Living through history: A new Minnesota Historical Society project helps capture it

It’s been eight months since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, and that means Minnesotans are living through history.

The Minnesota Historical Society is in the process of trying to document and preserve that history right now. The organization has been collecting stories from all across the state as part of its "History Is Now" project.

There have been 280 submissions so far, from stories about socially-distanced weddings to volunteers making face shields to donate to area hospitals.

Full KSTP COVID-19 coverage

Newlyweds Madeleine and Devan Baetz participated in the project. Their May wedding is now part of history.

"We had already picked our date and we were going to stick with it," said Devan.

The couple describes how they slashed their guest list, canceled their reception site, and held an outdoor ceremony with facemasks and hand sanitizer for everyone.

"It was stressful having to make all these decisions to keep us and other people safe in a short amount of time," he said.

Curator Hannah Novillo Erickson says history can influence the present and the future.

"The materials collected now are going to inform future generations of what this looked like and what future generations can learn from the contemporary history right now," she said.

The MHS also launched a "History Is Now" campaign after Prince’s Death and after the Women’s March. In mid-October, it will launch another campaign focussing on the death of George Floyd and the unrest that followed.