Minnesota Mineral Club

February 2024 Club Meeting and Presentation - The Paleo Discoveries of the Dinosaur Ridge by Erin LaCount
2024-02-10 18:00 - 20:45 (America/Chicago) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our February meeting will be held in-person at the Creekside Community Center and will also be broadcast via Zoom. Our program will include regular club business and a presentation on The Paleo Discoveries of the Dinosaur Ridge given by Erin LaCount, the Education Programs Director at Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Colorado.
February Meeting Schedule:

6:00-6:30pm – Socializing/Member Rock Swap-Sale
6:30-7:00pm – Club Business
7:00-8:15pm – Presentation: The Paleo Discoveries of the Dinosaur Ridge by Erin LaCount
8:15-8:45pm – Socializing/Wrap up
*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 6pm, and we must vacate by 8:45pm.

Please RSVP here: February 2024 Meeting RSVP

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the November RRN.
Join Live via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 303 941 6730
Passcode: [REDACTED]

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Laura Pionek
Program Director

March 2024 Club Meeting and Demonstrations Night
2024-03-09 18:00 - 20:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our March meeting will include Demonstration Night. If you are interested in demonstrating your skills, please let me know so I can prepare enough space for all those who wish to participate (email program@minnesotamineralclub.org). Examples of past demonstrations include: geode cutting with a lapidary saw, rock drilling, Alaskan fossil collection display and discussion, gemstone tree display and discussion, Columbian mineral display and discussion, quartz variety display and discussion, MN rock and mineral display and discussion, bismuth display and discussion, wire wrapping display and discussion, and more! Here is the agenda for March 11th:
March Meeting Schedule:
6:00-6:30pm – Arrival/Socializing
6:30-7:00pm – Club Business
7:00-8:00pm – Demonstrations
8:00-8:30pm – Wrap up/Socializing
*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 6pm, and we must vacate by 8:45pm.
Please RSVP here: March 2024 Meeting RSVP

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the November RRN.
Join Live via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 303 941 6730
Passcode: [REDACTED]

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Laura Pionek
Program Director

April 2024 Club Meeting and Presentation by The Agate Man!
2024-04-13 18:00 - 20:45 (America/Chicago) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
We are very excited to be welcoming The Agate Man to the Creekside Community Center. Lyndon D. Johnson will be bringing ~ 300lbs of specimens and sharing his knowledge of Lake Superior Agates and other Minnesota gems and minerals. Lyndon is well-known for the incredible agates he finds, including a 31-pound dendritic agate and his most recent find, a 21-pound brecciated agate! He is the author of Lake Superior Agates, What to Look For and has been featured on Minnesota Bound, Due North Outdoors and Pioneer PBS’ Landmarks – Minnesota Collections.
It is sure to be a fun and informative evening!

April Meeting Schedule:
6:00-6:30pm – Socializing/Member Rock Swap-Sale
6:30-7:00pm – Club Business
7:00-8:15pm – Presentation by the Agate Man
8:15-8:45pm – Socializing/Wrap up
*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 6pm, and we must vacate by 8:45pm.
Please RSVP here: April 2024 Meeting RSVP

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the November RRN.
Join Live via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 303 941 6730
Passcode: [REDACTED]

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Laura Pionek
Program Director

May 2024 Club Meeting and Spring Auction
2024-05-11 18:00 - 20:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our May Club meeting will include brief club proceedings and then we will jump right into our Spring Auction (which means, yes… we are having more than one auction this year!)
Our club auctions are some of our biggest Club fundraising activities. We will have a “Live” auction segment to go along with the Silent Auction. The success of this event in the past has been thanks to the charitable donations of our friends and members.
CLICK here to view several piece of lapidary equipment that will be featured in the live auction.
Donations are greatly appreciated, so please reach out to program@minnesotamineralclub.org if you have donations or would like to suggest businesses for us to reach out to.
May Meeting and Annual Auction Schedule:6:00-6:30pm – Arrival/Socializing, Donate, Receive Bidding Number6:30-6:45pm – Club Business6:45-7:05pm – Round 1 Silent Auction Bidding7:05-7:15pm – 3 to 5 Tables close, Live Auction Item Bidding7:15-7:30pm – Round 2 Silent Auction Bidding7:30-7:40pm – 3 to 5 Tables close, Live Auction Bidding7:40-7:50pm – Round 3 Silent Auction Bidding7:50-8:00pm – 3 to 5 Tables close, Live Auction Bidding8:00-8:30pm – Pay and pick up items won8:30-8:45pm – Wrap up/Clean up

Please May Meeting and Auction RSVP.
You will have the opportunity to list any items you would like to donate so we can get an idea of the amount of space needed for items. If you have a donation, but are unable to attend the event, please contact Ashley to arrange pick up/drop off.
To make the donation process run smoothly, we encourage members to print bid sheets and fill out the following fields: “Donated by”, “Description of item”, and “Minimum Starting Bid”. MMC volunteers will assign a lot number at the silent auction. Click here to download Bid Sheets.

