The federal government is pulling museum grants from cultural institutions nationwide, including many in Minnesota.

In April, the Institute of Museum and Library Services — the main federal funder of museums and libraries — told the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Walker Art Center, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and the Ramsey County Historical Society their grants would be cut.

The IMLS pulled $625,000 in grants from the Science Museum, $250,000 from the Walker, $248,929 from the Mille Lacs Band and $212,714 from the Ramsey County Historical Society.

“This is definitely unprecedented,” said Christopher Stevens, the Walker chief of advancement. “It’s pretty devastating, and it’s discouraging that the federal government, which makes a relatively tiny investment in the arts, is willing to cut that investment.”

According to Chad Roberts, director of the Ramsey County Historical Society, “The biggest thing is: It’s not really ever happened before where the federal government has made this kind of a promise to a museum with a grant agreement and then just decided not to do it.”

“It really shakes your confidence in any kind of funding promise that gets made,” he said.

The cuts are the result of President Donald Trump’s March 14 executive order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” The order called for the IMLS and other government entities to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

The IMLS then put more than 80% of its staff on administrative leave and curtailed and terminated hundreds of grants across the country.

In total, the IMLS awarded $1,544,319 in 2024 museum grants to Minnesota institutions. However, it is unclear how much funding has been lost in Minnesota, as the cuts could also impact grants issued in previous years that were designated for multi-year projects. This also does not account for the cuts to grants issued to libraries statewide.

The IMLS rescinded a grant awarded to the Walker in late 2024 to help the Minneapolis museum “reduce barriers for visitors with disabilities by planning and implementing interpretive tools and programs for learners with disabilities.”

Stevens, who has been with the Walker for over three decades, said he’s never seen cuts like this.

“We’re deeply saddened that the federal government, which made a commitment to support that work and has contributed more than $3 million to the Walker over the decades, is now going back and canceling a contract and work we thought would benefit people that enjoy coming to art museums,” he said.

Fossil, climate, collaboration projects cut at Science Museum

The grant cuts will affect four projects and potentially 28 staff positions at the Science Museum in St. Paul. These include:

A data and community engagement project on climate action
Digitization of the museum’s Chiapas Maya Ethnographic Collection, which includes collaborating with Maya communities of Chiapas, Mexico
A professional development DEI collaboration with 20 smaller and underserved museums in the Midwest
The second phase of digitizing the Wannagan Creek fossil collection from North Dakota, including 8,000 fossils that date back 60 million years and document an ancient ecosystem

Alison Rempel Brown (Courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota)

“They said, upon further review, IMLS has determined that your grant is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS program,” said Alison Rempel Brown, the president of the Science Museum. “I cannot guess what’s going through their heads.”

Brown said the cut to the Wannagan Creek fossil project is particularly surprising because it is the most focused on what has traditionally been considered “pure science.”

“We have a very world-class collection from that region,” she said. “That’s a critical collection to help us understand how climate changed in the past, and some lessons we can learn as the climate continues to change going forward. If it’s not digitized, scientists around the world don’t understand that we have this collection and how they can use it to continue their scientific work.”

The IMLS cuts are unusual, Brown said, because Congress created the agency in 1996 through bipartisan support.

“Congress realized how important museums and libraries are for creating community, helping provide support, not just in cities, but rural areas as well,” she said.

Local employees, vendors impacted

The Ramsey County Historical Society in St. Paul had received a 2024 IMLS grant for $212,714 to digitize 2.5 million county assessor field cards for residential properties from 1915-2007.

Director Chad Roberts said these digital records could then be used by historians, scholars and policymakers to study the connection between racial housing covenants, redlining and zoning, and could be a resource for individuals to research the history of their homes and neighborhoods.

“Well, we’ve got a $212,000 budget hole to fix now, so yeah, that’s going to have an impact,” he said. “Of course, we were upset. This is a project that’s got a total price tag of $450,000. Federal money was a good chunk of being able to get it done in the next three years, and that’s just not going to be possible.”

