Stones lore: Jagger and Mr. Jimmy in Excelsior
In the summer of 1964, a fledgling British band rolled into town for a one-night stand at a suburban dance hall.
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.”
Remembering Oak Lake: Soccer stadium site linked to early Jewish history
Oak Lake was a busy residential neighborhood and an important way station for Minneapolis’ Eastern European immigrant Jewish community.
‘Newspaper with a soul’: The short-lived Minnesota Daily Star launched in 1920
The soon-to-be-demolished Star Tribune building on Portland and Fifth contains the remnants of a nearly century-old building that occupied the same block.
New Gateway project recalls early efforts to combat downtown blight
In 1915, the Minneapolis Park Board pioneered the use of urban renewal when it built Gateway Park, on a triangular two-block site that included the early City Hall.
Nicollet House was Minneapolis’ social center in the late 1800s
Now several high-powered real-estate groups are vying to fill the Washington Avenue site with massive towers.
Origins of neighborhood funding debate extend back to the early 1990s
An ambitious 20-year plan gave Minneapolis neighborhoods control over a major city revenue source.
Remembering Nov. 11, 1918: ‘A big siren tore the midnight silence’
With news of the armistice, “Everyone was brimming over with good humor and a feeling of fellowship for every other man … .”
100 years ago a Minneapolis ‘peace army’ assembled under clouds of war
On the evening of Sept. 22, 1914, an overflow crowd assembled at the Minneapolis Auditorium to demonstrate its support for U.S. neutrality as an escalating military conflict was under way in Europe.
Linking the Twin Cities: In 1968 the attention was on I-94
On Dec. 9, 1968, a new 11-mile segment of Interstate 94, linking downtown Minneapolis with downtown St. Paul, opened for the first time.
Looking back at the 1992 Super Bowl, in ‘a city that does winter right’
Instead of playing down Minnesota’s harsh winters, local bidders touted it.
The history of the ‘Nicollet Wall’ and a hamstrung City Hall
The 1970s-era mistake has its origins in a well-meaning but chronically unfortunate plan to address urban blight.
Southwest LRT tunnel issue recalls earlier route controversy
A tunnel became the essential link that enabled the Hiawatha roadway and, later, the Hiawatha LRT (now known as the Blue Line) to get built.
Don’t tear down the skyways!
Like it or not, Minnesota is just not a year-round outdoor place.
PolyMet controversy recalls 1978 DFL split
The 1978 DFL primary race for the Senate pitted Iron Rangers against the state’s environmentalists over proposed BWCA protections.
Goodwin’s ‘The Bully Pulpit’ spotlights the Shame of Minneapolis
Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about how Lincoln Steffens brought an unwelcome spotlight to this state’s largest city in his 1903 exposé of municipal corruption.
Recalling Minneapolis’ early charter-change efforts
After two decades of efforts, the local electorate agreed in 1920 to a charter plan that gave Minneapolis home rule.
Minneapolis’ oldest skyway still in use turns 50
The 7th Street span that connects the Northstar Center with the Roanoke Building opened 50 years ago this summer, on June 12, 1963.
Looking back at the 1878 Washburn A Mill explosion
In a matter of seconds, a series of thunderous explosions destroyed what had been the city’s largest industrial building, along with several adjacent mills.
Minneapolis Gateway redevelopment planted seeds of revival
Downtown’s revival began more than 50 years ago when the lower loop’s blight began to disappear.
When the wind screamed: Looking back at the 1998 St. Peter tornado
More than 1,700 homes in this town of 10,000 sustained significant damage from the 150-mile-an-hour winds that swept in 15 years ago.
