Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association

Category: Local clubs Also called: MHBA; MN Hobby Beekeepers; Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers; mnbeekeepers.com Last checked: 2026-09-25

What it is

The Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association (MHBA) is a first-party local beekeeping club serving the Twin Cities (Minneapolis–St. Paul) and surrounding areas. Its official site (mnbeekeepers.com) publishes member-meeting and hive-demo event cards, annual dues, officers and board, swarm guidance, a lending library, and a youth beekeeper scholarship. Official About copy says the club was formed “to educate our members and the public about bees, beekeeping and bee products” and calls it “a friendly association of over 500 beekeepers.” It is registered in Minnesota and with the IRS as a 501(c)(5) non-profit educational organization and has “a strong relationship with the U of M Bee Lab.” It is not a commercial hive-equipment shop and not a university certificate pathway.

Who it’s for

New and experienced hobby beekeepers, and people who are simply curious about bees, in the Twin Cities / Upper Midwest. It suits anyone who wants monthly evening member meetings in Borlaug Hall on the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus, hands-on in-hive demos at the U of M Bee Lab apiary before meetings, a mentor network, a monthly newsletter, and a lending library, all for printed first-party dues of $20 per year. Official About copy: “There are no requirements for membership—you don’t even have to be a beekeeper.” The enrollment form requires members to be at least 13. Not a drop-in equipment warehouse and not a UC Davis-style certification program.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Local club with dated 2026 member-meeting and hive-demo cards, a named St. Paul meeting venue with a room number, a dollar dues amount on the official Become a Member page and printed enrollment form, and a published officer and board roster. It is not a Facebook-only group and not a scraped directory card.

• Meeting schedule & venue (home + event pages, checked 2026-09-25): member meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335, 1991 Upper Buford Cir, St. Paul, MN 55108, 7:00–9:00 p.m. Dated cards on the check date: Member Meeting, Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (speaker Dr. Thomas D. Seeley, Professor Emeritus, Cornell); Member Meeting, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m. (speaker Dr. Becky Masterman, Extension Program Advisor, U of M Bee Lab); Annual Member Meeting, Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 7:00–8:00 p.m. (board elections, budget approval, and Youth Scholarship recipients). A Hive Demo runs before the October meeting, 5:45–6:45 p.m. at the U of M Bee Lab and Demo Hives, 1635 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55113, and the card says “Veils required to enter apiary!” The official calendar tags these cards Members Only. The About page invites prospective members to “attend a meeting to find out” before joining. The site does not print a fixed cadence rule, but all three dated 2026 cards fall on the second Tuesday of the month.
• Membership dues (Become a Member page + Membership Enrollment Form PDF, checked 2026-09-25): New one-year membership $20; recurring membership $20/year (auto-renew via PayPal). You can enroll online with a card or PayPal, in person at a monthly member meeting, or by mailing the printed form with dues to Bob Hinschberger, Attn: MHBA Membership, 2895 W Owasso Boulevard, Roseville MN 55113-2123 (checks payable to MHBA). Memberships expire one year from enrollment, and renewal reminders go out by email. Benefits printed on the form and the Benefits page include website access, the monthly newsletter, the MHBA Facebook group, in-hive demos before meetings, one ballot in yearly elections, the lending library, a mentor network, free member classifieds, and discounted national beekeeping-magazine subscriptions. Optional donations to U of M bee research funds are listed separately.
• Contact / hub: official site https://mnbeekeepers.com/. Questions go through the site’s “Ask Buzz” form. Officers printed on the check date: President Jess Marshall-Kurysh, Vice-President Bill Thompson, Secretary Michelle Maas, Treasurer Bob Hinschberger. No purchase or outreach was made from Beekeeping Plaza.

Meeting dates, speakers, venues, the members-only tagging, dues, and officer names above are what the official pages showed on the check date. They can change. Confirm the live Calendar and Become a Member pages before treating any date, venue, or fee as fixed.