The grants are “reimbursal,” Roberts said, so the grantees spend the money and then request the funds. The Historical Society has already funded $15,000 worth of work on the project.

“That hasn’t been paid yet, and we’re not sure it’s going to be,” she said. “The communications coming out of the Institute of Museum and Library Services have not been consistent.”

Roberts said this will impact employees and contracted vendors.

“In our case, it’s a small business,” she said. The grant funded “a couple of jobs over a few years. That’s just us. It has that impact real close to home.”

Kris Jensen, a press representative with the Mille Lacs Band, confirmed that the IMLS cut its $248,929 grant, too.

Jensen said the grant supported the preservation and perpetuation of the language and cultural practices of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. This would include making recorded stories from elders and community members available to the public.

The Goldstein Museum of Design at the University of Minnesota received a 2024 IMLS grant for $249,918 to photograph 1,300 objects and create an online database. Talia Milavetz, a public relations strategist for the university, said they are currently unaware of any changes to the grant.

Hoping for a coalition response

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Christopher Stevens said the Walker Art Center will request an IMLS review of termination, which must be submitted by May 12.

Minnesota has joined 20 other states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop cuts to the IMLS and other agencies.

“We’re hoping that some kind of a coalition of people will push back, but that will take a long time. In the short term, we won’t have the money to serve the public as we were planning to do,” Stevens said.

“In the big picture of things, why you would target libraries and art museums for funding seems puzzling and doesn’t seem to be solving any real problems.”

The St. Croix Valley Syttende Mai Society will host a banquet May 15 to observe Norway’s Constitution Day.

“Syttende Mai” is Norwegian for “17th of May,” the day in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was adopted, said Roger Bosmoe, president of the society.

The holiday is “often thought of as Norway’s Fourth of July,” Bosmoe said. “Comparing it to our Independence Day is appropriate because Norway’s Constitution was patterned after the American Constitution.”

Leif Erickson, who was selected in 1964 to represent Minnesota’s Norwegian community at the first annual national Leif Erickson Day ceremony held in Washington D.C., will be the featured speaker. Erickson, a longtime member and former president of Synnøve-Nordkap Lodge of Sons of Norway, retired from Century College in White Bear Lake in 2008, where he served as a physics and mathematics faculty member for 33 years

The event will be at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Stillwater. Social hour starts at 5 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $30. Reservations, which must be made by May 11, are required; contact Bosmoe at 651-439-9423 or rbosmoe@yahoo.com.

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Officials at the Gammelgården Museum in Scandia are undertaking a major restoration project starting this year.

Many of the logs that make up the Prästgård, or Pastor’s House, which was built in 1868, have deteriorated and are in need of immediate repair, said Ann Rinkenberger, the director of the open-air museum.

The two-story, four-bedroom log house was built using traditional Swedish style, horizontal-log construction with notched-and-pegged corners, she said. It is the oldest existing Lutheran parsonage in Minnesota.

In addition to new logs, the house is getting a new roof and windows, sheathing will be removed, and the floors will be reinforced, she said.

The pipe from the museum’s windmill to the home, which filled the cistern, is still generating water. This water is affecting the moisture level in the house, so the pipe needs to be excavated and removed, according to Rinkenberger.

“All of the artifacts in the building need to be assessed, cleaned, and restored as well since moisture has negatively affected them,” she said. “Everything, including clothing, household textiles, furniture, photographs, and artwork, will require restoration.”

An addition built onto the house in the 1970s will be removed, and the windows that had previously been there will be replaced. An accessible ramp and sidewalk are also planned.

The $750,000 project will be done this year and in 2026; the museum is working to raise money to cover the costs, she said.

Gammelgården, which is in its 53rd season, opens for the season on Saturday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors will get to explore three new exhibits, see new artifacts on display and take part in family-friendly activities designed to “celebrate immigrants to Minnesota during the 1800s,” Rinkenberger said.

