To repoint masonry and restore first floor façade and architectural details on the Stranger's Refuge Lodge #74 IOOF, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, to be reused as the public library.
This project seeks to provide data on insecticide contamination in the soil and the insect community across the state and the effect of sublethal insecticide exposure on insect reproduction.
The project will work with county and Waseca Soil and Water Conservation District staff to increase knowledge and participation in the Watershed Approach efforts and provide input to the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) document.
The Le Sueur Watershed Technician will provide highly focused targeting of conservation programs and practices in this key watershed. The technician will enhance current staff capabilities in the Le Sueur watershed by collecting landowner contact information, producing landowner mailings about funding opportunities, and meeting one-on-one with landowners to discuss conservation concerns they may have. This has been a highly successful method for targeting projects, project identification, landowner contact, and project follow through.
This project will complete a Acetochlor Impairment Response Report. This report will combine and coordinate information relating to actions being done in direct response to the acetochlor water quality impairments with those being done and support MDA’s on-going responsibility to assure pesticides are used in a manner that does not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.
This project will provide additional monitoring data to be utilized in the watershed assessment process for the Le Sueur River Watershed Project. Monitoring will take place for an additional year at two sites along the Maple River.
This project will identify priority management zones (PMZ), for the purposes of water quality restoration and protection, within the LeSueur River major watershed. This project is only one component of a larger effort in the LeSueur watershed to complete Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies while engaging citizens and landowners in land management planning.
To support teachers in addressing new science standards , we propose a series of workshops across Minnesota facilitating conversation about sustainability and water conservation, specifically integrating western science and Indigenous perspectives.
Central MN Community Empowerment Organization will revitalize the use of cultural and artistic expressions for the Somali youth of Minnesota to preserve and display their cultural heritage. CMCEO plans to promote patriotism and citizenship through cultural heritage where artists are trained to compose Somali creative arts and music. This will enable youth to learn their cultural heritage and creativity in an engaging environment.
This project will assess lakes and streams in the Cannon River watershed that have not been assessed to determine if they are meeting their designated uses. Some of these lakes and streams have data for certain pollutants, but not enough to complete an impairment assessment. The river and stream reaches are located in Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Rice, Steele, and Waseca counties. The lakes are located throughout the Cannon watershed (Le Sueur, Rice and Waseca Counties). This project will be a continuation of past assessments conducted in 2007 and 2009.
Rice County Water Resources Division will complete a Surface Water Assessment for six lakes located in the Cannon River Watershed. The lakes chosen include: Sprague Lake (66-0045-00), Mud Lake (66-0054-00), Hatch Lake (66-0063-00), Pooles Lake (66-0046-00), Logue Lake (66-0057-00), and Phelps Lake (66-0062-00). Each lake chosen is currently unassessed, and both Sprague and Mud lake are priority lakes for testing. Sampling will include testing dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, Secchi, Total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a. The samples will be taken by volunteers and paid staff.
This area of the Minnesota River Basin has been identified as contributing significant amounts of sediment to the watershed. The primary cause of the sediment is from gullies and ravines. This project by the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) continues efforts begun with FY2011 Clean Water Funds. Using data collected through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LiDAR, GERBA will install best management practices to address severe ravines and gullies in targeted specific locations.
To be able to manage resources in the Blue Earth and Le Sueur Watersheds into the future and have a positive effect on water quality, resource managers need high quality accurate data to support decision making of best management practice (BMP) implementation. Digital elevation data is a valuable resource for modeling water flow, however in its current state it cannot represent water conveyance through features such as roadways. These flow barriers limit the accurate use of data for recently developed targeting tools identifying BMP suitability and effectiveness down to the field scale.
RESPEC is a contractor with knowledge of site-specific standard development and will respond to United States Environmental Protection Agency questions and concerns regarding attainability of standards. The response will be based on bathtub model data and also a review of technical memorandums developed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on aquatic life and aquatic recreational standard attainability.
The Sauk River watershed was selected to participate in the federal Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) program in 2010 to decrease nutrient contributions to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The MRBI program provides federal cost share funds to landowners to install conservation practices.
The Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA), a nine County/SWCD JPO has identified buffers as a basin priority. This initiative will work towards the goal of identifying all DNR protected shoreland in the GBERBA counties without a 50 foot vegetative buffer. Buffer strips protect surface and groundwater from a multitude of pollutants. During stormwater run off events buffers can remove between 50 and 100 percent of nutrients, pesticides, pathogens, and sediment. The estimated sediment reduction for this project is 756 tons per year prevented from entering our waters.
Thiel Creek is a designated trout stream in southern Stearns County and outlets into Lake Marie and Lake Louisa. Both lakes are impaired for nutrients. Thiel Creek is experiencing severe bank erosion and local residents have expressed concern about the excessive sedimentation entering the lakes. Most of this erosion is occurring on an approximate mile reach of the creek just upstream of the outlet into the lake.
Saint Cloud is deeply divided by race and radicalized violence. The Saint Cloud library is perceived as the only true commons space where all people can feel welcomed and safe. This incident has brought up trauma amongst staff and the community, especially people of Somali and eastern African heritage. This project includes partnering with the Rainbow Wellness Collective, to offer five, 2-hour art making sessions, focused on creative writing, painting, collage-making, lyrical dancing, and drumming circles, at the library.
Minnesota's twelve regional library systems, which encompass more than 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, can benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional library system is eligible to receive a formula-driven allocation from the annual $2.5 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant. Traverse des Sioux Library System (TdS) is a federated regional public library system providing central services located in southcentral Minnesota.
Minnesota's twelve regional library systems, which encompass more than 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, can benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional library system is eligible to receive a formula-driven allocation from the annual $2.5 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant. Traverse des Sioux Library System (TdS) is a federated regional public library system providing central services located in southcentral Minnesota.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment raises revenue for Clean Water, Outdoor Heritage, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. Libraries are beneficiaries of a portion of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Funding.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
Minnesota’s twelve regional library systems, which encompass more than 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, can benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional library system is eligible to receive a formula-driven allocation from the annual $2.2 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant. Traverse des Sioux Library System (TdS) is a federated regional public library system providing central services located in southcentral Minnesota.
Minnesota's twelve regional library systems, which encompass more than 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, can benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional library system is eligible to receive a formula-driven allocation from the annual $2.5 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant.
Youthprise is partnering with Believe In What's Possible to launch Turn Up to Turn Out, a youth-led project to increase youth participation in Minnesota politics through youth-led civic education and events.
Turtle Island Skywatchers - Innovative Research and Data Visualization project works to protect Minnesota water, wildlife, and natural resources while empowering Indigenous youth as leaders and all citizens as researchers.
The Two Rivers Watershed is listed as a high priority in the Stearns County Comprehensive Water Management Plan. This project will inventory the existing public drainage systems and develop a targeting program to measure, prioritize and target the factors causing the water quality problems of Two Rivers Lake (impaired for nutrients) in Stearns County. With public access and a county park on the lake, it is a destination for fisherman in the area.