If you would like to volunteer at the auction, please email Laura at program@minnesotamineralclub.org.

We hope you can join us!
Cheers,Laura PionekProgram Director

September 2024 Club Meeting and Presentation by NASA Space Ambassador
2024-09-14 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
We are thrilled to announce we will be having a guest speaker from NASA’s Space Ambassador program. Kevin Cole is an Assistant Professor of Earth Science and Astronomy in the Math/Science Department of Harper College and his talk, titled “DART, Hera, and Planetary Defense”, will educate us on planetary defense and the threat of potentially harmful asteroid impacts. He has been involved in meteorite analysis and classification (using the electron-probe micro-analyzer at the University of Illinois-Chicago) for the Planetary Studies Foundation. In addition, he holds a position as a public lecturer for the Cernan Earth and Space Center, Triton College. Prior to that, Kevin was a Staff Scientist for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) where he participated in advanced planetary mission concept analyses under various NASA contracts.

September Meeting Schedule:2:30-3:00pm – Socializing/Member Rock Swap-Sale3:00-3:30pm – Club Proceedings3:30-4:30pm – Guest Speaker: Kevin Cole, NASA Space Ambassador “DART, Hera, and Planetary Defense”4:30-5:00pm – Socializing/Wrap up

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 2:30pm, and we must vacate by 5:00pm.

Please RSVP here: September 2024 Meeting RSVP

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the latest RRN.

Zoom Meeting Details:Join Live via Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED] ID: 303 941 6730Passcode: [REDACTED]
We hope you can join us!
Cheers,Laura PionekProgram Director

October 2024 Club Meeting
2024-10-12 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our October Club meeting will include brief club proceedings and then Ben Chorn will treat us to a great presentation on Montana Moss Agates
We are very excited to welcome our own Ben Chorn to teach us about the amazing Moss Agates from Montana. Ben is professional Geologist licensed in Illinois and Minnesota, He got his a bachelors in Geology and in Business Management from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. He went on to earn his MS in Geology from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Ben travels to Montana every year to unearth more incredible moss agates. He is also a key volunteer in the Minnesota Mineral Club, being an instrumental contributor to the clubs success for many years.
October Meeting Schedule:2:30-3:00pm – Socializing/Member Rock Swap-Sale3:00-3:30pm – Club Proceedings3:30-4:30pm – Guest Speaker: Ben Chorn “Moss Agates from Montana”4:30-5:00pm – Socializing/Wrap up
Please RSVP here:October Meeting RSVP.

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the latest RRN.

Zoom Meeting Details:
Join Live via Zoom:
https://zoom.us/meeting/84329591949?amp_device_id=71977fb3-c1a5-46f2-bcb4-a6eca138b97a

Meeting ID: 303 941 6730
Passcode: [REDACTED]
We hope you can join us!
Cheers,Laura PionekProgram Director

November 2024 Club Meeting Sharing Finds + Find of the Year Contest
2024-11-09 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
In our November meeting we will be running our 2nd Annual “Find of the Year” contest as well as sharing our summer finds, so bring your rockhounding finds from this summer and share your stories with members and be ready to vote on the stellar finds of the 2024 season! Please see meeting agenda and contest category details below. We will additionally do our normal club updates and share information about the 2024 Annual Show.
The meeting will be held in-person at the Creekside Community Center and will also be broadcast via Zoom.

September Meeting Schedule:2:30-2:45pm – Arrival/Socializing2:45-3:15pm – Club Proceedings, Annual Show Information3:15-4:15pm – Summer Finds Viewing and Voting on “Find of the Year”4:15-4:30pm – Socializing (while votes are counted)4:30-5:00pm – Winners announced/Wrap up
“Find of the Year” Contest – Categories and Details*Note: All categories include only items that were found or made during the current year, and not purchased with the exception of the Urban Rockhounding category. You must be in-person to enter the contest. Categories for the “Find of the Year” are as follows:

