Local History Services staff met with board members and volunteers of the Wings of the North Museum to help them think about expansion plans. The museum is located at the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie.
MNHS Announces January Round of Legacy Small Grants
Recipients received 26 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants, ($10,000 and less) totaling $214,476 in 14 counties. Learn more »
Large Grant Deadline
Pre-applications for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants large grant round (requests over $10,000) will be due Friday, May 31, 2024. This is a required part of the large grant application process. Contact the Grants Office with questions.
Small Grant Deadline
The next small grant deadline (requests of $10,000 or less) for the MHCHG program is Friday, April 12, 2024.
APRIL Grants Open House
April 4 - 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 »
This week's blog post is from U of MN Libraries. Have a blog? Let us know!
'It was genocide': The secret society behind an ethnic cleansing in Minnesota
Some of Minnesota’s richest farmland lies in Blue Earth County, and the white settlers of Mankato wanted it. There was just one problem. The Ho-Chunk people already lived there.
The year was 1863, just shy of the U.S.-Dakota War, and although the Ho-Chunk Nation remained neutral, it gave settlers the perfect excuse.
To execute their plan, they formed the Knights of the Forest, a secret society with one goal: “To banish forever from our beautiful State every Indian who now desecrates our soil.” What followed was one of the most grisly forced removals in the nation’s history.
Cathy Coats, a metadata specialist at the University of Minnesota Libraries, has spent the last 10 years researching this genocide. Her book “To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota,” recently published by the Minnesota Historical Society, documents this history, but Coats hopes this work is just the start. Continue Reading »
This week's post is from Legacy of the Lakes Museum. Have a video channel or podcast? Let us know!
Minnesota Historical Society's Job Announcement, Internship, Fellowship, and Volunteer Opportunity pages.
Additional Job Postings in the Field »
Image used with permission. From the collections of the Historic Cook County.
Submit your history organization's news and events to localhistorynews@mnhs.org.
Workshop: They Brought Their Songs: International Folk Music in Minnesota
April 6 @ 1 pm - Bemidji: Bemidji Public Library & Beltrami County Historical Society - A workshop on the history of polka music and dance plus a performance by the Cathy Erickson Band. This is an exciting and culturally enriching partnership and series that seeks to celebrate the diverse and vibrant tapestry of international folk music in Beltrami County. Cost: Free. Learn more »
Event: All Aboard for Train Days
April 13 & 14 - Bemidji: Beltrami County History Center - Get ready to experience the excitement of locomotives and railways at Train Days, hosted by the Northern Iron Horse Railroad Society and the Beltrami County Historical Society. Discover the intricacies of new model train layouts featuring a range of scales from N to HO Scale, O gauge, and even LEGO models. Step back in time with a tour of the historic Great Northern X259 Caboose to delve into its fascinating history and significance in the world of railroading. Cost: $7 adults. Learn more »
Event: Pajama Day
April 18 @ 10 am to 8 pm - Albert Lea: Freeborn County Historical Museum - Get on your comfiest or cutest PJs and come visit the museum. Get into the museum for free if you come in PJs. Don’t worry, you won’t be the only one, the staff looks forward to enjoying this cozy day, too. Learn more »
Exhibit: The Soil and the Story
Through April 19 - Minneapolis: Goldstein Museum of Design - This exhibit celebrates Black Soilship in the Black Belt by highlighting 12 farms researched in the last three years across Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Its organizers, bridging the College of Design and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, invite you to explore the relationships between science, nature, history, and culture–here and wherever you stand. Cost: Free. Learn more »
Rehab Lab: Historic Finishes - Varnishes, Stains, Dyes, and Wax
April 20 @ 9 am to 12 pm - TBD: Rethos - This class introduces you to wood finishes commonly found in older homes. Learn the differences between varnish, stain, dyes, and waxes and how to identify these finishes in your home. The class includes demonstrations of best practices for application, cleaning, and repair. Come with your questions and curiosities about historic wood finishes. Location: TBD. Learn more »
Event: Educators Evening at the Museum
