The goal of the American Indian Family Center is to create an Early Childhood Montessori Language Immersion Program to offer to American Indian Families living in Saint Paul and the east metro area. This grant will recruit and select candidates for each training opportunity (both the Montessori Teacher and Assistant), train the candidates in both models (Montessori and language immersion), and ultimately place the candidates in programs that are committed to offering the model for early learners.
Native Prairie Bank will help landowners conserve native prairie though outreach to 10,000 landowners and practitioners, restoration and enhancement of 870 acres, and protection of 600 acres through conservation easements.
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. East Central Regional Library (ECRL) is a consolidated regional public library system in east central Minnesota.
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.
Many of the aquifers that are located under Otter Tail County are susceptible to contamination from nitrates and other water soluble contaminants due to the coarse grained soils of the area. These aquifers are used by municipalities and rural residents. One of the common agricultural practices in the area that can have an effect on these aquifers is agricultural irrigation. Over application of irrigation can directly lead to leaching of nutrients that can contaminate our groundwater resources.
The Minnesota Historical Society Press(MHS Press) converted more than 125 MHS Press/Borealis Books titles to digital formats for multiple e-book readers, including the Kindle, the Nook, the Sony E-reader and the Apple iPad, allowing us to meet the needs of not only young, tech-savvy readers, but also users in the over-50 age bracket who have been among the first adopters of e-reader technologies.
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been decimating ash throughout the Great Lake States and is currently advancing into Minnesota, threatening the future of the ash forests that occur across much of the state. Of particular concern is the impact EAB will have on the ecology and functioning of black ash swamps, which cover over one million acres in Minnesota and represent the state’s most common ash forest type. Black ash trees grow and thrive in swamps and occupy a unique wet niche where few other tree species grow.
The Parks and Trails Division is creating innovative programs to attract new audiences to Minnesota state parks and trails. Skill-building programs, such as "I Can Camp!," provide a trial opportunity by eliminating the barriers of needing to have pre-existing knowledge or gear for the activity.
The Elk River Watershed Association (ERWSA) was formed to enable Sherburne and Benton Counties to work together to implement Local Water Management Plans. Since its formation in 1994, the ERWSA has primarily focused on working with land owners to reduce non-point sources of pollution within the watershed. Sherburne and Benton SWCD staff have extensive experience installing conservation practices. The ERWSA draws support from Sherburne County, Benton County, and local lake associations.
The goal of this project is to develop a watershed-wide, multi-parameter Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Implementation Plan that will collectively address all water quality impairments throughout the Elm Creek watershed.
Technical equipment was purchased that digitized historical images from the Society's photograph collections. The ELMHS Digital Image Viewing Project included the digitization, cataloging and web publishing of 525 images. A PastPerfect add on software program, called Virtual Exhibit, was used for the web publishing. Digitization will continue until the full 1500+ photograph collection has been reproduced. The photographs are now more accessible to researchers while the actual images can be better preserved through lack of physical contact.
US Geological Survey-MN Water Science Center will complete laboratory analysis of groundwater samples for endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and other emerging contaminants of interest, including organic waste water compounds, pharmaceuticals, and endrocrine active compounds, and report results. MPCA staff will complete sample collection tasks. The USGS National Water Quality Laboratory and the Kansas Water Science Center Laboratory will perform the laboratory analyses.
The Division of Parks and Trails is providing expanded cross-country ski, snowshoe and other winter activities in Minnesota state parks and recreation areas; Minnesota state trails; and Minnesota state forests. The division is re-establishing trails that had been closed due to a lack of funding; enhanced a number of existing facilities by brushing, mowing or improving trail condition prior to snowfall. The division has also enhanced existing facilities by maintaining additional parking lots or staging areas and, in the case of trails, by providing winter grooming.
