To capture the experiences of several generations of Kittson County war veterans, six individuals with direct combat or combat support experience, were interviewed. The transcriptions of each first-person narrative were printed and are now part of the Kittson County Historical Society permanent archives. Supplemental materials including photographs and additional information were used to highlight each story and to bring the reader deeper into the stories. A presentation notebook was created and a copy presented to each interviewee.
In order to update a control system that had surpassed its life-expectancy and to maintain a proper museum environment, the SCHS upgraded the HVAC system control software and front end computer. They were replaced with a new KMC LAN controller and Total Control software. The new system provides improved emvironmental control and energy conservation.
To initiate research at five adjacent archaeological sites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which will inform an eventual National Register of Historic Places nomination.
Project between Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and United States Army Corp of Engineers at Knowlton Creek Watershed to address a large amount of sediment deposited into the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC).
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.
This project will complete data collection on 11 lakes over a 2 year period in the Pomme de Terre Watershed. The data collected will be be used in the Major Watershed Project proposed for this watershed.
A traveling exhibit was developed to display museum-quality copies of fragile artifacts recovered from the archaeological site: Roosevelt Shores 21-CW-173. The exhibit tells the story of 2000 years (up through the late 1800's) of American history at the site.
In the second phase of an oral history project, Life in Lake Sarah, four additional residents were interviewed and recorded. The recordings were transcribed along with two earlier interviews. The six recordings were compiled in booklet form and added to the permanent collection of the Murray County Historical Society.
This project will determine pre- and post-settlement nutrient trends from sediment chronology, fossil diatom assemblages, and from sediment profiles representing human history in the region (i.e., at least 150 years). Project activities include sample collection; sample preparation; diatom analysis; database creation and management; and data interpretation. Sample cores will be taken on the Lake of the Woods in five major bays (i.e., Four-mile, Muskeg, Sabaskong, Little Traverse, and Big Traverse) in the southern basin.
Prepare Lake Vermilion State Park for development and public use by completing a master plan and providing immediate day-use opportunities. This program area describing development accomplishments on Lake Vermillion State Park is now being reported as part of "New State Park and State Recreation Area Development," searchable on this site.
The Lake Ocheda Shoreline Improvement Project will restore and provide long term protection of 1,600 feet of lake shoreline resulting in improved drinking water supplies, improved water quality for fishery and upland habitat and historical preservation. A large portion of this shoreline currently has a 10 to 20 foot vertical wall of shoreline that has been sloughing for the past 50 to 100 years.
This project will support the collection of water-quality samples and gauge streamflow near the mouths of the Rainy and Warroad Rivers; collect water-quality samples at 10 sites in LOW; and measure streamflow velocities and cross-sectional areas of 5 channel constrictions in LOW.
This project will develop an Implementation Plan for restoring Lake St. Croix and impaired waters within the contributing watershed, and protect waters currently attaining water quality standards.
Kittson County and the Two Rivers Watershed District both have plans that emphasize the use of Best Management Practices to improve the water quality of Lake Bronson. Lake Bronson State Park is one of only a handful of state parks in the Northwest corner of Minnesota and the Friends of the Lake Bronson State Park met with Watershed District staff to explore how to improve the water quality of the lake. The lake is subject to sediment and nutrient loading from several upstream ditches.
The biological communities present in a lake are the result of cumulative effects of natural and human-caused influences within the entire area of land and water that flows into the lake (i.e., the watershed). Biological assessments are used on lakes to identify water pollution and habitat concerns based on the type and abundance of selected animals and their habitats. Certain species cannot survive without clean water and healthy habitat while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions.
The Willmar Design Center hired Gemini Associates to write a grant application to the National Register to nominate the Lakeland Hotel to the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination was completed, submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office and was determined to meet the documentation requirements for a National Register Registration Form and for the Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Registration.
This program is to restore acres of state parks and trails land to native plant communities. MS 86A.05 directs PAT to preserve, perpetuate and restore natural features in state parks that were present in the area of the park at the time of European settlement. Approximately 31 restoration projects have been completed, are in progress, or will be implemented in the spring of 2012, at over 20 state park units. These projects total 1,283 acres.
To document and archive the untold stories of Lao refugees in Minnesota, nine Lao families, totaling 13 individuals, were intervewed. The recountings of their historical experiences living in war, living in refugee camps and the transition and settlement of their immigration to Minnesota were recorded on video tape. The video footage was professionally edited, uploaded to Youtube and posted on the Lao Oral History Archives website.
Affordable transportation is one of the biggest barriers for schools' ability to plan field trips to Minnesota Historical Society sites and museums.
By June 2011, nearly 600 schools across Minnesota will access the Society's Legacy Field Trip Support Fund, which means more than 50,000 students will be able to learn about history through field trip experiences they otherwise might have missed.
Every year, more than 2,300 people volunteer in support of programs and projects delivered by the Minnesota Historical Society. With the addition of more than 100 Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF) projects, the need for volunteers also increased.
ACHF funding enabled the Society to recruit, coordinate and supervise volunteers helping with Legacy projects. As of December 2010, nearly 80 new volunteers were recruited, trained and placed, including 10 percent from diverse communities.
Partner Organizations: 1000 Friends of Minnesota (renamed Envision Minnesota), Twin Cities Public Television (TPT)
Through this partnership, Minnesota history will be made more accessible to thousands of Minnesotans. The "Legacy Letters" project will result in up to 25 one-minute films that draw their content from a sampling of the 150 people, places, organizations, events and natural features of the state as compiled by the Minnesota Historical Society's MN 150 exhibit and book.