The new exhibits are: “Explore the World of Immigrants,” “Scandinavian Fish and Fishing,” and “Birch: Art and Function.”

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Other activities planned: Little Blue’s Traveling Zoo; an arts and crafts vendor fair; a toddler dance party; 19th-century games with costumed interpreters from the Living History Society of Minnesota, and a historic fashion show at 1 p.m.

The fair will showcase local artisans and crafters with demonstrations of rosemaling, embroidery, lace-making and weaving throughout the day.

There also will be opportunities to engage with organizations that provide information about immigrants and pioneers who settled in Minnesota in the 1800s, including the French-American Heritage Foundation of Minnesota, Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery, and the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota.

For more information, go to gammelgardenmuseum.org.

Tacos are probably the least controversial food out there.

Seriously, everyone loves tacos, and whether they are traditional Mexican-style (meat, onion, cilantro) or gringo (cheese, lettuce, sour cream), they are always delicious.

I eat both kinds on a regular basis, but I have one complaint. The corn tortillas I buy at the grocery store — even the big, fancy Mexican one near my house — are crumbly and fall apart midway through eating my taco.

Some people swear by the double-tortilla method. Others say if you steam the tortillas to heat them, it’s not as much of a problem. I have had little luck with any method.

So when I saw a social media post in which Food Network chef Claudette Zepeda makes corn tortillas that you can squish in your fist and they come back to life, I knew I had to try my hand at making them.

I make pizza from scratch, so I’m not afraid of dough, but I had never tackled a tortilla.

The first thing I had to do was order a press. Since I wasn’t sure if I would make them more than once if they didn’t turn out, I went for a relatively inexpensive cast-iron press. There are so many out there — many less expensive than the $25 I spent, some considerably more. Mine works great.

Tortilla ingredients are simply masa, salt and water, but Zepeda infuses her tortilla water with tomatillo husks, and she says the enzymes from those husks are what make her tortillas especially pliable.

So I picked up a bag of masa — nothing fancy, just the basic stuff you can get at any well-appointed grocery store — and some tomatillos and set to work.

Spoiler alert: These tortillas far exceed any I’ve had outside of the fanciest of Mexican restaurants. I had no idea that it was possible to experience this level of nutty, supple deliciousness at home, and I’m hooked on making them for family and friends.

Tortillas and Braised Pork Chile Verde make a great taco night. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

After steeping the tomatillo husks in boiling water, I strain them and add the infused water to the masa and salt, mixing the ingredients with my fingertips until it is one solid mass. Then I knead the dough for about five minutes before breaking it into 24-gram balls, setting them in a shallow bowl covered with a damp towel.

The easiest way to press a tortilla without it sticking is to line the press with a plastic bag — produce bags from your grocery store work perfectly. You cut off the end and one side of the bag until it fits perfectly in your press, add the ball of dough to the middle, and press down, using the handle. It’s important not to press too hard or too soft. The tortilla should be 5-6 inches in diameter when it’s right. I usually turn the plastic bag with the tortilla inside 180 degrees and give it another tap in the press to ensure it’s of an even thickness.

Then you must gently set the tortilla on a griddle or comal (a special pan for frying tortillas). I use my cast-iron griddle. You can also use a nonstick or cast-iron skillet, but it’s harder to maneuver when setting the tortilla on the surface or flipping it.

Cook the tortillas for a minute, flip, cook a minute more, flip again, and cook until it puffs, about 2 minutes. Store tortillas in a warmer, nestled in a towel, and cover them. The steam from each subsequent tortilla keeps them all moist and pliable, so don’t worry if yours seem stiff coming off the griddle. Once you get the hang of it, try pressing cilantro leaves or cilantro flowers into the tortillas. They don’t add a ton of flavor, but they sure are pretty!

