The DNR works with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health to determine the level of contamination from mercury and other harmful chemicals in fish from Minnesota's lakes and rivers and to track the success of efforts to reduce mercury pollution. Clean Water Legacy funding is being used to significantly increase (more than double) the number of lakes and rivers that are assessed for mercury contamination on an annual basis. Fish are collected during DNR fishery surveys, processed for laboratory testing, and analyzed for contaminants.
Minnesota Hungarians' project, a series of events over six days (lecture-demonstration, workshop, and concert involving community groups) is designed to provide opportunities for Minnesotans to learn about and participate in Hungarian folk dance and music.
NACDI, in collaboration with All My Relations Arts, will present Tradish: Contemporary Treatments of Traditional Dakota and Ojibwe Arts. Tradish will exhibit work by expert and award-winning American Indian artists who live and work in Minnesota.
Nordic Arts Alliance presents Ordinary Vikings by Minnesota artist Jill Johnson, creating traditional Scandinavian Bronze and Iron Age bog stav sculptures based on Nordic cultural stories. The work is expanded upon and interpreted by Icelandic folklore storyteller Ingibjorg Gisladottir. There will be an outdoor exhibition at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.
Nordic stav and sondan workshops and collaboration will explore the ancient roots of Nordic culture by integrating runes, stav, and Old Norse with dance forms preserved by Nordic immigrant ancestors, culminating in interactive community performances.
Rajasekar's project will focus on Nuances of Melody and Rhythm in Carnatic Music, the classical music of South India, through workshops (by a Minnesota artist and a visiting artist from India), performances, and mentorship.
Hesla will bring people to three Minneapolis parks to sing together, inspired by the incredible legacy of park singing in the early 20th century. These summer 2011 singing events, open to all, will build community and celebrate our diverse traditions.
The Cradleboard Project will revitalize a part of our Native American cultural knowledge that is an endangered tradition, by bringing family and community together to carry on the tradition of the cradleboard with traditional appliqué beadwork.
Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire will explore, promote, and honor Minnesota ceramic artists, their tradition of mentorship, and the ways in which they pass on their skills to new generations.
Southside Family Charter School will partner with artists focused on the folk music of African Americans, with a special emphasis on songs of struggle, and provide extended residencies for students in grades 2-8.
Dance Revels Moving History will work with local French and Metis (French-Indian) cultural specialist/interpreter Virgil Benoit, French Director Josette Antomarchi, and several French cultural groups to produce dance workshops, discussions about being bi-racial, and a dance theater show about the Metis founding father of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Pierre Bottineau and his multi-racial world.
The Hmong Arts Connection (HArC) promotes and inspires artistic expressions of Hmong culture through storytelling, in partnership with L’Etoile du Nord French Immersion School. Professional Hmong storytellers will connect with K-6 classrooms to perform and teach the art of Hmong storytelling.
The Irish Fair of Minnesota, which is conducted annually on Harriet Island in Saint Paul on the second weekend of August, is one of Minnesota’s largest ancestry-based outdoor folk and traditional arts and culture festivals.
An illustrated, self-guided tour booklet was developed and produced that describes Fort Snelling during the WWII years. The guide contains many photos of historic and current views and the sketch maps are easy to follow to locate the identified sites. Approximately 200 copies were distributed to libraries, cultural institutions, participants in the Upper Post redevelopment process, The Veterans Administration Hospital, services organizations and the MN soldiers Home.
As a requirement for the transfer of certain properties within the Upper Post area of Fort Snelling to the Historic Surplus Property Program, a Program for Preservation and Utilization (PPU) was designed and developed to preserve and enhance the public use and future redevelopment of the Fort Snelling area. The report was created for the project using the National Park Service format. It will serve as a central resource when changes are to be made to the Upper Post.
The Pioneer Mine Site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was improved with the repair of the existing furnaces in the Miners Dry and Shaft Houses. The furnaces are tied in with a fire suppression system and a security system. Installation of expanded steel across three doors, application of adhesive and boards around Shaft House base and removal of surrounding brush provides added protection from insect, animal and human invasion. Destruction by nature and vandals has been minimized.
Varney Lake is owned and maintained by the City of white Bear Lake as part of its stormwater collection system. The City will excavate approximately 10,000 cubic yards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contaminated sediment from Varney Lake (which is located in a residential portion of the City) and manage the sediments on site by encapsulating the sediment in a berm covered with clean top soil. The encapsulated sediment will be managed as a solid waste in what the MPCA refers to as a limited use solid waste landfill (Facility).
This project will remove accumulated sediment from two Stormwater Treatment Ponds in Circle Pines that were constructed in the 1970’s. Recent testing of the sediments indicates that Tier 2 and 3 PAH compounds were found in the sediment. The most recent estimate for the volume of material that will be removed is 2,400 Cubic Yards.
YMCHS purchased equipment, supplies and a one-year subscription to Ancestry.com to provide access to family history in Yellow Medicine County. Advertisements have been placed in local newspapers and brochures to inform the public of these new resources.
