The Oral History office worked with the Department of Inclusion and Community Engagement on an oral history project related to the History Center's 2015 exhibit Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair. Interviewer Mica Anders-Turner completed 10 interviews to complement the exhibit. Plans for FY17 include seven interviews focused on African American cabin- and resort-owners at Lake Adney (Crow Wing County), and working with the nonprofit Oromo Community of Minnesota to document the stories of Oromo immigrants, an Ethiopian ethnic group.
This grant program provides community groups with the ability to make positive improvements, a venue to grow community and identify water quality opportunities. Engaging community members in the identification of water protection opportunities helps build connections and foster a stewardship ethic. Selecting projects requires community groups to collaboratively develop priorities among the range of water quality impacts. Implementing projects provides a unique active social enviroment that helps build connections and energy to motivate and grow the community into the next project.
This project will determine the condition of the water bodies in the Otter Tail River watershed, initiate public participation in the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) development process, begin identification of potential stressors and priority management areas within the watershed, and begin development of initial drafts of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study and WRAPS report.
The Otter Tail Water Management District (OTWMD) manages the wastewater for nearly 1,750 private residences near Otter Tail Lake, Deer Lake, and Lake Blanche. There OTWMD is responsible for 101 monitoring wells that were installed in 1984 and 1985 that are no longer being used and need to be properly sealed. The goal of this project is for the East Otter Tail Soil and Water Conservation District (EOTSWCD) to assist the OTWMD in properly sealing 100% of the monitoring wells that are located within the Otter Tail Surficial Aquifer.
The goal of this project is to complete the construction, calibration, and validation of a Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model for the Otter Tail River watershed. The contractor will produce an HSPF model that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Studies. The model will generate predicted output for hydrology, sediment, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen that is consistent with observed data.
The purpose of this project is to develop a detailed tool that can be used in all watersheds within the Otter Tail and Becker counties to prioritize, target, and measure implementation practices at the field scale. The PTM App will significantly increase the targeting capabilities in Otter Tail and Becker Counties. The Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy has not been completed for Otter Tail County, yet, and the PTM App will be able to assist targeting and prioritizing when those documents are created.
MNHS Press will publish a book on the 120-year history of the Minnesota State Capitol and its role as the heart of civic life in the state, a place for celebrations, demonstrations, arguments and accomplishments. The book will include stories of its construction and restoration, fine art and furnishings, laborers and craftspeople, and politics and lifestyles within our "house of democracy."
To enhance Yellow Medicine County Fair's capacity to host arts and cultural heritage events in their Outdoor Heritage Center by purchasing bleacher seating, a stage, and improving the floor to make the area more handicap accessible.
To increase access to arts and cultural heritage programming at the Yellow Medicine County Fair by building an Outdoor Heritage Center. The new center will provide a space for demonstrations, presentations, and interactive activities.
