The Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS) is an ongoing effort begun in 1987 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that is systematically surveying, county-by-county, the state’s natural habitats. The effort identifies significant natural areas and collects and interprets data on the status, distribution, and ecology of plants, animals, and native plant communities throughout the state. To date, surveys have been completed in 81 of Minnesota’s 87 counties and nearly 20,000 records of rare features have been recorded.
Many of the most experienced conservation practitioners at local soil and water conservation districts throughout the state are nearing retirement, and with their departure will go much of their practical, on-the-ground knowledge, experience, and skills. Meanwhile, college students seeking to be the next generation of conservation practitioners have knowledge of emerging technologies and other innovations that can improve and contribute to current conservation efforts.
Minnesota History Magazine celebrates its 100th anniversary with a new digital version. Beginning in April 2015, the quarterly magazine will be available as an app for both iPad and Android. The app version allows innovative additional content and also offers audiences an up-to-date channel for accessing, engaging with, and experiencing Minnesota's history.
The Minnesota Historical Society receives funds that it passes to Minitex to support the operation of the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL). MDL supports the digitization efforts of more than 150 participating historical organizations across the states and maintains the technical infrastructure for providing access to those collections on the web. MDL also advances educational and scholarly uses of the collections and is a data partner with the Digital Public Library of America.
The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) is a statewide, multi-institutional collaboration that supports discovery, education, and personal enrichment through digitization of and access to the rich historical resources of the state's public and academic libraries, archives, museums and historical societies, while also preserving these resources for future generations.
MDL partnered with:
MNopedia (www.mnopedia.org) is a free, reliable, award-winning online encyclopedia of Minnesota, created and managed by the Minnesota Historical Society. MNopedia authors, many of whom are volunteer specialists, create rich entry packages, including text, multimedia and bibliographic resources that tell the stories of their communities and our state. New articles are published weekly. This unique resource, written and designed for use by general audiences as well as teachers and students, provides easy access to the shared history of all Minnesotans.
Moose, one of Minnesota’s most iconic wildlife species, are dying at increasingly higher rates in Minnesota and there is uncertainty as to why. Estimates suggest the population declined 35 percent just between 2012 to 2013, and projections suggest moose could be nearly gone from the state by 2020 if this trend is not halted and, ideally, reversed.
The first comprehensive retrospective of a key American Indian modernist from Grand Portage, MN, this exhibit includes drawings, paintings, prints, and sculpture that bring together concepts of abstraction, landscape, and spiritual reflection in the mind and eye of this important 20th-century artist.
To hire a qualified consultant to develop a Historic Structure Report that will help preserve the Nary Consolidated School, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This program will protect, in perpetuity, native prairie tracts in western Minnesota. Fee title tracts will be the top priority for the funding. Funding will be used for the purchase of habitat easements if the funding cannot be used entirely on fee title tracts. The funding will purchase approximately 525 acres of native prairie in fee title, 1,583 acres of habitat easements, or a combination of the two.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare planning documents that will help preserve the Norway Lutheran Church (Muskego), listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
To hire a qualified historian to complete the nomination expansion to the National Register of Historic Places for the St. Paul Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company Shops (Jackson Street Shops).
Partner: Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM)
The Preservation Education Partnership, known as Cornerstone Academy, focuses on broadening and deepening the knowledge of preservation in Minnesota, inspiring people to take action to preserve historic places in their communities. The education initiative actively educates diverse constituents through place-based workshops and hands-on trainings.
MNHS continues to build a culture of evaluation. An evaluation manager leads institutional evaluation capacity building, as well as provides technical assistance and support to staff who evaluate ACHF projects and programs. An evaluation associate in the Education and Lifelong Learning Division facilitates evaluation efforts specifically in K-12 education and public programs. Three interns and numerous volunteers continue to support evaluation work.
"American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition," a traveling exhibition created by the National Constitution Center, opened on November 6, 2013, at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibition showcased how Prohibition began as a movement to improve morals, but ultimately spurred an era of disrespect for the law in Minnesota and around the country. The 5,000-square-foot exhibition was on display through March 16, 2014.
To hire a qualified and experienced HVAC engineer to evaluate the current system in preparation for better control of the Roseville Historical Society museum environment.
