by Somayeh Nikkoonaari and Mike Greco

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the University of Minnesota received more than 94,000 acres of Native American land in Minnesota, which it sold for roughly $18.4 million in today’s dollars to fund its endowment. Across the country, a total of 10.7 million acres of Native land was transferred to 57 universities through direct land grants or land scrip certificates. 

By John Wagner, originally published in the County News Review, Nov 21, 2025

For the past few years, the University of Minnesota has partnered with Harris and several other Chisago County communities to improve the parks and trails system around the county through a program called “Empowering Small Minnesota Communities.”

When Angela Kohrt bought a house in downtown Chaska a few years ago, she didn’t know it held a century-old secret. Thanks to a Resilient Communities Project (RCP) partnership with the City of Chaska, she discovered her house was built from salvaged brewery materials and may have hosted a prohibition-era speakeasy in its basement.