Beltrami County Historical Societies Awarded State Grants for Preservation Projects

The Beltrami County Historical Society appears on the Minnesota Historical Society’s FY2026 large-grant list as receiving $74,556 in Bemidji to “improve collections care and management through proper storage, and to provide appropriate storage materials for museum collections,” a move that officials say will protect artifacts used by nearly 10,000 visitors and program participants in 2025. The MNHS listing ties the award to the statewide Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program funded through the Legacy Amendment.

Emily Thabes, executive director of the Beltrami County Historical Society, told KAXE that redesign plans for the Historic Depot are already underway after separate private funding for a new permanent exhibit slated to open by late 2026. Thabes said, “This is an incredible opportunity to reimagine how we share Beltrami County's history with current and future generations.” The society reported nearly 10,000 visitors and participants in 2025, more than 8,000 volunteer hours, monthly panels on women’s leadership, an education partnership that distributed more than 20,000 menstrual care products countywide, and plans for a 2026 oral-history project in testimony to the county board on Nov. 4.

The Clearwater County Historical Society of Shevlin was reported to have received $25,000 to “contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of Gran Church,” built in 1897 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, according to Bemidji Pioneer coverage of the MNHS awards. The grant is described as funding the preservation planning stage rather than physical construction, allowing the society to hire architects or preservation specialists to produce required documentation.

Yahoo’s coverage of the MNHS releases lists an additional Beltrami-area recipient: Turtle Lake Township in Beltrami County reported receiving $60,500 to hire qualified professionals to carry out an archaeological survey of the Buena Vista Archaeological District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. That award, and the Gran Church project, illustrate the range of uses the Legacy grants support - from collections care to architectural planning to archaeological fieldwork.

Program funding and timelines cited with the awards place the Minnesota Historical Society’s legislative appropriation for the 2026–2027 biennium at $36.386 million, with Legacy Grants lines of $6,093,000 for FY2026 and $6,858,000 for FY2027. Bemidji Pioneer and MNHS descriptions note that small grants of $20,000 or less are awarded quarterly and large grants over $20,000 are awarded annually, with the next large grant pre-application deadline listed as May 22, 2026. A release quoted in Yahoo reminded readers that “Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008,” and that the amendment “supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.”

Reporting on the cycle contains conflicting figures that have not been reconciled: the MNHS FY2026 large-grant list and Bemidji Pioneer both show Beltrami County Historical Society at $74,556, while a Yahoo summary lists the society at $49,261; Yahoo also reported 48 grants of $10,000 or more approved by the MNHS Executive Council on Oct. 17 totaling $5,582,493, whereas Bemidji Pioneer cited 38 recipients and an Executive Council approval on Dec. 11, 2026. MNHS material reiterates that “Large grants are awarded annually to help nonprofits, educational organizations, government units, and federally recognized tribes to preserve and share Minnesota history,” and that “All grants are competitive and awarded according to program guidelines and criteria, as well as professional standards.”

These awards, as reported, will fund immediate preservation planning and collections work in Beltrami and neighboring counties and are tied to ongoing local projects such as the Historic Depot exhibit in Bemidji and conservation planning for Gran Church in Shevlin. Applications for future large grants proceed through the MNHS grants portal with the May 22, 2026 pre-application deadline approaching, and officials and local boards will be watching to see which projects move next from planning to paid conservation, archaeological fieldwork, or exhibit installation.