MARSHALL — The director of the Lyon County Historical Society Museum will be taking on an additional role starting this spring. But Jennifer Andries said it will be a chance to continue working to help preserve Minnesota history.

Andries has been appointed to a two-year term on the Historic Resources Advisory Committee, one of the groups responsible for reviewing Legacy grant applications in Minnesota. Andries said Tuesday that she hoped to help bring the perspective of a greater Minnesota resident to the committee.

“I think it’s really important to have that voice,” Andries said. It was important to show that “Our regional stories and history are just as important,” she said.

Andries said her first meeting as part of the HRAC will be coming up next week.

The HRAC works with requests for grants from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which is one of four funds crated by the Legacy Amendment. The Minnesota Historical Society administers the historical and cultural heritage grants program, and appoints members to the HRAC, Andries explained.

Once a year, the HRAC reviews grant applications requesting $10,000 or more.

Andries said she had applied to be on the committee, after serving in other roles working to preserve local history. Andries had served on the board of the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums for six years. After her time on the board ended, she said, “I thought I would do something different.”

The HRAC is made up of 13 members who serve two-year terms, and two ex-officio members. Members come from around Minnesota, and have a variety of backgrounds and experience.

“They have people with museum experience, and people who have historic property experience,” Andries said. Some of the grant applications the committee receives are for projects to preserve historic buildings, she said.

Andries said she’s had some past experience with historical and cultural heritage grants – but from the perspective of an applicant. The renovation of the Lyon County Museum’s second floor was done with the help of Legacy grant funding, she said.

Being part of the HRAC would be also be a chance to learn more about the Legacy grant process, Andries said. “I had heard from people on the committee that it would be a good way to see how grants were written,” she said.

Members of the HRAC will be meeting in Becker on May 16, to discuss the review process for historical and cultural heritage grants. The actual review period for grant applications will be later this year, Andries said.