Minnesota State Mankato's 2022 Frontier Forum Lecture to Focus on Dark Tourism, City Government

Tuesday, March 29, 2022
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Ostrander Auditorium

Mankato, Minn. –Minnesota State University, Mankato faculty member Beth Wielde Heidelberg will discuss “dark tourism and city government” in the 42^nd annual Frontier Forum lecture Tuesday, March 29 from 2-3:30 p.m. in Ostrander Auditorium (located in Centennial Student Union).

The in-person lecture is free and open to the public. The presentation is also available virtually. Click here to register for the virtual event.

The following event preview was provided by Minnesota State Mankato’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences:

“On Feb. 3, 1959, Buddy Holly, J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson and Ritchie Valens boared a small aircraft while touring with the Winter Dance Party. Their plane crashed just outside of Clear Lake, Iowa, where they had played their last concert. The three performers and the pilot died in the crash.

“The 2022 Frontier Forum focuses on how the City of Clear Lake has used policy and urban planning not just to mourn those who died in the crash, but to turn the tragedy into an enduring legacy of music education and celebration of musicians who have shaped modern music.”

According to Wielde Heidelberg, the discussion will focus on what the city of Clear Lake, Iowa, and similar cases, can teach other communities about their dark tourism practices.

Wielde Heidelberg has been on the faculty of Minnesota State Mankato’s Urban and Regional Studies Institute in the Department of Government since 2004, teaching students urban planning, local government administration and her specialty area, historic architectural preservation policy. For more on the presentation or Wielde Heidelberg, click here or contact Wielde Heidelberg at 507-389-1715 or at beth.heidelberg@mnsu.edu.

For more information about the Frontier Forum, contact Elyse Anderson, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, by phone at 507-389-1255 or by email at elyse.anderson@mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.