And because I don’t like to waste, I now have several ways to use those tomatillos to make a meat filling. I probably prefer the pork version, cooked low and slow on our pellet smoker to add complexity, but a slow-cooker verde chicken is also super delicious and totally doable on a weeknight.

My next plan is to order some of the fancy masa I’ve been seeing online and experiment with new flavors.

Recipes for the tortillas and both meats are below. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Corn Tortillas

Makes 12 tortillas

Adapted from foodnetwork.com

INGREDIENTS

6 tomatillo husks

1 cup (leveled) masa harina

½ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add the tomatillo husks or pour the water over them and let sit for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to touch, strain the liquid and let cool.

In a medium bowl, add the masa harina, salt and the tomatillo water. The dough should be smooth enough to knead. If it’s sticky, add a little more masa. If it’s crumbly, add a little more water (plain water is fine). Knead by hand for 5 to 8 minutes. Roll into 12 portions (mini tortilla size is 24 grams) and place a damp cloth on top to prevent drying.

Cut a produce bag down the sides to open it up into one long plastic piece. Fold in half and lay on the bottom of a tortilla press. Place one portion of the dough between the folded-over plastic in the press so there is plastic on top and under the dough. Drop the press on the dough, pressing gently with the handle. Rotate the dough 180 degrees and drop the press to ensure evenly round and thin tortillas.

Heat a comal or griddle over medium-high heat. Carefully peel the round from the tortilla press, place on the comal and cook on one side for 1 minute. Flip and cook for 1 minute, periodically pressing gently with a linen napkin or towel. Then flip one last time and cook until it puffs, about 2 minutes. It should puff if it was kneaded enough. Transfer the tortilla to a linen towel and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Braised Pork Chile Verde

Tomatillos and other vegetables roast at the same time in this Braised Pork Chile Verde recipe. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Makes 6 very generous servings

Adapted from traeger.com

INGREDIENTS

1 2-3 pound pork shoulder, bone removed, fat cap trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 jalapeños

1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, peeled

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 cups chicken stock, plus more if needed

1 7-ounce can of diced green chiles

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Juice of ½ lime

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Place cast-iron skillet on your grill grates, then preheat grill to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet (or 2 small quarter sheets) with parchment paper.

Place the pork shoulder in a medium bowl and toss with the flour, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.

Place the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, and garlic on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Place the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, and garlic on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot cast iron skillet, then add the pork to the pan in an even layer. Place the baking sheet with the vegetables on the top grate (or next to the cast iron) and close the grill lid. Cook for 20 minutes, without opening the lid or stirring, until the pork is evenly browned on the bottom and the vegetables are softened and lightly browned.

Remove the vegetables from the grill and transfer to a blender. Purée until smooth.

Pour the puréed vegetables into the pan with the pork, along with the chicken stock, green chiles, oregano, and cumin. Close the grill lid and reduce the temperature to 325. Cook the chile verde until the liquid has reduced and the pork is fork-tender, 60-90 minutes (it was more like 2 hours for us, but we really wanted the pork to be shreddable). If the liquid is reducing too quickly, add more chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time.

Remove the chile verde from the grill and top with the lime juice and cilantro. Serve as desired.

Chicken Verde

I usually throw whatever chicken I have — often a combo of boneless breasts and thighs — into the slow cooker here. Some thighs ensure the meat won’t be dry.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs or a combination of both

1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut in half

1 small yellow onion, sliced ½ inch thick

4 cloves garlic, peeled

2-3 jalapeños, depending on how spicy you like it, stemmed and halved (seed if you are spice-averse)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are soft and blistered.

Remove from oven, place in blender and puree until smooth.

Place your chicken in a slow cooker and season it with salt and pepper.

Pour the puree over the chicken and set the slow cooker for four hours on high. Check the chicken after four hours. If it shreds easily, it’s done. If not, set it for another 30 minutes. Shred the chicken right in the bowl of the slow cooker with the sauce and serve with fresh, warm tortillas and the toppings of your choice.

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