The Garnavillo Historical Society received $20,472 in grant funds from the Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation (UMGC) at their Annual Grant Award Ceremony held Monday Oct 28 at the Casino Queen. Historical Society Board members Ky Clefisch, Carol DeSotel and Jane Thein were present to receive the grant presented by UMGC board member Brandi Backes. The funds will be used to give the Garnavillo Museum a “face lift” by completing tuckpointing and foundation repair on the building. The museum, which stands at 203 N Washington Street, west of the City Park, was built in 1867 as a congregational church and has served as a historical museum since 1966. In between, the building served as a Sunday School, temporary church site, public library, and school library/study hall with typing/business class rooms. “The grant funds will allow us to complete the tuckpointing all at one time rather than in phases, and will enable us to use other funds to complete smaller museum “face lift” projects such as restoration of the bell platform and painting the window frames. We are extremely grateful to the UMGC and Casino Queen for these funds,” says board member Jane Thein. The award to the Garnavillo Historical Society was one of 32 grants and $376,828 awarded by the UMGC to Clayton County area organizations.