The Minnesota Historical Society is developing creative, hands-on learning projects for K-12 students that adhere to state social studies standards and introduce students to important aspects of Minnesota and U.S. history. For example, students will explore the role of slavery in American history by examining historical newspapers, letters and laws and by watching a series of dramatic portrayals of Dred and Harriet Scott who lived at Fort Snelling in the 1830s. These projects will be made accessible to teachers around the state and around the country in 2013.
This project will provide support for the 10th Annual Road Salt Symposium at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The symposium brings together environmental organizations, companies that produce winter road de-icing salts and chemicals, scientists, policy-makers and transportation workers. They Symposium provides information on chlorides in our waters and provides innovative and new approaches to help repair our waters and sustain our resources for future generations.
This project will support the monitoring of two sites on the Cannon River throughout the field seasons of 2013 and 2014 during storm events and baseflow conditions to capture 25 samples per year at each site according to the WPLMN objectives. The information gathered from these samples and site visits will be compiled for reporting purposes and for use in calculating pollutant loading using the FLUX32 model.
This project will obtain spatial and long-term pollutant load information from the Root River watershed in Southeast Minnesota. To accomplish this, the Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will assist the MPCA with water quality monitoring and annual pollutant loading calculations. Approximately 25 grab samples will be collected/site/year at 5 sites within the Root River watershed (totaling 125 grab samples/year). Annual load calculations for each site will be determined using the FLUX32 model.
This project will work with the MPCA to conduct watershed pollutant load monitoring at four sites in the Chippewa River watershed and one site in the neighboring Pomme de Terre River watershed . The Chippewa River Watershed Project (CRWP) team will also aid the MPCA in measuring and comparing regional differences and long-term trends in water quality. The goal is to collect quality data and complete load calculations for the five sites using the MPCA's established protocols.
This project will monitor six sites within the Minnesota River Basin: Hawk Creek near Maynard, Hawk Creek near Granite Falls, Beaver Creek near Beaver Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Hanley Falls, and Spring Creek near Hanley Falls. The sites will be monitored according to MPCA’s Major Watershed Load Monitoring Standard Operating Procedure, which is the procedure being followed for sites currently monitored by the Hawk Creek Watershed Project (HCWP).
The MPCA has identified 13 stream sites in the watershed to characterize watershed water quality. This project will supplement and complement the identification of the top 50 sites in the watershed that are contributing to water impairment and also help in identification of priority watersheds in the re-write of the watershed comprehensive plan. Water samples and field measurements will be collected at each monitoring location ranging from baseline events to high flow events.
The Minnesota Historical Society partnered with the 70 Years Project to begin development of a web site that will enable all Minnesotans to again share in the tragedies and triumphs of the 1,345 days of World War II. The site will feature oral histories from World War II veterans as well as a wartime headline taken from Minnesota newspapers for every day of the war. The web site will serve as a resource for the general public, as well as for the relatives of the more than 300,000 Minnesotans who fought in the war.
MNHS Press will publish a book showcasing MNHS' extensive collections of bandolier bags made and worn by several North American Indian tribes around the Great Lakes. The book will include a tour of Minnesota's seven Ojibwe reservations, showing bags associated with each area, and profiles of master beadworkers who provide personal insights into the work.
This project will accelerate production of County Geologic Atlases (part A). An atlas is a set of geologic maps and associated databases for a county that facilitate informed management of natural resources, especially water and minerals.
As Minnesota’s state Zoo, we are committed to ensuring that our programs are accessible to all our citizens – regardless of age, geographic location, disability or background. “Zoo Unlimited” is our community outreach and access initiative that unites a wide range of programs and policies designed to ensure every Minnesotan has unlimited opportunities to form stronger connections with the natural world. Legacy funds help us implement this program bridge barriers that keep people from connecting with all the Zoo has to offer.
CMSM opened its new permanent site with increased capacity to serve as an informal learning center that playfully engages children, families, and school groups in interactive experiences with the art and cultural heritage of southern Minnesota. With its current appropriation, CMSM is poised to strengthen its core as an institution that promotes arts and cultural heritage learning through continued
CMSM will build upon the work that began with its 2015-16 appropriation by (1) Remediation and further development of exhibit areas that promote Arts & Cultural Heritage (ACH) learning (2) Expanding ACH learning opportunities for new audiences at off-site locations; (3) Engaging an outside Evaluation Consultant to help plan/implement strategies that meaningfully assess ACH learning outcomes and impacts; (4) Boosting the Museum’s capacity to serve more school/early learning groups.
“Acquiring Land and Creating Opportunities - A Parks and Trails Strategic Objective” is a program area representing DNR’s commitment to one of the four pillars identified in the 25 year Legacy plan. The Legacy plan identifies its purpose to ‘create new and expanded park and trail opportunities to satisfy current customers as well as to reach out to new ones’.The purpose of this program is to call attention to the pillar, but also to centralize and streamline reporting on other related programs within the pillar.
Strategic planning efforts guide the expenditure of Legacy funds towards desired outcomes which are derived from public and stakeholder input, research, analysis and input from a variety of experts and leadership. Parks and Trails planners conduct these efforts. Staffing levels were adjusted to complete this legacy work. Legacy funds have also substantially increased the numbers of projects completed each year. Design and project management levels of work have increased correspondingly. Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Parks and Trails staff conduct these efforts.
