Woman seeks name change for state park in west central Minnesota

September 6, 2022

NEW LONDON, MINN. – A New London woman says a state park in west-central Minnesota should no longer be named after Minnesota’s first governor, Henry Sibley, because he led the U-S military’s effort to crush the Dakota uprising of 1862, and then oversaw rushed trials resulting in the execution of 38 Dakota at Mankato.

Kelsey Olson hosted an information meeting in New London and plans to address the city council. She says changing the name requires an act of the Minnesota Legislature and she’s looking for citizens to get on board. The executions in 1862 were the largest mass hanging in U-S history.

In 2020, the name of Henry Sibley High School in Mendota was changed to Two Rivers for similar reasons.