Shannon Fiecke of the Shakopee Valley News reports:
Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office today announced that the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission will highlight five communities across the state to be named “Capital for a Day,” in May 2008 as a part of the celebration of Minnesota’s 150th year.
The five honorary “capital cities” will be nominated and voted on by the citizens of Minnesota via the Sesquicentennial’s website, and will be chosen to represent each of the state’s five natural “biomes,” or distinct geographical areas with similar environmental characteristics. Each winning city will be recognized as an honorary “Capital for a Day” during Statehood Week – May 11 to 18, 2008.
Sesquicentennial-related activities will also include visits to each “Capital for a Day” community by state government officials and Sesquicentennial Commission members. These visits will provide opportunities to recognize Sesquicentennial Community Spirit efforts in each of the five regions, to showcase Sesquicentennial grant award winners and to host a civic engagement roundtable to provide input to and feedback on the Sesquicentennial Plan for Our Future, among other possibilities. The program is part of the Sesquicentennial celebration’s mission to showcase communities across Minnesota and to embrace Minnesota’s environmental, geographic and cultural diversity.
Cities may be nominated to serve as capitals for a day via the Sesquicentennial website at www.mn150years.org [1], from now until November 7, 2007. Online voting will take place for two weeks, from November 11-24, with winners announced the following week.
Each “Capital for a Day” nominee may be a small town, regional center, township, reservation, or an entire county, so long as the opportunity is used to highlight that community and the region of the state.
To determine regional boundaries for the five Capitals for a Day, the Sesquicentennial Commission is using the biomes of Minnesota as a guide. Biomes are the distinct natural areas that have been present since prior to European settlement:
- The coniferous forest zone of northeastern MN
- The deciduous forest zone, running diagonally northwest to southeast down the middle of the state and including some of the Twin Cities metro area
- The prairie grasslands, running north/south on the western border of Minnesota, and including some of the Twin Cities area
- The tallgrass aspen parklands of northwestern Minnesota
- The driftless area of southeastern Minnesota – the only area of Minnesota never covered by a glacier
“The “Capital for a Day” program provides an opportunity for any of Minnesota’s communities and regions to promote their assets and to share their expressions of Minnesota’s spirit. Activities may include programs that tie into the Sesquicentennial themes, but that express them through the particular community and region’s unique lens. The program is also a great way for students of all ages to enhance their sense of place and pride in many dimensions: environmental, recreational, historic, economic and social.
For more information about this program please contact Claire Plank at claire@mn150years.org [2] or (651) 296-1870 or visit the Sesquicentennial website to nominate your favorite city or community at www.mn150years.org [3]
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