South Central Service Cooperative, based in North Mankato, Minnesota, is one of nine regional agencies called service cooperatives. It was established in 1976 by Minnesota Statute to enhance the work of their members. The Cooperative provides a young writers and artists conference annually as one of the programs provided to students.
Transcript
Opening: This is Minnesota’s Legacy: A look at the organizations and people who have benefitted from Minnesota’s unique Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
BRITT AAMODT: You can write a story about a spaceship. Describe a bumblebee in poetry. Turn tree frogs into a painting. Strum a guitar. Where can you do all this?
MARY HILLMANN: The Young Writers and Artists Conference.
AAMODT: Mary Hillmann is the student academics program manager for the South Central Service Cooperative.
HILLMANN: Which is one of the nine regional service cooperatives in the state that make up the Minnesota Service Cooperatives. I organize everything from a spelling bee to a math tournament to a chess tournament. And our arts connection is our Young Writers and Artists Conference.
AAMODT: With help from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, it welcomes a thousand students, grades three through eight, to Mankato to try out arts and creative pursuits they might not get a chance to in school.
HILLMANN: They attend three breakout sessions throughout the day. Using chalk pastels to create a Picasso painting. Poetry. They can write comic books.
AAMODT: The two-day Young Writers and Artists Conference has been held annually for over 30 years.
Closing: Minnesota’s Legacy is a production of AMPERS, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, more at ampers dot org.