Fossils & Artifacts: May be a fossil specimen (plant or animal), or rockhound related artifact item found in the current year. Artifact examples could be arrowheads, or native rock tools. Judging criteria for this category may include material age and condition.
Cabochons: May be of various material and designs, made in the current year. Judging criteria for this category may include Quality of Material, Workmanship, Design, and Composition.
Carving: May be of various material and designs, made in the current year. Judging criteria for this category may include Quality of Material, Workmanship, Design, and Composition.
Faceting: May be of any material, made in the current year. Judging criteria for this category may includeQuality of Material, Perfection of Facet Meets, and Quality of Polish.
Hand Wrought Jewelry: May be items intended for personal ornamentation and made of various materials and designs, made in the current year. Examples include wire wrapping, bead stringing, silversmithing, etc. Judging criteria for this category may include Workmanship and Design.
Lake Superior Agates: May be any Lake Superior Agate collected during the current year. Judging criteria for this category may include Size, Color, and Pattern.
Other Agates: May be any agate collected during the current year that are not LSA. Examples include Montana Moss, Bubble Gum, Fire, etc. Judging criteria for this category may include Size, Color, and Pattern.
Rocks & Minerals: May include any rock, mineral, or crystal collected during the current year. Judging criteria for this category may include Size, Rarity, and Perfection.
Open Lapidary: May be lapidary works of various materials and designs not covered by the Cabochons, Carving, Faceting, and Hand Wrought Jewelry categories that were made in the current year. Examples include spheres, eggs, intarsia, mosaics, etc. Judging criteria for this category may include Quality of Material, Workmanship, and Design.
Urban Rockhounding: May include items related to the rockhound hobby that were acquired during the current year at garage or rummage sales, thrift shops, etc. This does not include any items purchased at Rock Shows or Shops. Judging criteria for this category may include Material, Rarity, and Condition.
Kids: May include rocks, minerals, fossils, artifacts, lapidary, etc. that were found or made during the current year. Judging criteria for this category may include Material, Size, Color, Condition, Workmanship, and Design.
People’s Choice Award: May be any item in the contest.

All winners will receive a certificate and will be published in the November 2024 RRN.

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 2:30pm, and we must vacate by 5:00pm.
Please RSVP here: November 2024 Meeting RSVP

Join Live via Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 303 941 6730Passcode: [REDACTED]

I look forward to seeing you soon!Laura PionekProgram Director

December 2024 Club Meeting, 2025 Officer Installment + Holiday Potluck
2024-12-14 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our December meeting will be held in-person at the Creekside Community Center and will also be broadcast via Zoom. Our program will include a potluck, installation of 2025 Officers, and a gift exchange. The potluck and gift exchange are voluntary. Feel free to bring a dish to share. If you would like to participate in the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped $10-15 rock, mineral, or fossil themed gift for exchange.

Here is the schedule:

2:30-3:00pm – Arrival/Socializing/Potluck3:00-3:45pm – Club Proceedings/Installation of 2025 Officers3:45-4:45pm – Potluck/Gift Exchange/Socializing4:45-5:00pm – Wrap Up/Clean up

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 2:30pm, and we must vacate by 5:00pm.

Please RSVP here: December 2024 Meeting RSVP

**Please note, if you are interested in participating in the rock swap, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the details in the November RRN.

Join Live via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3039416730?pwd=[REDACTED] ID: 303 941 6730Passcode: [REDACTED]

I look forward to seeing you soon!Laura PionekProgram Director

January 2025 Club Meeting
2025-01-11 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Our first club meeting of 2025 is scheduled for Saturday, January 11 at 2:30 PM in the Shakopee Community Center. Please plan to attend because there is much important club business that needs your input.

Here is the meeting schedule:2:30 – 3:00 PM Socializing and Member Rock Sales3:00 – 4:00 PM Club Business including swearing-in of 2025 Board members, conversion to 501(c)(3) nonprofit, presentation and approval of 2025 budget, discussion about potential new meeting home, and door prize drawings4:00 -4:30 PM Discuss future program ideas and gather member input4:30 – 5:00 PM Meeting wrap-up and meeting room clean-up (the club is responsible for vacuuming, cleaning tables and chairs and putting them away)

As always, our January meeting will be held in person and online.

Join Live via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/meeting/87357191133?meetingMasterEventId=czw5QkYTYSBkHsCqdDy7w&amp_device_id=cdada48f-01c6-4181-841c-875bf167567fMeeting ID: 873 5719 1133 Passcode: [REDACTED]

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 2:30pm, and we must vacate by 5:00pm.

ZOOM ONLY February 2025 Club Meeting
2025-02-08 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
The BOD has voted to cancel the IN-PERSON portion of the club meeting on Saturday, February 8, 2025 due to the incoming storm. Member safety is a top priority.The meeting will proceed as scheduled via ZOOM.Because we are in mid transition from Mail Chimp to Mail Poet – those who have confirmed will receive this notification 2 times – sorry for the inconvenience!

