Inver Grove History is the work of high school sophomores in Simley High School teacher Tom Goetz's 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 AP U.S. History classes. Its goal is to tell some of the stories of the lands and people who inhabited modern-day Inver Grove Heights, as well as those who attended school in Independent School District 199.

Under the supervision of Tom Goetz and Cory Haala (Simley '09), their work is a digital archive that aims to, in perpetuity, preserve the history of Simley and Inver Grove in an accessible online format.

In 2024, ISD 199 received a Minnesota Legacy Grant to tell the 170-year history of public schools in present-day Inver Grove Heights. Newer artifacts and collections draw on those efforts, including a blog related to findings in ISD 199 possessions and a History Harvest hosted at Simley High School on August 12-14, 2024.

We invite you to explore the exhibits, collections, and individual artifacts compiled by students. Please see, as well, the detailed description of this project and our thanks to those who made it possible.

District 199 Board Asked: 'When Are You Going To Hire Minority Persons?'

A newspaper account of a May 1974 meeting of the ISD 199 Inter-Cultural Education Advisory Committee reported on the title question, posed by…

Kevin McNamara oral history

Kevin McNamara worked as Building and Grounds Director for Inver Grove Schools for 34 years. In this interview, he discusses the many challenges of…

Mike Murr oral history

Despite growing up in South St. Paul (whose baseball program he discusses in relationship to the newly-formed Simley High School), Mike Murr became a…

Les McKenzie oral history

Leslie McKenzie served as a science teacher and, later, principal of Simley High School from the school's opening through 1985. This interview…

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