of positively impacting the learning of more than 1,500 students this year in the Lakes Country region, 40 teachers in the arts and in other content areas are engaged in professional development, curriculum development, and assessment literacy, leading to the development and implementation of arts-integrated lessons and units tied to the Minnesota Academic Standards.
The Perpich Arts Integration Network of Teachers (PAINT) fosters collaborative arts integration in Minnesota through K-12 teacher professional development and funding to schools. With Perpich Center facilitation, teacher teams develop and implement arts-integrated lessons and units. PAINT program components include:
to construct a .3 mile section of trail and tunnel/underpass under State Highway 200/371 completing the Shingobee Connection Trail, which connects the Paul Bunyan and Heartland State Trails to the City of Walker
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the Carnegie Library, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Provide professional development workshops at three Greater Minnesota locations for 60 teachers to use phenology education curriculum and community science resources, reaching >7,000 students in the first three years.
The study will assess existing phosphorus data records and create a model to explain phosphorus loading into the Red River of the North. Studies have found that the majority of nutrient loading in the stream located in agricultural areas occurs with sediment loading since nutrients are typically bound to sediment particles.
Phase II of this project will focus on source assessment, running watershed scenarios, Kego Lake TMDL, lake protection planning, Stressor identification and the continuation of the Civic Engagement components of the project. Information gathered in Phase II will be utilized in developing the WRAP report which will be developed in the future Phase III of the project.
Conservators completed a detailed Condition Report for a 90-year-old 1919 Waterous Fire Engine owned by the Pine River Fire Department. The extent of original finish present is unusually extensive in an engine of this age and the Pine River Fire Department was advised to maintain as much of the original finish as possible. They were also advised to improve the storage/display environment as necessary to provide optimal conditions, which will benefit the long term preservation of this significant object.
This project is a continuation of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study that addresses lake eutrophication (phosphorus) in two lakes that are on the 2014 United States Environmental Protection Agency 303(d) list of impaired waters, located in the Pine River Watershed. The contractor will be responding to public comment on the Pine River TMDL.
The purpose of this project is to address Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comments on the pre-public notice draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report that were received by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in January 2016.
We will partner with the BWSR RIM Easement Program, Hubbard, Crow Wing, and Cass Counties and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) to protect 610 acres of high-quality private forest, wetlands, and shoreline in the Northern Forest Ecological Section. This project will be successful because of the sophisticated RAQ scoring, integrative parcel selection, proven outreach tactics, SWCD landowner relationships, and BWSR and SWCD RIM partnership.
The Brainerd Lakes area is one of Minnesota's most beloved "up north" destinations. With a population of 162,000 that expands by approximately 300,000 annually, North Central Minnesota is home to a complex mix of year-round residents, second home owners, seasonal visitors, and a growing immigrant population. The area is home to both promise and challenge. WonderTrek Children's Museum and its partners envision a more connected region and state and actively works to create connections by bringing together visitors and residents from diverse backgrounds in shared experiences.
