Remembering Nov. 11, 1918: ‘A big siren tore the midnight silence’
Spontaneous celebrations sprang up all over the state once the news reached here. In Minneapolis, people were jolted awake at 2 a.m. by the news.
Iric Nathanson
Iric Nathanson writes about local history for a variety of Twin Cities publications. His most recent book is “Don Fraser: Minnesota’s Quiet Crusader.”
From mainstream to extinct: A look back at the GOP’s progressive era in Minnesota
Former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger traces the origins of his party’s progressive tilt back to the election of Harold Stassen as Minnesota’s governor in 1938.
New biography points out central challenge HHH faced in 1968 race
A new Hubert Humphrey biography by Arnold Offner, “Hubert Humphrey, The Conscience of the Country,” provides a behind-the-scenes look at the events of 1968.
Legacy of equity, independence: A tribute to Arvonne Fraser
This year, active until the end, Arvonne applauded the dramatic increase in the number of women running for public office.
Minneapolis’ police oversight amendment is a step in the wrong direction
Not only will Council Member Cam Gordon’s proposal weaken the city’s authority over the MPD, it represents the wrong response to the very real issues affecting police-community relations in Minneapolis.
April 1968: In the aftermath of the King assassination, a calm Twin Cities
“Let’s not tear up our own neighborhood,” Harry Davis told a group outside the Sumner Library. “Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed. Our leader is lost, but this does not end our march for freedom.”
Another troubling piece of the U’s history: rejecting fair-housing protections for a South Minneapolis neighborhood in the 1950s
Three local NAACP organizations urged University of Minnesota Vice President W.T. Middlebrook to insert an anti-discrimination clause in the sales contract. He refused.
Minneapolis police chief appointment spotlights role of City Hall Executive Committee
The leadership group was formalized in 1989 in the City Charter at the instigation of Don Fraser, who served as mayor for four terms in the 1980s and early ’90s.
How a 1972 report laid the groundwork for Minneapolis’ riverfront revival
No longer an industrial wasteland, the Minneapolis riverfront has become a source of civic pride and the focal point of a new residential district attracting people of all ages, from millennials to empty nesters.
100 years ago, a declaration of war launched an era of civil liberties suppression in Minnesota
Even before war was declared on April 6, 1917, “liberty leagues” called for statewide surveillance of labor and ethnic groups whose loyalty they considered suspect.
With retail coming to a close in the old Dayton’s building, a look at how it got started there
A retail era spanning two centuries is coming to an end.
A presidential campaign stop in ’36: FDR comes to Minnesota
FDR had come to the Michael J. Dowling School for Crippled Children on Oct. 9 to dedicate the school’s therapeutic swimming pool, but his whirlwind Minnesota visit had a broader political purpose: his re-election.
Corruption scandal marred Minneapolis City Hall’s 1902 celebration
Shortly after City Hall’s opening celebrations, investigative journalist Lincoln Steffens wrote “The Shame of Minneapolis,” putting the scandal in the national spotlight.
Political fights over light rail projects in Minnesota are nothing new
Deal-making helped launch Minnesota’s first LRT line in the 1990s.
The caucus that changed history: 1948’s battle for control of the DFL
Hubert Humphrey’s “right-wing” forces managed to outmaneuver their intra-party foes and take firm control of the DFL.
Another protest, another occupation: The Minnehaha Free State in the 1990s
Calling themselves the Minnehaha Free State, protesters occupied a proposed Highway 55 route for months at a time in 1998.
Humphrey aide Norman Sherman looks back at politics in the tumultuous ’60s
With another presidential election campaign now under way, Sherman’s account of 1968’s Humphrey-McCarthy nomination battles delivers a contemporary message.
Hodges isn’t the first Minneapolis mayor to get pushback over working-class issues
When he was elected mayor in 1916, Thomas Van Lear represented a sharp break in the string of mainly wealthy businessmen who preceded him in office.
Remembering the other Lowry: Thomas’ son was embroiled in a bitter labor strike during World War I
In 1917, Horace Lowry became embroiled in a strike that convulsed the Twin Cities for months on end, just as the U.S. was rushing troops to the European battlefields.
A look back at Minnesota’s 1933 bank holiday
In 1933 a ripple of bank closures reached Minnesota on March 4, the day Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated as president in Washington.
