In June of 1961, leaders in business, education, labor, and agriculture from across Minnesota met to form the Minnesota State Council on Economic Education. In its early days, the Council focused on expanding the courses in economics available to high school and undergraduate students through a television course offered by CBS (The American Economy) and through "retreading" programs that provided intensive courses in economics for high school teachers.

Within its first five years, the Council began a pre-service teacher instruction program at the University of Minnesota, initiated a revision process for economic curricula used in schools, and began outreach programs to teachers through regional centers for economic education at schools around the state .