April 25 @ 4 to 6 pm - Albert Lea: Freeborn County Historical Museum - This is a perfect opportunity to meet with other education professionals and learn how FCHM can help you in the classroom. Collaboration and connection are key to continue moving forward in educational settings like museums and schools. Come and enjoy small bites, mocktails and cocktails while exploring all FCHM has to offer—guided tours, History2Go! Kits, field trip sign-up, door prizes, discounted membership. You will also have the opportunity to network with other educators from Freeborn County. This event is FREE to all educators. Learn more »
Event: Command Sergeant Major John S. Werner Memorial 5K Run-Walk
May 11 @ 9 am start time - Duluth: Veterans Memorial Hall of the Saint Louis County Historical Society is holding a 5k to honor the memory of Command Sergeant Major John S. Werner. A short ceremony prior at The Other Place Bar & Grill. Entry fee: $30. Register »
May 18 & 19 @ 10 am to 5 pm - Minneapolis: Rethos - The annual Doors Open Minneapolis event allows people to explore Minneapolis' architecture and history by visiting interesting buildings that are not normally open to the public. These buildings can include businesses, private sites, public venues, and historical landmarks. The event is a great way to learn more about Minneapolis and see some of its unique architecture. It's also a fun way to spend a day exploring the city. Cost: Free. Learn more »
Explore Minnesota - State of MN's Tourism website
Listings: History & Heritage Events | Historic Exhibits | Lectures & Workshops
Submit an event »
Highlighted Museum: North St. Paul Historical Society Museum, operated by the North St. Paul Historical Society, North St. Paul, MN.
Photograph by McGhiever, distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.
April 11 @ 9 am to 3:30 pm - New Hope: International Masonry Institute & Minnesota Historical Society - Discover essential historic masonry mortar details in expert-led sessions. Explore mortar history, selection for repointing, and specifying based on masonry type. Learn about sampling, testing, material properties, and modern vs. historic mixes for restoring buildings. Registration for the event is free. Learn more »
Inclusive Design in Cultural Heritage: Embracing Sensory Processing and Neurodiversity
April 8 @ 10 am (CT) - Online: Balboa Park Online Collaborative - In an era of democratized cultural heritage access, institutions must embrace inclusive design to transcend traditional boundaries. The presenter will explore sensory processing and the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioral traits, equipping organizations with tools to reimagine spaces and programs inclusively. Cost: Free. Learn more »
Fundamentals of Nonprofit Finance
April 11 @ 9 am to 12 pm - Online: Propel Nonprofits - This training is designed to make you more comfortable with nonprofit finance. We’ll walk through nonprofit financial reports including the income statement (statement of activities) and balance sheet (statement of financial position). You will gain an understanding of nonprofit finance terminology, financial statements, and staff and board roles and responsibilities. Cost: $85. Learn more »
DHPSNY: Understanding Dew Point
April 18 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts - This webinar covers the basics of understanding dew point and how it relates to relative humidity in a collections environment. Topics discussed will include the effects of passive climate control on dew point, the ways mechanical systems control dew point, reading dew point graphs, and other tips for data analysis. Build your understanding of this important moisture measurement to improve your institution's preservation goals and energy usage. Cost: Free. Learn more »
OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program
April 25 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: Connecting to Collections Care - In this webinar, attendees will learn how small and mid-sized institutions can best use the services that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides through this program. Two museums that hosted consultants will also talk about their experiences and how they used their time spent with the consultants to make their workplaces safer for the objects and employees they work with. Cost: Free. Learn more »
Writing K-12 Lesson Plans for Museums online course begins on MuseumStudy.com
Starts May 6 - online course: Museum Study - This four-week course is designed to teach museum educators how to develop and write formal lesson plans for K-12 programming. Students will review a wide variety of K-12 lesson plans from different types of museums. Each week's lecture, chat, and assignment will be iterative, and students will end the course with a finished lesson plan that they can put into use at their museums. Cost: $400. Learn more »
Google Groups are available for eight of AASLH’s affinity communities and for discussions of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the history field. Each group is a forum where you can share news and resources or ask a question and get advice from others.