An interagency workgroup is developing recommendations for best practices and policies for water reuse in Minnesota. Recommendations will include both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to successful implementation of water reuse. The workgroup will evaluate current regulations, practices, and barriers, and quantify and determine acceptable health risks associated with water reuse applications. The University of Minnesota is collecting and analyzing field data for use in targeting Minnesota-specific risks.
Partners: Minnesota Humanities Center, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
American Indian undergraduate students from across Minnesota participated in a unique summer educational experience. The students selected for this intensive three-week residential program attended classroom presentations and experienced hands-on learning about the museum field and other historical and cultural preservation organizations.
Partner: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
American Indian undergraduate students from across Minnesota participated in this unique summer educational experience. The students selected for this intensive 17-day residential program attended onsite presentations throughout Minnesota and experienced hands-on learning about the museum and archaeology fields and other historical and cultural preservation organizations.
American Indian undergraduate students from across Minnesota participated in this unique intensive 17-day residential program. The students attended on-site presentations throughout Minnesota and experienced hands-on learning about the museum and archaeology fields and other historical and cultural preservation organizations. Students also learned about various career paths and academic requirements for working in these types of organizations, both on and off reservations, as well as challenges American Indian communities face related to preserving tribal heritage.
The MNHS permanent collection includes more than 6,500 objects related to American Indian culture and history. MNHS takes seriously its responsibility to provide stewardship of these items, in accordance with federal law (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) and our own collections management policy (Culturally Sensitive Objects Policy).
The MNHS permanent collection includes more than 6,500 objects related to American Indian culture and history. MNHS provides responsible stewardship of these items, in accordance with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and industry standards for collections management. Meaningful partnerships with tribal communities are the key to successful stewardship. In FY16, MNHS continued collections outreach programming by partnering with Dakota tribes and Ojibwe bands throughout the state and beyond.
The Minnesota Historical Society Press publishes books relating to American Indian history to help people further understand the deep and continuing importance of these stories to modern life in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Historical Society was host to an American Indian Roundtable in spring 2014 for all tribes that have connections to Minnesota. This multi-day event covered topics such as language preservation, grant writing and a digitizing workshop to support the preservation of American Indian history and culture.
This project will be a complete TMDL report for the Biota and Bacteria (E. coli) impairments for the Ann River Watershed. The water bodies associated with these impairments will then be removed from the MPCA’s impaired waters list, and implementation activities to restore the water bodies will begin.
The Application Risk Advisory System is web‑based and provides alerts when conditions are favorable for nutrient loss to water, based on soil conditions and National Weather Service forecast models. This system enables farmers and commercial applicators to avoid applications of fertilizer and manure during conditions when the potential for loss to surface water is high.
To address the problems caused by invasive species, the 1991 Minnesota Legislature directed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish the Invasive Species Program. The program is designed to implement actions to prevent the spread of invasive species and manage invasive aquatic plants and wild animals (Minnesota Statutes 84D).
The three primary goals of the DNR Invasive Species Program are to:
1. Prevent the introduction of new invasive species into Minnesota.
2. Prevent the spread of invasive species within Minnesota.
The DNR is working with local communities and an interagency team to define, prioritize, and establish groundwater management areas in Minnesota. Groundwater management areas will have increased data collection and monitoring that allow the state and local communities to understand water supplies, uses, limitations, and threats to natural resources that depend on groundwater. This information will support detailed aquifer protection plans that ensure equitable and sustainable groundwater and drinking water use for the future.
This project is studying the response of certain aquifers to groundwater pumping. Research involves an aquifer test, which is an experiment where a well is pumped at a known, constant, pumping rate; changes in groundwater levels and stream flows in the areas around the aquifer test site are observed while the well is being pumped. These tests help us understand how groundwater flows between aquifers, which are underground rock and sand layers that hold water.Understanding the interactions between shallow and deep aquifers and surface water is important for managing groundwater supplies.
We Are Hmong Minnesota, a 2,500-square-foot exhibit, debuted March 7, 2015, timed for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Hmong migration to Minnesota. MNHS staff worked in partnership with the Hmong community to develop the exhibit. A traveling version of the exhibit for loan to libraries, schools, and community centers was also developed and is currently circulating. A companion exhibit at the James J. Hill House displayed a collection of Hmong textiles recently donated to the Minnesota Historical Society.
This project will provide condition monitoring and problem investigation monitoring at the following sites.
Mississippi River: Tributaries include Bassett Creek, Cannon River, Crow River, and Minnehaha Creek.
Minnesota River: Tributaries include Eagle Creek,Riley Creek, and Valley Creek tributary to the St. Croix River
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.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, 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 public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, 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 public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
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 $2.2 million Minnesota Regional Library System Legacy Grant. Arrowhead Library System (ALS) is a federated regional public library system with central services located in northeastern Minnesota.
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. Arrowhead Library System (ALS) is a federated regional public library system with central services located in northeastern Minnesota.
The Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans in collaboration with the Minnesota Humanities Center will fund arts and cultural heritage programming to educate, highlight, and promote understanding of the arts and cultural heritage of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for all Minnesotans.