Our February 2025 club meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 8th at 2:30 PM ON ZOOM ONLY.We have a great presentation lined up for our meeting! Dr. Bill Cordua will be presenting via zoom on The Rock Elm Meteor Impact Structure, Pierce County, WI: discovery and geology. The Rock Elm structure has been recognized as a geological anomaly for over a century. Known for gold and diamond finds, it has attracted the attention of prospectors, charlatans and scientists. The program focuses on how science has unraveled this feature’s fascinating origin and history. Dr. Bill Cordua is a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls where he taught geology for 40 years. He has published many technical articles and written over hundreds of articles for the general public on geology. This includes a monthly column for the Minnesota Mineral Club newsletter. Dr. Cordua is in the education division of the Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame and has received the Katherine Greacen Nelson Award honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the earth sciences in Wisconsin.

Here is the meeting schedule:2:30 – 3:00 PM Socializing3:00 – 3:15 PM Club Business3:15 – 4:30 PM Presentation by Dr. Bill Cordua titled “The Rock Elm Meteor Impact Structure, Pierce County, WI: discovery and geology.”

Join Live via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/meeting/87357191133?meetingMasterEventId=czw5QkYTYSBkHsCqdDy7w&amp_device_id=cdada48f-01c6-4181-841c-875bf167567fMeeting ID: 873 5719 1133 Passcode: [REDACTED]

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 2:00pm, and we must vacate by 5:00pm.

March 2025 Club Meeting
2025-03-08 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | MN
MMC March 2025 Meeting Saturday, March 8, 2025 @ 1:00pm

Happy Late Winter Rockhounds!(Spring arrives on March 20 – Yay!)

The March club meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 8th at 1:00 PM in the Shakopee Community Center. NOTE: THIS IS A DIFFERENT TIME THAN USUAL DUE TO OTHER EVENTS AT SHAKOPEE

Here is the meeting schedule:1:00 – 1:30 PM Socializing and Member Rock Sales1:30 – 2:00 PM Club Business Meeting2:00 – 3:30 PM Program: The Geology and Mining History of Utah by Jeremy FullerDoor Prizes3:30 – 4:00 PM Meeting wrap-up and meeting room clean-up

As always, our March meeting will be held in person and online.

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83462485005?pwd=[REDACTED] ID: 834 6248 5005Passcode: [REDACTED]

*Please note that we are not able to enter the meeting space until 1:00pm, and we must vacate by 4:00pm.**Also note, if you are interested in participating in the Member Rock Sale, please contact John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

Respectfully,

JohnMMC Program Director

April 2025 Club Meeting
2025-04-12 14:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
April is Auction time at the Minnesota Mineral Club!

Our first live auction of the year, featuring our favorite auctioneer, Dan Bissonnette, will highlight our April 12th meeting at the Shakopee Community Center. All who plan to attend and bid are encouraged to pre-register. This will save you time when you arrive. To pre-register, email John Porter at jpo636@gmail.com to request a bid paddle. You will receive a confirmation email. Then simply show up on April 12th , pick up the bid paddle with your name attached and have fun. We plan to auction off 60 – 70 items from a collection that was donated to the club. These were collected in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s and many include a file card with theitems’ information.Here is the Zoom information for those planning to attend via computer or phone.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/81778814582?pwd=[REDACTED] ID: 817 7881 4582Passcode: [REDACTED]

A few notes about upcoming programs:

May’s meeting will be “Demonstration Day.” Want to demonstrate? Contact John Porter.

September’s meeting will feature an introduction to the new Clubhouse as well as highlights from 2025 club field trips.

October will be our “Find of the Year” contest.

November will be the club’s major Fall Auction (we need and appreciate your item donations).

December is the club’s 80th Anniversary and will feature a banquet and memories from past years.

Hope to see you at the April auction.

May 2025 Club Meeting
2025-05-10 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Shakopee Community Center, 1255 Fuller St S, Shakopee, MN, 55379, United States
Event information coming soon!

MMC Club Meeting - Oct 2025
2025-10-11 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | MMC Clubhouse, 8147 Pleasant Ave. S., Bloomington, MN, 55420, United States
Membership Required You must be a member to access this content. View Membership Levels Already a member? Log in here

Find of the Year Contest

It will be held in the space neighboring the clubhouse in Bloomington. Meeting time is 2pm-5pm.

Minnesota Mineral Club is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86418369615?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 864 1836 9615Passcode: [REDACTED]

MMC Club Meeting - Nov 2025
2025-11-08 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | MMC Clubhouse, 8147 Pleasant Ave. S., Bloomington, MN, 55420, United States
Membership Required You must be a member to access this content. View Membership Levels Already a member? Log in here

Fall Auction… time, location and more info coming soon!
