The projects planned for the grant funds focus on essential updates and enhancements to our historic building, ensuring that we can continue to provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for all who visit. The proposed improvements include upgrading our HVAC system, kitchen, and security infrastructure; rebuilding the handicap ramp for improved accessibility; sourcing new patio furniture; and resealing the venue's dance floor. Each of these initiatives is designed to maintain the integrity of our facility while enhancing the experience of our diverse audience.
The purpose of this project is to reduce phosphorus loading to Crystal Lake transported primarily through County Ditch 56. Crystal Lake is listed on MPCA's 303d listing for phosphorus impairment. Increased phosphorus levels have caused toxic algal blooms, reducing its appeal to recreationalists and economic draw for the City of Lake Crystal. This project will directly address phosphorus sources from agricultural land.
The Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota planned for the cultural alignment of the permanent Children's Museum's art curation, signage, and interactive experiences. The primary focus of this cultural content related to southern Minnesota including Dakota art, culture, and heritage and complemented the Exhibit Development and Fabrication Legacy grant goals.
This project will provide additional monitoring data to be utilized in the watershed assessment process for the Le Sueur River Watershed Project. Blue Earth County SWCD will provide a technician to complete the water sampling for the sampling years 2011 and 2012 on the Maple River.
This project will support a civic engagement cohort that will be offered in southwest Minnesota to foster partnering and build capacity of local government, organizations, and residents for effective civic engagement in water protection and restoration. This project will also build networks and the skill set of local resource professionals to do effective civic engagement work for water restoration and protection. The cohort will be administered through the Minnesota River Board (MRB), established in 1995 with a goal of focusing water management efforts on the local level.
This project will develop an understanding for how sediment sources change over timescales of individual storm events as well as over the past two centuries. The results will be used by the larger Collaborative for Sediment Source Reduction (CISSR)-Blue Earth research group to establish a sediment budget for the Greater Blue Earth River Basin and understand the effectiveness of various potential mitigation strategies. In addition, these results can be used by MPCA and others to calibrate watershed sediment models.
This project will improve our understanding of the sources of sediment (turbidity), and the processes which deliver sediment to river channels. This project will address a suite of emerging questions regarding contributions and causes of non-field sediment, thereby providing watershed managers with a better understanding of how to manage these sediment sources.
This project will build network and the skill set of local resource professionals to do effective civic engagement work for water restoration and protection in Southeast Minnesota. The cohort will be administered through the Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board (SE MN WRB) which is an area wide Joint Powers Board (JPB) established to help improve and protect the water resources of the area through coordinating local water planning efforts. This JPB has successfully administered water quality grants in the past that have positively impacted the water resources of this region.
This project will lead to environmental improvements and preservation in the state’s watersheds as it will provide a framework that will streamline the development of Watershed Reports across the state at a common scale and schedule. Additionally, MPCA staff, local partners and citizen volunteers will be able to integrate the results of these studies into watershed strategies and implementation plans.
This project will complete spatial and temporal revisions , recalibration and validation of 7 watershed HSPF models. These fully functioning calibrated validated executable models will simulate hydrology, sediment (sand, silt, and clay), temperature, phosphorus, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, and algae at the 12-digit HUC subbasin scale (or finer).
This project will provide a shared working definition and principles for civic engagement, that enable state agencies to more effectively, strategically and collaboratively manage the social dimension of Minnesota’s water resource management efforts . The agencies included in the project are BWSR, MDNR, MDA, MDH and MPCA. The consultant and project participants will develop recommendations that will better enable policy and decision makers, CWF teams, the Clean Water Council and others to make informed decisions surrounding civic engagement efforts.
This project provides funding for the 2013 Watershed Research Symposium. The outcome will be a set of research foci for Clean Water Fund projects developed by the scientific community.
This project will continue the offering of low-interest loans to citizens, some of whom may not be able to acquire funding otherwise, for upgrading 50 septic systems to ensure compliance with state rules. Grant funds will be used to administer the low-interest loan program.
Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO) was created out of an international need for Dakota language materials to be implemented for language learning in the home, community and classroom. Out of necessity for the language to live and thrive for generations despite the pandemic, we envisioned the Dakota Language Distance Learning (DLDL) program. This program offers daily, online Dakota language classes to support distance learning as school districts across Minnesota navigate the impacts of COVID-19.
In 2012, the Minnesota Historical Society will commemorate theU.S.-Dakota War of 1862 through a variety of programs and methods, including online presentations, educational tools, published works, artwork, events and community outreach. Visit usdakotawar.org for a list of all initiatives.
The Minnesota Historical Society will raise awareness of the significance of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 by communicating the experiences of people before, during and after the war.
Programs and resources related to the commemoration of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 include:
The Minnesota Historical Society Press (MHS Press) will continue to publish new books and also articles in Minnesota History magazine to help people further understand the complex history of the Dakota in Minnesota. Projects include:
The Minnesota History Center will invite the public to participate in programs that explore Dakota language and culture and also the history of the U.S.--Dakota War of 1862. Public programs will provide multiple perspectives on the war and give voice to Dakota history and identity through a variety of formats including lectures, films, tours and workshops.
Visit usdakotawar.org/events for a list of commemorative programs and events sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society and other organizations.
This exhibit, on view at the Minnesota History Center through Sept. 8, 2013, recounts the Minnesota war that tore apart lives, families and the Dakota nation. Visitors can view documents, images and artifacts related to the war, as well as hear heart-wrenching stories and learn about the broken treaties and promises that led to this disastrous chapter in Minnesota history. There are many, often conflicting, interpretations of events related to the war. The exhibit includes multiple viewpoints, as well as historical and contemporary voices.
Minnesota Historical Society staff will work to increase public awareness about the tragic events surrounding the war which had a profound impact on shaping our state. Staff will also increase public awareness of new Society inititatives and programs related to the war to ensure that students, teachers and the general public use and benefit from them.
Throughout FY12 and FY13, Minnesota Historical Society staff members have reached out to and met with many groups and individuals to gather their opinions and recommendations regarding an exhibit on and the commemoration of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Staff met with tribal councils in Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, individuals from tribes in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest and residents of Brown and Nicollet Counties. In addition, the Society sponsored the "We Gather Together As One" Dakota nationwide conference in Minneapolis and St.
Throughout FY12 and FY13, Minnesota Historical Society staff members have reached out to and met with many groups and individuals to gather their opinions and recommendations regarding an exhibit on and the commemoration of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Staff met with tribal councils in Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, individuals from tribes in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest and residents of Brown and Nicollet Counties. In addition, the Society sponsored the "We Gather Together As One" Dakota nationwide conference in Minneapolis and St.
This mobile tour offers intriguing stories and reflections about historic sites along the Minnesota River Valley, the people who lived there and the lasting impact of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The tour can be accessed by calling 888-601-3010 from any location. A travel guide that includes a map of the mobile tour can be downloaded at www.usdakotawar.org/mobiletour. In FYs14 and 15, improvements were made to the media-rich smartphone version, tour wayfinding was enhanced and additional promotion occurred..
Partner: Dakota Eastman Productions.
"Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian" is a documentary that follows Kate Beane, a young Dakota woman, as she walks in the footsteps of her celebrated relative Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) to examine his extraordinary life. Biography and journey come together as Kate uncovers the remarkable life of Ohiyesa/Charles Eastman from traditional Dakota boyhood, through education at Dartmouth College, and in later roles as physician, author, lecturer, and Native American advocate.
This mobile tour offers intriguing stories and reflections about historic sites along the Minnesota River Valley, the people who lived there and the lasting impact of the U.S. Dakota War of 1862.
