Field Note

April 1, 2025, marked not only April Fools' Day but also the 175th birthday of Hallie Q. Brown, a trailblazing educator, writer, orator, and civil rights advocate. Her namesake, the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, which has been a cornerstone of St. Paul's Rondo Neighborhood since 1929, took this opportunity to celebrate. As a central hub for the African American community in St. Paul, the event drew the participation of the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) to provide advice on preserving family photographs and to offer free scanning services for photos and documents brought by attendees.

The Hallie Q. Brown Community Center has long been a trusted resource in the Rondo neighborhood. It provides essential social services and supports initiatives that celebrate African American heritage while strengthening individuals and families. Its programs aim to foster community connections and preserve history for future generations.

Heritage Preservation Grants

Large Grant Deadline
Pre-applications for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants large grant round (requests over $10,000) will be due Friday, July 18, 2025*. This is a required part of the large grant application process. Contact the Grants Office with questions.
* Pending funding approval by the Minnesota Legislature and Governor. This date is subject to change. 

Small Grant Deadline
The next small grant deadline (requests of $10,000 or less) for the MHCHG program is Friday, April 11, 2025.

APRIL Grants Open House
April 3 - Online: The Grants Office will hold a virtual Grants Office Open House using Google Meet from 2 to 3:30 pm in order to provide additional grants support to our communities. We encourage people to RSVP to Gillian with a short summary of what you want to talk about and she will try to ensure that someone helpful will be available. Learn more »

Grants Office YouTube Playlist »

From the Blog

This week's blog post is from the U of MN Libraries. Have a blog? Let us know!

When Minnesota’s first women architects couldn’t find a home, they made their own 
If you live in South Minneapolis, there’s a chance your house was designed by one of Minnesota’s first women architects. And if you didn’t know that, well it’s by design.

“Women have been in this field for over 100 years. It’s not a new thing,” said Cheryll Fong, curator of the Northwest Architectural Archives (NAA). “But what is new is their prominence and more of a level playing field. It’s more accepted that a woman can be an architect.”

For decades women weren’t allowed in architectural firms or professional associations, their accomplishments overshadowed by glass skyscrapers. So without a welcoming home for women in architecture, they built their own.

“Making Room: Women’s Histories from the Northwest Architectural Archives,” a new exhibit at the University of Minnesota Libraries, recognizes the women who trained and worked as architects throughout the state. Continue Reading »

More MN Blog posts

• Orabel Thortvedt - Local Artist and Historian - Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County
• Growing Up In Frogtown: Little Women, Little Houses, Lots of Work, (and a Little Play) - Ramsey County Historical Society
• Next year in . . .Indiana? - MN Jewish Genealogical Society
• Transcript: A Bill for the Removal of the Capitol of the Territory or Future State of Minnesota, and for other purposes - Nicollet County Historical Society
• From the President: April 2025 - Danish American Center
• History Center of Freeborn County shares local plat maps with MDL - Minnesota Digital Library News
• Taking a Closer Look: Medical Artifacts - Meeker County Historical Society
• Perham women rally for Red Cross efforts during World War I - Otter Tail County Historical Society
• The Time Machine: Legends of the Games — 1920s Stars Basketball Induction No. 2 - Wadena County Historical Society
• Back in time: The Great Monkey Circus - Washington County Historical Society

From the Tube

This week's post is from the History Center of Olmsted County. Have a video channel or podcast? Let us know!

More MN Tube posts

• Sleuth Your Stoop - Kathy Kullberg - Linden Hills History Study Group
• Warroad History Interviews- Doug Johnson Part 4 on Muskie Fishing - Warroad Heritage Center
• I Would Do Anything for Love (But You Shouldn’t Do That) & Portrait of the Artist as a Young Lover - U of MN Libraries
• White Bear Lake's Gerry Spiess Sails the Atlantic in a 10 Foot Sailboat! - White Bear Lake Area Historical Society
• Pipestone County Stories of Murder & Mayhem - Pipestone County Historical Society

Heritage Preservation YouTube Playlist »

Job Opportunities

Minnesota Historical Society's Job Announcement, Internship, Fellowship, and Volunteer Opportunity pages.

