Photo by Deb Gau Concept art for exhibits planned on the second floor of the Lyon County Museum was presented at the Lyon County Board meeting earlier this week. Exhibit plans include a look at how agriculture has changed in Lyon County in the past 50 years.

MARSHALL — This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Lyon County Museum moving into its new home on Lyon Street. But there’s still a way to go to complete the vision for the museum. “We have a lot of things that we want to do yet,” said museum director Jennifer Andries. One big step will be to build new exhibits on the second floor of the museum. “We are finally at the point where we’re writing up an exhibit plan,” Andries told Lyon County commissioners this week. “As a historical society, we’re very happy to be at this point.” Andries went over some of the plans for the second floor, and requested that the county help contribute to the cost of building the exhibits. The total project cost for the second-floor exhibits was $506,000, Andries said. The Lyon County Historical Society plans to apply for state grant funding for the project, and raise as much of a local match as possible, she said. “For large Legacy grants, matches are not required, but they are favorable,” Andries said. Existing exhibits at the Lyon County Museum have focused on pioneer living and farming, Main Street businesses in Lyon County communities, area veterans and more. The plan for the second story of the building will be to focus on Lyon County history starting after World War II, Andries said. “So much has happened in this area in the last 50 years, and we need to be telling those stories,” Andries said. The plan for the second floor will start with the postwar years, and WWII service members’ return home, Andries said. As visitors enter the exhibit space, they will go through a recreation of a 1950s home. Other displays on the second floor will look at major parts of recent Lyon County history, like the founding of Southwest Minnesota State University, developments in agriculture and industry, and even natural disasters that shaped Lyon County communities. Andries said the plan was for the exhibits to include hands-on and multimedia components, to help engage young visitors and families. County commissioners had some positive comments for the plans. Commissioner Rick Anderson said the county could use some of the money it will receive from solar energy production credits to help fund the museum project. “For me, this is a big deal,” Anderson said. It was also important that the exhibits would tell the whole county’s story, he said. Commissioners asked to put the funding request on the agenda for their next meeting. Commissioner Steve Ritter said the additional time would allow them to include Commissioner Charlie Sanow, who was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, in the discussion.