Funded through a Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund grant, it is the first online encyclopedia about Minnesota,[1] a "resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history".

[2] Approved by Minnesotans on November 4, 2008, planning took place in 2010, the site was built in 2011[3] and was online on August 15; initial funding for 2010 and 2011 was $215,000.

[5] The Minnesota Historical Society had previously planned to produce a print encyclopedia, but opted for an online site for the sake of affordability and interactivity.

[6] MNHS paid history scholars including Rhoda Gilman and Annette Atkins to compose essays for the site[7] and the historical society also awards grants for the creation of entries on select topics.

[2] The article on the Wealthy Apple is a staff and internet favorite; under CC-By-SA attribution it was imported from MNopedia into Wikipedia in 2012.