MNHS

• Cyber Security Specialist - MN History Center
• Facilities Maintenance Technician - Lindbergh House & Museum

LOCAL

• Building & Grounds Maintenance Technician - Stearns History Museum
• Campus Engagement Manager - Weisman Art Museum/University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Group Sales Coordinator - Bell Museum, St. Paul, MN
• Manager Archive - American Public Media Group, St. Paul, MN
• President - Como Friends, St. Paul, MN
• Museum Tour Operations Manager - Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN
• Museum Collections Manager - History Center of Olmsted County, Rochester, MN
• Executive Director - History Center of Olmsted County, Rochester, MN
  Applicants who submitted their applications before March 27, 2025, should resubmit to the email provided in the packet (archivist@olmstedhistory.com) due to technical issues that may have caused previous applications to be missed.

REGIONAL

• Executive Director - German American Heritage Center and Museum, Davenport, IA
• Director and Assistant Director - Kinney Pioneer Museum, Mason City, IA
• Associate Registrar to Registrar - Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND
• Learning Facilitator - Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI
• Museum Registrar - John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

• Provenance Researcher - University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Head of Archives Processing and Access - University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Project Coordinator, Operations - WNDR Museum, Chicago, IL
• Sr. Education Programs Associate - Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
• Assistant University Archivist - Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Vice President of Development - Newberry Library, Chicago, IL
• Finance and Operations Business Analyst - Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Communications Specialist - The DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL
• Program Developer - Angel Mounds, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Evansville, IN
• Local History and Genealogy Coordinator - Anderson Public Library, Anderson, IN 
• Collections Manager - The Grover Center: Museum and Historical Society, Shelbyville, IN
• Archivist for Instruction - Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• Museum Engagement Manager - Mason County Historical Society, Ludington, MI
• Archivist, Library - Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis, MO
• Curator - National Orphan Train Complex, Concordia, KS
• Oral Historian - College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA
• Collections and Stewardship Assistant - Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB
• Collections Assistant - Workers' History Museum, Saint Paul University Campus, Ottawa, ON
• Public Programming Assistant - Muskoka Lakes Museum, Port Carling, ON
• Gallery Attendant - Manitoba Children’s Museum, Winnipeg, MB 

INTERNSHIPS/VOLUNTEERS/FELLOWSHIPS

• Tour Guide & Collections Intern - LeDuc Historic Estate, Dakota County Historical Society, Hastings, MN
• Tour Guide & Researcher Intern - Sibley & LeDuc Connection - Sibley Historic Site, Dakota County Historical Society, Mendota, MN
• Tour Guide & Researcher Intern - Slavery in Mendota - Sibley Historic Site, Dakota County Historical Society, Mendota, MN
• Marketing and PR Intern - Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI

Additional Job Postings in the Field »

Do History Here

Image used with permission. From the collections of the Little Canada Historical Society.

Submit your history organization's news and events to localhistorynews@mnhs.org.

Embroidery Workshop 
April 5 @ 1 pm - Faribault: Rice County Historical Society - Have you ever wanted to learn how to embroider? Now is your chance to learn the basics of embroidery. The demonstrator Marie Tuma will show participants how to stamp embroidery patterns and start stitching away. Those who sign up will get an embroidery kit and sewing hoop, and will walk away with a completed piece. Cost: $20 Members/$25 nonmembers. Learn more »

Kandiyohi County Historical Society Annual Meeting & Program Featuring Carolyn Sowinski
April 10 @ 5:30 to 8 pm - Willmar: Kandiyohi County Historical Society - After the short annual meeting, historian Carolyn Sowinski will present her biography of Gabriel Stene and his wife Wilda Quam, children of Norwegian immigrants. The talk will cover their immigration to Milwaukee, Stene's life in Kandiyohi County, and his work with the Willmar Tribune. For more information call 320-235-1881.

This Game is for the Girls: The 50-Year Story of Golden Valley Girls Softball
April 10 @ 7 pm - Golden Valley: Golden Valley Historical Society - History talk by Bob Mattison, a long-time Golden Valley resident who quite literally wrote the book which chronicles the 50-year history of Golden Valley girls’ softball. Cost: Free. Learn more »

First Deliberate Murder in Freeborn County, Old Time Radio Show
April 10 @ 6:30 or 7:30 pm - Albert Lea: History Center of Freeborn County - Experience the magic of the "Golden Age of Radio"! Immerse yourself in the nostalgic entertainment of the 1920s to 1960s and relive the glory days of radio dramas. Cost: $5 members/$10 nonmembers. For more information call 507-373-8003.

