Envision Minnesota partnered with Twin Cities Public Television to co-produce a series of one-minute Legacy Letters videos featuring individuals who talk about what they treasure most in Minnesota. The videos began airing on the Minnesota Channel in 2009. A new set of Legacy Letters funded by a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Grant was created in spring 2011 and the spots began to air this past week.

MHS Press author Dave Kenney shares his passion for Minnesota’s old movie theaters in his Legacy Letter. For more on the fascinating cinematic history of the Twin Cities, check out his book, Twin Cities Picture Show: A Century of Moviegoing.

More bite-sized portions of Minnesota history can be found online at MN90: Minnesota History in 90 seconds, the radio series produced by the AMPERS radio network and the Minnesota Historical Society.

We are delighted to be back in our offices after a nearly three-week Minnesota state government shutdown!

As a segue into our regularly scheduled Tuesday and Thursday posts, here is a mini-roundup of some recent MHS Press/Borealis Books news:

The hot weather did not deter some of us from attending the taping of a future episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern at the VFW in Minneapolis’s Uptown area. Ann Burckhardt, author of Hot Dish Heaven, was the celebrity judge for the show’s hot dish contest. And what was for dessert? Why, entries for the best Jello salad, of course. We won’t reveal the winners. Let’s just say there were some creative entries!

Johnny Michaels, bar manager at La Belle Vie, was recently featured on Esquire’s Eat Like a Man blog and consulted by Minnesota Monthly as to whether beer on the rocks is permissible. Look for North Star Cocktails by Johnny Michaels and the North Star Bartenders Guild this November.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, July 27) Anton Treuer will appear on the nationally syndicated radio program Native America Calling. The Assassination of Hole in the Day, now out in paperback, is the show’s Book of the Month selection.

The City of St. Paul sponsors a bimonthly StoryWalk to “walk, read, learn, and have fun.” Last Sunday our book Minnesota’s Hidden Alphabet, written by David LaRochelle and with photographs by Joe Rossi, was featured at Lake Phalen.

Borealis Books author Sarah Stonich has been hitting the road to share her newest book, Shelter, with readers around the state. She’ll be at Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis on Tuesday, August 9, at 7:30, along with Ellen Baker, author of I Gave My Heart to Know This.

And don’t forget to check out our Summer E-book sale!