Official URL

https://mnbeekeepers.com/

About (mission, 501(c)(5), officers & board): https://mnbeekeepers.com/about/

Calendar / events: https://mnbeekeepers.com/events

Member Meeting, Oct 13, 2026 (Borlaug Hall 335): https://mnbeekeepers.com/event/member-meeting-18/

Hive Demo, Oct 13, 2026 (U of M Bee Lab): https://mnbeekeepers.com/event/hive-demo-15/

Annual Member Meeting, Nov 10, 2026: https://mnbeekeepers.com/event/annual-member-meeting-2/

Become a Member ($20/year): https://mnbeekeepers.com/become_member/

Membership Enrollment Form (PDF): https://mnbeekeepers.com/wp-content/uploads/MHBA-Enrollment-Form-202401.pdf

Benefits of Membership: https://mnbeekeepers.com/benefits_membership/

FAQ (swarms, getting started): https://mnbeekeepers.com/faq/

Location

Primary meeting venue named on the official event pages (checked 2026-09-25): Borlaug Hall, Room 335, 1991 Upper Buford Cir, St. Paul, MN 55108, 7:00 p.m. on the dated 2026 cards (Sept 8, Oct 13, Nov 10). Pre-meeting hive demos take place at the U of M Bee Lab and Demo Hives, 1635 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55113 (veils required). The membership mailing address is 2895 W Owasso Boulevard, Roseville MN 55113-2123 (Attn: MHBA Membership). Check the live Calendar before you go.

This is a Local club meeting address, not a Blue Sky Bee Supply retail counter and not a UC Davis certification classroom.

Notes

• Category is Local clubs. MHBA is a first-party Twin Cities beekeeping association with a printed meeting venue, dated 2026 meeting cards, and annual dues. It is not Equipment, and it is not Learning in the university-pathway sense: the club works with the U of M Bee Lab, but MHBA itself is the membership club. It is distinct from the clubs already listed (Collin County, Back Yard, Alamo Area, Central Ohio, Metro Atlanta, Puget Sound, Tri-County, Cabarrus County).
• The $20 one-year and recurring dues, the enrollment-form mailing address and age-13 minimum, the Borlaug Hall Room 335 and 1635 Gortner Ave venues, the Sept 8 / Oct 13 / Nov 10, 2026 cards and speakers, the members-only tags, the “over 500 beekeepers” and 501(c)(5) copy, and the officer names are transcribed from official mnbeekeepers.com pages checked on 2026-09-25 and may change. The home page says “nearly 500 members” while the About page says “over 500 beekeepers.” Both are quoted as printed.
• First-party logo saved beside this listing as minnesota-hobby-beekeepers.png (converted to PNG from the official mnbeekeepers.com header asset MHBA_logo_cmyk_lg_hor.jpeg, with no other edits).
• Not affiliated with Beekeeping Plaza.
• No Beekeeping Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: When and where does MHBA meet?
A: Official event pages (checked 2026-09-25): member meetings take place at Borlaug Hall, Room 335, 1991 Upper Buford Cir, St. Paul, MN 55108, 7:00–9:00 p.m. The dated 2026 cards are Tuesday Sept 8, Tuesday Oct 13 (Dr. Becky Masterman, U of M Bee Lab), and the Annual Member Meeting on Tuesday Nov 10, 7:00–8:00 p.m. A hive demo at the U of M Bee Lab, 1635 Gortner Ave, runs 5:45–6:45 p.m. before the October meeting (veils required). The calendar tags these events Members Only. Confirm https://mnbeekeepers.com/events before you travel.

Q: What are the dues?
A: Official Become a Member page and enrollment form (checked 2026-09-25): a new one-year membership is $20, or $20/year recurring via PayPal. You can pay online, at a monthly member meeting, or by mail to Bob Hinschberger, Attn: MHBA Membership, 2895 W Owasso Boulevard, Roseville MN 55113-2123 (checks payable to MHBA). Memberships expire one year from enrollment. Confirm the live page before paying.

Q: Is this an equipment shop or a university course?
A: No. MHBA is listed here as Local clubs: a Twin Cities, member-run 501(c)(5) beekeeping association with monthly meetings, hive demos, a newsletter, and mentoring. For hive gear see Equipment listings (e.g. Blue Sky Bee Supply, HillCo). For a university certification pathway see Learning (e.g. California Master Beekeeper Program, Purdue Queen Rearing Short Course).