SE MN Stories of Freedom: Oral Histories from SE MN Abolitionist Descendants
April 10 @ 7 to 8:30 pm - Rochester: History Center of Olmsted County - In the decades leading up to the US Civil War, abolitionists from eastern states migrated westward into the "free" Minnesota territory. Among them were those who assisted with the Underground Railroad before heading north. Attend this unique oral history event featuring descendants of abolitionists in our region. Sara Holger will share oral histories of the descendants of abolitionists in SE Minnesota prior to the abolition of slavery. Cost: $5. Learn more »

The Exaggerated History of Steele County
April 12 @ 1 pm - Owatonna: Steele County History Center - Have you heard whispers about Princess Owatonna, gold mines, Jesse James, and other intriguing tales from Steele County's past? Join local historians Anne Peterson and Nancy Vaillancourt, the self-branded History Hags, as they delve into the truth behind these local legends. Cost: Free members/$5 nonmembers.  Learn more »

Building Community by Studying the Past: A Conversation with the Historian of Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery
April 12 @ 2 to 3 pm - Minneapolis: Hennepin History Museum - Join Hennepin History Museum’s Executive Director John Crippen for a conversation with Susan Hunter Weir, president of the Friends of Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery. Discover her journey in researching and documenting the stories of the 22,000 individuals buried in Minneapolis’ oldest cemetery, highlighting the lives of immigrants, African Americans, women, children, pioneers, and veterans who helped shape the city. Cost: Pay-as-you-can. Learn more »

Train Days 2025
April 12 and 13 - Bemidji: Beltrami County History Center - The event will feature model railroads in multiple scales, including an expansive LEGO city and railroad displays. The Historical Society will also dedicate and offer tours of the X259 caboose, a 1948 Great Northern Railway relic that gives visitors a glimpse into the golden age of American rail travel. Additional activities include railroading model train vendors, unique souvenirs, live story times, and music. This year’s event will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Northern Iron Horse Railroad Society, a local railroad club dedicated to preserving and celebrating railroading history. Learn more »

Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall
April 15 @ 6:30 pm - Marshall: Lyon County Museum - Frank Sachs, a retired educator from the Twin Cities, will present "Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall." His talk will explore how the wall symbolized the Cold War division and its significance as a turning point in Eastern Europe's political landscape, culminating in Germany's reunification in 1989. Cost: Pay-as-you-can. Learn more  »

Vanishing Landmarks at Sibley
April 18 @ 6 to 7 pm - Mendota: Sibley Historic Site/Dakota County Historical Society - Join photographer and storyteller Doug Ohman as we explore back roads and small towns while hearing stories of Minnesota’s historic buildings that are quickly disappearing. Program will be in the DuPuis House. Cost: $15 members/$20 nonmembers. Learn more »

Many Fronts: Poetry and Memorials at the Capitol Mall
April 18 @ 1 to 3 pm - St. Paul: Minnesota Humanities Center - The event at the Minnesota State Capitol Mall invites participants to reflect on the experiences of service members, veterans, and civilians, exploring how military conflicts are understood and remembered through memorials, monuments, and poetry. The program includes an interactive writing activity, opportunities to share personal stories, and group discussions about the Capitol Mall’s monuments and memorials, guided by facilitators. Location: Veterans Service Building. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Not So Silent Movie
April 24 @ 7:30 pm - Anoka County Historical Society - Silent movies weren't truly silent; they featured live music! Join us for two pre-talkie films accompanied by Nate Otto on the restored American Fotoplayer, a unique blend of player piano, pipe organ, and percussion. Learn about this rare instrument—fewer than 50 still exist today, with only a few playable. Enjoy classic films, including a cartoon and a Charlie Chaplin short, while experiencing this special musical performance. Location: Anoka Ramsey Community College Theater. Cost: $18. Learn more »

Civil War Tour of the Minnesota State Capitol
April 26 @ 10 am - Litchfield/St. Paul: Meeker County Historical Society - A 90-minute tour of the Capitol with a focus on the Civil War, including battle flags, memorials, and art. The tour will be led by Brian Pease, Litchfield native and Capitol historian. Cost: $15. Learn more »

Explore Minnesota - State of MN's Tourism website
Listings: History & Heritage Events | Historic Exhibits | Lectures & Workshops
Register for an Account »

Continuing Education

Highlighted Museum: Sauk Centre Area History Museum, Sauk Centre, MN.
Photograph by McGhiever, distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.

