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Minnesota Transportation History Network Grants Program

Minnesota’s transportation history evokes rich images, from oxcarts and steamboats to railroad depots and iron ore carriers. Those images tell stories of how transportation patterns influenced the state’s development, determining where towns were founded, why some flourished and others failed, and how goods were shipped to market.

To promote a better public understanding of that history, the Minnesota Transportation History Network was established in 1998 with funding assistance from the federal Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century, known as TEA-21. Coordinated by the Minnesota Historical Society, the project has served to pull together myriad resources that illuminate transportation’s crucial role in building Minnesota.

A one-time grants program, designed to help county and local organizations tell their transportation stories, is the last of three major components of the multiyear initiative. Earlier efforts included an exhibition on transportation history at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul and enhancements to transportation-related historic sites – Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, the Charles A. Lindbergh House in Little Falls, North West Company Fur Post in Pine City and Split Rock Lighthouse north of Two Harbors.

Funds available

A total of $1,068,376 is available for grants, which will range in size from $100,000 to $250,000. A minimum cash match of 20 percent is required.

Funded through the Federal Highway Administration, the grants program is administered jointly by the MHS and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). MHS will promote the program and manage the grant application process. Mn/DOT will administer the grants awarded.

Application Deadlines

The Minnesota Transportation History Network Grants Program will be available during the winter 2008 grants cycle.

Deadlines

  • Pre-application deadline: January 11, 2008
  • Final application deadline: February 22, 2008.

Applications must be received by the MHS Grants Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the date indicated to be eligible for consideration. Faxed or e-mailed applications are not accepted. It is anticipated that the entire appropriation will be awarded during the winter 2008 grants cycle.

Application Materials

All documents are PDF.

Eligible Applicants

Minnesota counties and state-aid municipalities are eligible to apply or may serve as sponsors for other local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations.

Eligible Project

  • Each proposed project must contribute to the interpretation of transportation’s role in Minnesota history.
  • Grants will be considered in two categories: preservation of historic properties and historic properties planning.
  • Only properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places will be considered for funding.

Eligible projects in the preservation category range from preserving a transportation-related property to making such a property ADA-compliant.

In the planning category, projects might include development of a preservation plan for the historic sites in a transportation corridor or a management plan for a property such as a railroad depot or historic gas station.

Federal and State Requirements

Selected projects are required to comply with a variety of Federal and State requirements to be able to proceed. Below is a listing of requirements for receipt of these funds.

  • Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
  • Securing all of the necessary local approvals and permits
  • Projects awarded must be amended into the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and local Transportation Improvement Plans (TIP), in metropolitan areas.
  • All projects must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Compliance includes all infrastructure requirements and making materials available in alternative formats.
  • Agreement to maintain the improvement for those projects that receive funds for preservation of historic properties.
  • Federal law requires that a property improved using federal funds be operated and maintained for as long as needed for the originally authorized purpose.

For More Information

For more information about this program, contact Mandy Skypala, Grants Specialist, phone: 651-259-3458: mandy.skypala@mnhs.org.