This document provides orientation information for judges at the Minnesota History Day regional event. It will involve judging around 4,500 student projects across five categories and two age divisions on the annual theme of "Innovation in History: Impact and Change." Judges will evaluate entries based on criteria including historical quality, relation to theme, clarity of presentation, and rule compliance. The process involves reviewing materials, asking students questions, discussing as a judging team, providing feedback comments, and determining which projects should advance to the state event.