Advocacy 101: Easy and Effective
April 8 @ 1 to 3 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Learn about how advocacy can further your organization’s mission and the nonprofit sector as a whole. Cost: $50 members/$70 nonmembers. Learn more »

Nonprofit Resilience Under Trump 2.0: Financial Health Check
April 9 @ 1 to 2:15 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits & CalNonprofits - To prepare for the long-term viability of your organization, join this webinar focused on resilience to learn how to assess your organization's financial health and develop a robust contingency plan. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Safeguarding Nonprofit Data: Risks, Best Practices, and Legal Considerations
April 10 @ 1 to 3:30 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Join a panel of tech, legal, and nonprofit specialists for a conversation that will illuminate proactively protecting the data you hold–especially on behalf of vulnerable constituents. Cost: $50 members/$70 nonmembers. Learn more »

Provenance & Original Order  
April 21 @ 5 pm (CT) - Online: Backlog - This webinar explores key archival principles—provenance, original order, chain of custody, and respect du fonds—and how they guide ethical archival practices. Presented by archivist Genna Duplisea, M.A., M.S., this session will examine how these concepts influence the organization and preservation of archival collections. Cost: Free. Learn more »

History Communication: Reframing the Value of History and Your Institution 
April 24 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - History practitioners at institutions of all types and sizes will learn how to communicate about their work more effectively, including writing fundraising letters, making advocacy calls, speaking with the media, or simply updating your website. Cost: $100 members/$150 nonmembers. Learn more »

Working with Tourism Organizations 
April 29 @ 2 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - Heritage and cultural tourism consultant Heidi Schlag and Visit Frederick’s Sr. Marketing Manager Jake Wynn will discuss how museums can work with their local Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to attract more visitors, increase visibility, and strengthen community connections. Cost: $25 members/$45 nonmembers. Learn more »

Strategy, Planning, and Outcomes: Bridging your strategy work with ground level impacts
April 30 @ 12 to 1 pm (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - Join us to explore the connections between organizational strategy and service impacts. You will walk away from this webinar with an understanding of the nine gears of effective nonprofits, strategy planning frameworks, and the practical application of outcomes development. Cost: Free. Learn more » 

TIPS & TOOLS

• Defending Our Full, Shared History at the Smithsonian and National Park Service - American Association for State and Local History
• URGENT: Take Action to Defend IMLS - American Association for State and Local History
• SMA Statement on Cuts to IMLS Funding - Small Museum Association

UPCOMING CONFERENCES IN MINNESOTA

April 10 - 12, 2025, Minneapolis, MN Scholarships available.

April 22 - 24, 2025 White Bear Lake, MN

May 6 - 7, 2025 St. Paul, MN Scholarships available.

Additional Educational Opportunities »

Funding & Awards

Core Grants Program
Deadline - May 15 (New applicants) | June 30 (Previous applicants): Needmor Fund - These grants provides general operating support to groups engaged in the work of community organizing around social justice. Learn more »

Research Grants at Presidential Libraries                
Several private foundations associated with Presidential Libraries provide grants-in-aid to assist researchers studying Presidential Library holdings. Learn more »

Assistive Technology Grants
Rolling Deadline - Rural Technology Fund - This Fund provides grants for Rural Technology Education projects and Assistive Technology projects. They review and award grants every 30-60 days, with no specific deadlines. Rural Technology Fund provides funding for Assistive Technology equipment to increase accessibility for students with disabilities in public schools and libraries. These donations include equipment and software that promote student inclusion and participation. Projects funded include laptops or tablets to utilize speech-to-text, text-to-speech, word processing, magnification, audiobooks, and other accessibility features. Learn more »

Additional Funding & Award Opportunities »

News

Vintage Museum Photo: Pine County Historical Society Museum, Askov, MN. (1974).
Now replaced by the Pine County History Museum. View additional photos on Instagram »
This new section features slides taken of Minnesota history museums from the 1970s through the 1990s by David Nystuen, the MNHS Field Services Coordinator, and other Field Services representatives during that time period.

