ROUND TWO MICRO-GRANT AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The Minnesota Sesquicentennial Grants Review Committee considered 114 Round Two Micro-grant applications on January 7 & 8, 2008. The competition for these funds was substantial. More than $120,000 in funding was requested, and yet the Committee could award just over $40,000.
Below are awards (up to $1,000) made to priority counties and/or projects reaching other underserved audiences and regions.
Blue Earth County: Blue Earth County’s 150 Years of Statehood, 155 Years of Blue Earth County: Celebrating Together Exceptional People at an Exceptional Place. For support of a concert, library programs, and interpretive programs to mark the State's 150th and County's 155th anniversaries.
Brown County: Brown County Historical Society, Guide to Brown County History Outdoor Signs. For creation and placement of five interpretive maps throughout Brown County.
Cass County: Boys and Girls Club of Cass Lake Mural Project. For planning and development of an intergenerational community mural project in Cass Lake.
Cottonwood County: Cottonwood County Historical Society’s Student Art Show. For a county-wide, juried student art competition exploring 150 years of Minnesota and Cottonwood County history.
Statewide: League of Minnesota Poets, County Lines Anthology. For support of a state-wide poetry anthology developed by the League of Minnesota Poets (applicant county: Crow Wing)
Dakota County: City of South St. Paul, Life in the Yards- An End of an Era. For development of an exhibit and video documenting the history and significance of the South St. Paul stockyards.
Grant County: Sister City Fellowship of Elbow Lake, Celebrating our Heritage. For a series of musical programs celebrating the City Sister Program of Elbow Lake and Flekkefjord, Norway.
Hennepin County: Marcy Open School, Partners in Minneapolis History. For support of Marcy School involvement in a project exploring important people, places, and events in the history of Minneapolis.
Statewide: Friends of Minnesota Barns, Documentation of Minnesota Barns and Farmsteads. For development of a statewide effort to inventory historic barns and farmsteads and record their histories. (applicant county: Hennepin)
Metro-wide/Statewide: Twin Cities Juneteenth, Inc., Twin Cities Juneteenth and Minnesota Spokesman Recorder African American History Timeline. For development of a historical timeline featured as part of the Juneteenth activities. (applicant county: Hennepin)
Statewide: Minnesota Mississippi River Parkway Commission, Great River Road Travel Guide & Activity Book. For support of a travel guide featuring the history and geography of 21 Minnesota counties. (applicant county: Hennepin)
Hennepin: Friends of the Immigration History Research Center, They Also Chose Minnesota. For support of an oral history project and DVD capturing the experience of both "older" and "newer" immigrants to Minnesota.
Houston County: City of Spring Grove, Music in the Park. For a series of concerts in Spring Grove celebrating aspects of Minnesota history.
Isanti County: Cambridge Historic Overlook Walking Loop and Interpretive Signage. For creation of an interpretive and historic walking loop and signage in Isanti.
Jackson, Murray, Lyon, Lincoln, and Pipestone Counties: Prairie Ecology Bus Center, Sesquicentennial Environmental History Programs. For intergenerational environmental programs in southwest Minnesota.
Lake County: Independent School District 381, Collecting Oral Histories of Two Harbors. For an oral history and DVD project by students in the Lake Superior School district.
Le Sueur County: Le Sueur County Historical Society, History for Kids. For support of youth activities planned in five school districts as part of LeSueur County's Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Lincoln County: Hendricks Norwegian Heritage Committee, Hendricks-Troll Town, MN. For support of locally-created troll art as part of Hendricks' celebration of its Scandinavian heritage.
Meeker County: Meeker County Historical Society, Remembering 150 Years of Minnesota and Meeker County History. For research and production of interpretive materials exploring significant people, places, and events in Meeker County.
Mille Lacs County: Mille Lacs Lake Watershed Management Group, Minnesota Sesquicentennial & Mille Lacs Lake Birthday Party. For support of interpretive programs and events sponsored by the Mille Lacs Lakes Watershed Management Group.
Morrison County: Morrison County Ag Society, Rural School History and Events. For programs exploring the significance and history of rural educators and rural schools in Morrison County.
Mower County: Mower County Historical Society, Re-dedication of M4 Sherman Tank. For refurbishing and re-dedicating a WWII memorial erected during the 1958 Centennial Celebration.
Nicollet County: New Sweden Township, Norseland Community Sesquicentennial Celebration. For compilation of a community history book about the unincorporated community of Norseland.
Olmsted County: Rochester Community College and U of M-Rochester, Minnesota at its Sesquicentennial: Exceptional People in an Exceptional Place. For of series of educational and travel and study programs exploring Minnesota history and culture.
Otter Tail County, Otter Tail County Historical Society, A County on Stage. For support of student theatre workshops culminating in a community history performance.
Pipestone County: Pipestone County Museum, Civil War Days. For historical re-enactments exploring Minnesota's role in the Civil War.
Metro-wide/Statewide: Vietnamese Community of Minnesota, The 2008 Vietnamese Community's Summer Festival. For support of the Vietnamese American summer festival that includes a Minnesota history “Knowledge Bowl” and essay contest. (applicant county: Ramsey)
Ramsey County: Capitol River Council, Sesquicentennial Tree Project. For a commemorative plaque noting the placement of Sesquicenntial Norway Pines on the State Capitol grounds.
Ramsey County: Penumbra Theatre Company, Archive Project. For support of digitization of Penumbra Theatre's video archive for placement in the Givens Collection at the U of M-Twin Cities.
Renville County: Renville County Historical Society, Minnesota River: Gateway to Renville County Traveling Exhibit. For creation of a traveling exhibit on the significance of the Minnesota River in Renville County.
Rice County: Northfield Middle School, Historic Musical Stage Play for Northfield Middle School. For creation and performance of a historical musical stage play by Northfield students the Lockwood Opera House.
Roseau County: Falun Township, 100th Anniversary & State’s 150th Anniversary. For activities and a commemorative exhibit planned as part of Falun Township's Centennial celebration.
Scott County: Scott County Historical Society, Scott County Baseball. For research and publication a history of baseball and baseball players in area.
Steele County: Rice Lake Church Restoration and Preservation Group, Preservation and Restoration of the Village of Rice Lake. For restoration of an historic landmark church in Rice Lake to enhance its use as a community gathering site.
Steele County: Willow Creek Intermediate School, Celebrate with the State in 2008. For support of an interdisciplinary community activities and intergenerational programs.
Todd County: Prairie Community Group, Fireworks-Veterans Tribute. For support of program honoring veterans held as part of the State Sesquicentennial and Long Prairie's 125th anniversary.
Wabasha County, City of Wabasha, Sesquicentennial Community Spirit Project. For programs and arts activities tied to Sesquicentennial themes.
Wadena, Benton, and Traverse des Sioux Counties: Intermedia Arts, Minnesota's Ordinarily Unsung Concerts. For development of musical interpretive programs exploring the lives of “unsung” Minnesotans.
Waseca County: Farmamerica, History of Minnesota Agriculture. For support of an interpretive exhibit on the important of Minnesota agriculture, past and present.
Watonwan County: Madelia Veterans Memorial, Inc., Preserving the History of the Minnesota Veterans. For documentation and preservation of war veterans’ stories.