With lingering cold and a wet spring dampening expectations, NCC has come roaring back to life the first week of May. The season started with a few brief moments of sunshine in April, but now our teams are working at peak capacity completing a variety of Phase I, II, and III projects throughout the metro and into greater Minnesota.

Our Phase I work has been primarily in the energy and development sectors as Minnesota focuses its attention on renewable sources of energy and the promise of good quality homes. We have also had the opportunity to learn more about recently identified late 19th century homes and businesses in Minneapolis with the start of a Phase II evaluation ahead of another housing project, this one with a much-needed low-income component. Finally, we have started the next journey on a multi-year project along Minneapolis’s waterfront as we continue to learn about the lumber industry (and the people who worked there) which once thrived up and down the river before being supplanted by floor mills and the birth of Minnesota as the flour milling capital of the world.

In addition to this work, NCC has also focused on doing public presentations and outreach events including artifact processing nights. In conjunction with this, we have prioritized social media as our way to help in educating Minnesotans on what archaeology is and why it matters to all of us. If you have not already done so, check out our YouTube Channel, Facebook page, and Instagram account.

Finally, if you are willing to help us continue to promote and provide publicly accessible archaeological programing, please consider being a member of our growing Patreon community by subscribing at any of our engagement levels! This gives you the opportunity to help professional archaeologists do public good (and we could all use more of that!).