MN Digital Newspaper Hub - February's content update
A content update to the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub added 9,906 new issues and 136,992 new newspaper pages.
New publicly available titles & date spans:

• Forest Lake times (Forest Lake, Minn.) 1956-1966 added
• Paynesville Press (Paynesville, Minn.) 1962-1972 & 2009-2015 added
• Rochester post-bulletin (Rochester, Minn.) 1925-1943
• Silver Bay area shopper (Silver Bay, Minn.) 1978-1981 added
• Bayside's North Shore journal & shopper (Silver Bay, Minn.) 2000-2002
• North Shore journal (Silver Bay, Minn.) 2002-2010 added
• Křesťanské listy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 1899-1958
• Granite Falls journal (Granite Falls, Minn.) 1876-1892
• Norman County herald (Ada, Minn.) 1888-1890
• Foley independent (Foley, Minn.) 1901-1910
• Cass County pioneer (Walker, Minn.) 1894-1900
• Center City press (Center City, Minn.) 1903-1905
• Chisago County news (Center City, Minn.) 1908-1917
• South-west Minnesotian (Blue Earth, Minn.) 1862
• Christian friend (Blue Earth, Minn.) 1880-1881
• Blue Earth City news (Blue Earth, Minn.) 1861-1862
• Minnesota south west (Blue Earth, Minn.) 1868-1871
• Welcome messenger (Welcome, Minn.) 1890
• Edgerton enterprise (Edgerton, Minn.) 1884-1885
• Lake breeze (White Bear Lake, Minn.) 1891-1892

New issues for the years 2008-2023 were also added to several existing current newspaper titles, available to view only in the MNHS Library.

Rice County Historical Society hires new education and outreach coordinator
Faribault Daily News - The Historical Society had one issue — funding. Nichols said he was able to find a couple of donors who would help sponsor the position for three years. "Because of that sponsorship, it gives us some time on our end to sort of make it more sustainable," said Nichols. Nichols and the rest of those at the Historical Society want to do more with the schools in Rice County, so having a person dedicated to that helps them out. Continue reading »

Federal funding for Minitex services
Minitex – Federal funding from the Library Services and Technology Act, provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, enables Minitex to collaborate with Minnesota’s entire library community. We centralize processes, share resources and infrastructure, and leverage economies of scale to provide high-quality services that save money and use public resources as efficiently as possible. Continue reading »

THE HISTORY HAGS: Dynamic duo tackling historical myths, misconceptions of Steele County
Owatonna People's Press - A fallacy often starts with a misunderstanding or confused memory, like a storyteller who doesn't quite recall how the story goes. Compound those errors over years, throw in a bit of speculation here and some embellishment there, and what began as historical fact can morph into something barely recognizable. Continue reading »

The history of the area - Aitkin and Mille Lacs museums are in old railway depots
Aitkin Independent Age - There are no wild horses or cowboys there, but there is a Native American exhibit and one horse named Champion. The Aitkin County Historical Society’s Depot Museum is home to Champion, the mechanical horse. Owned by Frank Stebbins, Champion sat outside the former Ben Franklin store in Aitkin for decades. Many of today’s seniors will recall it cost 10 cents to ride Champion in their youth. Stebbins’ daughter, Jill, donated Champion to the museum in 2005. Continue reading »

Featured Book Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories by Frank Bures Minnesota Historical Society Press. Author Event: Book Launch  Date: April 9 @ 7 to 8:30 pm Location: Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis, MN	Featured Article Minnesota History "Who was Jane Lamont?": Anglo-Dakota daughters in early Minnesota  Volume 59, Issue 5, 2009	Featured Article MNopedia National Woman’s Party in Minnesota Featured MNopedia Article	Minnesota Unraveled Museum of the Streets: Muralismo in St. Paul Episode 101

Minnesota History Organizations Directory  • County, Chapters, and Local • Statewide/Topical Historical • Regional History Coalitions • Professional Organizations	Minnesota Main Streets Reinvigorate your community's commercial district.	Preservation Specialists Directory Look up products or services.

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