Saint Paul – The Minnesota Department of Administration announced that the winning design concepts for the new Capitol Builders' Memorial plaque were submitted by two Owatonna sixth graders, Riley Kalbach and Kalina Boubin. Their designs will be featured in a permanent marker in the Minnesota State Capitol Building.

The Capitol Builders' Memorial will be dedicated to the memory of six construction workers who died during the original construction of the Capitol, and to the contributions of all construction workers who have worked on the building since the groundbreaking in 1896, including those working on the current restoration project.

"Our state's students have given us a powerful reminder that the Capitol is ultimately about people," said Commissioner Matt Massman. "Those of us involved in the State Capitol restoration are touched that the students took the initiative to honor the sacrifices and labor of the construction workers who brought Cass Gilbert's masterful design to reality."

The legislation authorizing the memorial was inspired by the letters and testimony of sixth-grade students from Willow Creek Intermediate School in Owatonna under the guidance of their teacher, Jennifer Hansen. The legislation was carried by Senator Vicki Jensen and Representative John Petersburg. The design competition, conducted by the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) was open to sixth-graders from across the state. A total of 58 design concepts were submitted.

The winning plaque designs were chosen by a nine-member jury panel. The "Capitol Dome" design concepts by contest winners, Kalina Boubin (St. Mary's School, Owatonna) and Ryan Kalbach's (Willow Creek Intermediate School, Owatonna), will be combined to create a bronze-casted commemorative plaque to be unveiled during the Minnesota State Grand Opening Celebration on August 11-13, 2017.

The selection panel included Owatonna eighth-grader Chloe Beede, who helped originate the memorial initiative and testified before the legislature on behalf of the authorizing legislation. The panel also included Michelle Manke, a descendant of an original Capitol construction worker, Jack Becker, artist, State Representative John Petersburg, Don Mullin, St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, and representatives of the Department of Administration, CAAPB, and the Minnesota Historical Society.

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For additional information, please contact:

Assistant Commissioner, Curt Yoakum
curtis.yoakum@state.mn.us
(651) 201-2771