Minnesota lands will soon get some help with a grant from the Minnesota Historical Soceity
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Historical Society has awarded more than $7 million dollars in grant money as part of the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
According to the society, the Legacy Amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.
The Lake Minnetonka Historical Society received $104,000 "to hire qualified professionals to repair the boat 'Minnehaha,' listed in the National Register of Historic Places."
"The streetcar boat was part of this streetcar system in Minneapolis back in the turn of the 1900s servicing Lake Minnetonka," said Tom McCarthy with the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society. "It's now been five years since we've been able to get her in the water, but we're working hard to get that accomplished so that she can be reunited with the community."
McCarthy says the grant funds will help with maintaining the ship while it looks for a permanent home.
"We lost our ability to launch the boat. So we are working to find a new site to build a custom ramp or rail system to be able to get this boat back in the water," he said. "We have just received the grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to help refurbish some of the planking on the hull. So that she's ready, when we're able to get her back in the water."
On Friday, 81 grants, both small and large, were distributed to more than 20 counties. Small grants of $10,000 or less are awarded quarterly. Large grants of more than $10,000 are offered once a year.
The legislature allocated $8,677,000 for 2024 grants and $7,035,000 for 2025.
The money is meant for more than century-old ships though. A breakdancing archive is part of the grant recipients as well.
"I thought it'd be really important to start thinking about how do we preserve this history, especially because some of these people from the first generation are passing away or have passed away," said Jason Noer with Mixtape Dance. "I wanted to see what they were doing. I wanted to see the moves, I wanted to see where my history comes from."
Mixtape received $75,000 "to digitize archival video footage of early Breakdancers in Minnesota, allowing for greater public access to these historic resources."
"To make sure that these people are remembered for what they did. And to show everybody else, not only why our scene is important, and what we contributed, but who was there," Noer said. "It's continuing and there's a reason why it continues and part of that reason is the roots. So we have to know our roots."