Minnesota Made Gala 2025

The Minnesota Land Trust is a conservation non-profit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that works with private landowners to conserve land through voluntary land conservation agreements.

The Land Trust’s mission is to protect Minnesota’s most vital natural lands to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences, and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Since 1991, the Land Trust has partnered with hundreds of Minnesota landowners to permanently protect over 80,000 acres of natural land and 540 miles of fragile shoreline throughout the state. In addition, we’ve restored over 9,000 acres of critical habitat.

Events like the Minnesota Made Gala help increase the pace and reach of our work, which is more important now than ever before as we confront the twin threats of climate change and ongoing development pressure negatively impacting natural habitats and ecological services.

About Nicollet Island Pavilion

The Minnesota Made Gala is returning to historic Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis, where guests will enjoy the fresh air and views of the Minneapolis skyline, bridges, and Saint Anthony Falls (Owámniyomni).

Nicollet Island Pavilion is located within Nicollet Island Park on the south end of the 48-acre island. Part of the Saint Anthony Falls Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and within the Mississippi River–Twin Cities Important Bird Area, the island is also part of the Mississippi Flyway, a migratory corridor for 40% of North America’s waterfowl and shorebirds. The island also provides a haven of natural habitat within the dense urban surrounds for foxes, beavers, turtles, herons and pollinators.

Wita Waste (Beautiful Island), is the Dakota name for the island and it is part of the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Dakota people. Prior to European settlement and subsequent development for industrial use, the island was covered in dense maple forests and was the site of Dakota maple sugar camps.