MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – June 24, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Tax Credits grant letters sent out, Summer 2024 newsletter, and more!

In our weekly update, keep up to date on what staff and volunteers at the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum are working on to lift up the history of Lindsborg and the surrounding region. This weekly update both looks back at what happened last week and looks ahead at what’s coming.

For June 17-24, 2024:

Staff mailed out letters to potential donors under our grant of $166,600 in Community Service Program (CSP) Tax Credits through the Kansas Department of Commerce. Any Kansas resident can qualify to receive back a 70% fully refundable tax credit on their Kansas return with a donation of $250 or more to the project!
The available tax credits will be used to enhance fundraising efforts for the Pavilion Restoration & Improvement Project. The credits are expected to raise $238,000 in donations, which will fully cover critical stabilization repairs to prevent collapse of the historic structure. Visit HERE to learn more about the tax credits program and how you can help contribute to the project!
While the tax credit grant incentive is a great way to spur giving, it will help to fund critical structural repairs and part of a new roof on the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion only if individuals, families, and organizations step forward to give under the program’s tax credit opportunity. So far, we have confirmed commitments of $23,500 in donations, meaning there’s still more than $150,000 of the tax credit grant that can be claimed. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!
The Summer 2024 Museum Messenger newsletter has been mailed and posted online. Check out the valuable summary of recent and exciting news at the museum!
Adam gave two guided mill tours last week – one to the family of a prominent museum supporter and another to a visiting group of geography educators!
Staff have submitted a grant for a special speaker series on figures in local history, in partnership with the Smoky Valley Historical Association. Watch for more details coming.
We closed out our Heritage Trust Fund grant for repairs to the Smoky Valley Roller Mills with final project completion reports! This was an essential grant to preserve the historic 126-year-old mill.
Staff met with several artists and contractors about a number of planned upcoming projects and artistic improvements to the museum.
Under a grant from the Smoky Valley Community Foundation, our spring intern from Bethany College – Tyler – will continue this summer on digitizing photo archives for the Historic Image Database!
A Wichita State University professor and the Mud Creek Anthropological group met last Saturday to work on sorting through Native American artifacts currently in storage.
We received some great news coverage last week! The Lindsborg News-Record covered the pancake demos in the main museum building during Midsummer’s Festival, and the Community Service Tax Credits grant was covered on KSAL, Ad Astra Radio, and in the Salina Journal!
The Museum Handy Crew continued restoration work on the 1908 Dempster No. 9 windmill on Heritage Square.
Registration is open for an hourlong genealogy workshop on July 13 on the FamilySearch tool! Sign up for this great opportunity today!
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Sunflower Summer is here! Now through August 11 with the Sunflower Summer app, Kansas students and their parents/guardians can get free admission to the museum! While you’re at it, use the app to also get free admission to more than 220 attractions and events across the State of Kansas!
NOW OPEN: “Skeleton-Of-Dog… Selected Geology & Natural History Artifacts from the Bethany College Collection Archives” is a temporary mini-exhibit at the museum featuring some unique artifacts not seen in public for decades!
Our Endowment Campaign 2025 is ongoing to add $1 million to our endowment in supporting our annual operational budget to make sure that not only do we preserve these historical treasures, but we can also “keep the lights on.” Read more on the flyer and giving form below, or visit to www.oldmillmuseum.org/donations to learn more!