MUFON Minnesota Journal

History

William I. McNeff directed Minnesota MUFON and edited the Minnesota MUFON Journal from at least 1992 (Issue 35) through 2016 (Issue 180), an extraordinary tenure of 24 years at the helm of a single state chapter. Monthly meetings ran at the New Brighton Family Service Center, Room 224, 400 10th Street NW (a quarter mile southwest of Highway 694 and I-35W), on the second Saturday of each month from 2pm to 5pm. The building was non-smoking, with free parking and no special security. This stability of location and leadership produced one of the most consistent publication records in MUFON's history.

McNeff's editorial voice was analytical and scientifically literate. His annual "Estimate of the Situation" reports (echoing the title of the Air Force's suppressed 1948 document) surveyed the state of ufology each January, assessing progress, setbacks, and priorities for the coming year. The 2003 estimate noted that assuming 500 good sightings per year across the state's history and average resident lifetimes of 40 years, there might be 200,000 Minnesotans who had witnessed genuine anomalies. He concluded: "The state of ufology, while far from ideal, is getting better. But we have our work cut out for us."

The Journal carried a mix of original investigation reports, reprinted articles from national sources, book reviews, and McNeff's editorial commentary. The earliest archived issue (August 1992) reproduced John Mack's foreword to David Jacobs's "Secret Life" and reported on Budd Hopkins's 1992 MUFON Symposium presentation about the Linda Cortile case in New York City. By 2016 (Issue 180), the Journal was covering Victor Viggiani's release of secret NORAD files documenting that NORAD intercepted an average of 75 UFOs per year, with meetings still running at the same New Brighton location.

The numbering begins at Issue 35 in the archive, suggesting approximately 34 earlier issues (likely dating to the mid-to-late 1980s) that have not yet been recovered. The run from Issue 35 through Issue 182 represents near-complete coverage of one state chapter's output across a quarter century of civilian UFO investigation.