History Matters: Key Messages

1. Please support the Society’s Society’s 2006 Capital Budget Request

Since 1849, the people of Minnesota have made preserving their history a high priority and have been generous in funding the Minnesota Historical Society. Please continue the strong tradition of funding history by supporting the Society's 2006 Capital Budget Request. The Capital Budget or Bonding Bill will be the main item of business for the 2006 Legislature.

Please urge members of the Legislature to support the Society’s Capital Budget Request including:
a) Historic Sites Asset Preservation
b) Historic Fort Snelling Revitalization and Museum
c) Sesquicentennial County and Local Historic Preservation Grants
d) History Center Visitor Services Upgrades
e) State Capitol Visitor Services Upgrades and Furnishings
f) Oliver Kelley Farm Revitalization
g) Heritage Trails

2. Historic Preservation Tax Credit Proposal
The Legislature will consider a Historic Preservation Tax Credit proposal (S.F. No. 1659). This bill would provide an incentive for those who rehabilitate historic structures. Over 20 other states have such an incentive. Fact Sheet on the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Proposal.

3. History Matters because the Society’s work is really about creating a better future. We educate Minnesota’s children, add value to our state’s tourism industry, preserve our cultural heritage, and help people make connections to our shared past.

The Minnesota Historical Society is first and foremost the caretaker of Minnesota’s stories. Our massive collections tell the tales of Minnesota through the ages. Our innovative museum exhibitions, extensive collections and libraries, educational programs, historic sites and book publishing preserve the state’s cultural heritage.

Each year, about 300,000 Minnesota schoolchildren visit our sites and museums on field trips. Nearly 30,000 students participate in History Day each year – a program for which Minnesota is heralded as a national leader. For the first time, Minnesota history is a required part of the state’s educational system, with thousands of students statewide using the Society’s award-winning curriculum, “Northern Lights” as their guide.

The Minnesota Historical Society supports the state’s tourism industry through its 25 historic sites and museums located throughout the state and their ongoing programming and events. In total, nearly 1 million people visit our sites and museums each year. Each individual historic site plays an important role in its area’s ability to attract tourists, as well as local visitors, which in turn promotes the area’s economic growth.

4. The Society reaches into every corner of the state, through our historic sites and museums, our statewide preservation work, our publications and our expansive website.

About 4 million people use our services each year by visiting our sites, museums, library and web site, and by taking part in our educational programs. The Minnesota Historical Society has nearly 18,000 members – more than any other state historical organization in the country.

5. History Matters!

Previous generations invested in the rich historical resources we enjoy today and the people of Minnesota have entrusted the stewardship of these resources to the Minnesota Historical Society. We owe it to our children and to future generations to make sure those resources, as well as records, collections, buildings and places that reflect life in Minnesota today and in the years to come, are collected, protected and handed down, so that the Minnesota story can continue to be told.