Click the links below to access the groups. You’ll need to click the Ask to Join Group button and wait for approval to begin participating in the conversations.
Once you’ve joined, simply click the New Conversation button on the top left to start a new conversation or click on an existing conversation to see what’s being shared and to participate in conversations started by others.
Additional Educational Opportunities »
Cultural and Community Resilience
May 21 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant supports community-based efforts to address the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 by safeguarding cultural resources and fostering cultural resilience through identifying, documenting, and/or collecting cultural heritage and community experiences. Projects should fall into one of two categories: community collecting initiatives or oral history programs. Learn more »
Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations
June 12 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - These grants seek to assist organizations in meeting their community’s needs by expanding the scope, reach, and excellence of public programs. These awards support a variety of activities that focus on enriching interpretive strategies, strengthening interpretive skill sets or enhancing community engagement with public-facing programs. Learn more »
Humanities Collections and Reference Resources
July 16 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - These grants support the preservation and accessibility of cultural materials through digitization, description, and the creation of reference resources. They advance scholarship, education, and public engagement in the humanities for libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations nationwide. Learn more »
Early American Art and Heritage Projects Supported
Rolling Deadlines: Americana Foundation - American Heritage program area supports projects and programs throughout the United States that seek to broaden the inclusivity of early American art and the early American historical narrative to "tell the full story of" the American experience. Learn more »
This month's updates include the completion of digitizing the Stillwater State Prison Photographs of Inmates collection and the conversion of the Hubert H. Humphrey Papers Collection inventories to a modern archival format. Additionally, new accessions like the Hennepin County School District minute book and the Coffee House Press collection have been added.
Other collections with additions or added digital content include several additions to the MNHS Institutional Archives; the Attorney General: Public Welfare Division: Litigation File: Welsch v Noot; the Honeywell Inc. records; the Linden Hills Dancing Club records; and the Water and Soil Resources Board minutes. In addition, many newly encoded finding aids are now available online for the first time. Go to list »
Stories for Good: Winona County History Center builds relationships as it preserves the past
Winona Daily News – Have you ever visited the Winona County History Center? On the outside, it looks formidable - stack on stack of solid brick and a battlements tower above you like an old-time fortress. The building certainly guards something special: the history of Winona County as entrusted to it by the county’s people. However, what holds this organization together is not just the collection of artifacts it protects. It’s the relationships built and stories shared in this space that make history live here. Continue reading »
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's Hoċokata Ṫi named 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service Award Finalist
Red Lake Nation News – The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced today that Hoċokata Ṫi (pronounced ho-cho-kah-tah-tee), the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC)'s cultural center, is among 30 finalists for the 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Hoċokata Ṫi is the only institution in Minnesota to be selected as a finalist for this award and is also the only Native American institution among the finalists. Continue reading »
Local View: The power to preserve history belongs to the people
Duluth News Tribune – ...The idea of “public history” is that history is really about, and for, the public. The whole amazing process of learning begins with local communities of people who take care to preserve the past. The professionals who are trained in management and historic preservation and conservation are just a small part of the picture. The real power that preserves history is the people themselves, and those who get involved can enjoy all the benefits while sharing with others. Become a member of your local historical society. Volunteer. Become part of the network that preserves these encounters for all. Continue reading »
A space shuttle coming to St. Cloud? It’s possible
InForum – A space shuttle could be touching down — metaphorically — in St. Cloud. Gov. Tim Walz last week said a donor had inquired about placing a space shuttle in central Minnesota. Walz told MPR News on Friday, March 22, about the offer but gave few details about the project. “Someone wants to give us a space shuttle — the space shuttle, a real space shuttle — to move to Minnesota,” he said. Continue reading »
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Featured BookActive Collections edited by Elizabeth Wood, Rainey Tisdale, Trevor Jones. Routledge Press |
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Minnesota History Organizations Directory• County, Chapters, and Local |
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