Visit the website of Stearns History Museum to view numerous events they have.

Free for St. Cloud Area Genealogists Members - become a member at https://scagmn.org/join, 
$7 for non-members to watch remotely https://scagmn.org/store or pay at the door

Speaker: Katherine Fennelly

St. Cloud – Why do people keep deep secrets about their lives and ancestry? Katherine Fennelly delved into the long-kept secrets of her family in the book “Family Declassified: Uncovering My Grandfather’s Journey from Spy to Children’s Book Author.” Within the book, Katherine explores the life of her maternal grandfather, a Jewish Hungarian immigrant who arrived in the United States a century ago. After spending years reviewing government records and conducting interviews, she pieced together the life of her grandfather, who hid his identity as a spy and later reinvented himself as a lauded chef and author.

Katherine is an immigration policy expert and professor emerita at the University of Minnesota. She has studied and worked in Iran, Spain and Ecuador and is a voracious reader and lifelong student of languages. For more information, you can visit her website at katherinefennelly.com.

Mark Your Calendar! Upper Midwest Genealogy Institute set for 8-9 August 2025 MGS invites you to expand your research horizons at the Upper Midwest Genealogy Institute 8-9 August at the Minnesota Genealogy Center.

UMGI—yes, it rhymes with bungee—is a two-day institute-style for researchers ready to move beyond the basics. UMGI 2025 focuses on finding and using records to advance your family history research across the Upper Midwest—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and neighboring portions of surrounding states.

The UMGI 2025 faculty includes Mica Anders, J. H. Fonkert, Jessica Fontana, Elizabeth Gomoll, Paula Stuart-Warren, and Tom Rice. See the MGS website for more complete curriculum and instructor information.

UMGI is a reprise of the popular “Minnstitute” first offered in 2023. It’s still small and its still in Minnesota, but it’s a pretty big deal and its about more than Minnesota—thus, the change of name.

“UMGI s a great opportunity to upgrade your family history research skills in an intimate, friendly setting,” said Jay Fonkert, institute director. “I expect it will sell-out as it did two years ago.” Visit our website for more information: https://mngs.org/upper-midwest-genealogy-institute Registration is expected to open 15 April 2025.

The conference aims to teach participants how to access more collections and how to be more inclusive in their own genealogy endeavors.

Reserve October 24 and 25 for this year's 18th North Star Genealogy Conference at the Eagan Community Center, Eagan, MN. Hear featured speakers David E. Rencher, director of FamilySearch and current president of the National Genealogical Society, and J.H. "Jay" Fonkert, our own geo-genealogist and former president of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, as they help us 'chart our ancestral course'. Visit the conference web site to find out more about these stellar speakers and the plenary sessions they'll be presenting during the two-day conference.

We are looking for new and informative breakout session topics to complete the conference schedule. If you are a speaker and would like to share your expertise, get the Request for Proposal (RFP) information, which has a link to the proposal submission form. You can also find the RFP and submission form links on the main conference page. Proposals are due by March 30th.

Keep checking the conference web site as we continue to plan. Registration opens in early July. We hope to see you all in October in Eagan.