Showing off Minneapolis on the world stage: the origins of the Aquatennial
The name “Aquatennial” was chosen by contest to highlight the abundance of lakes, rivers, and parks around Minneapolis.
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Maple sugaring’s roots with the Ojibwe people run deep
While the technology used in the process has changed over the years, Ojibwe people continue to harvest maple sugar in the present day.
The controversial career of Minnesota’s first territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey
Deeply respected for many years as a founder of the state, Ramsey has become controversial for his role in removing the area’s Indigenous residents from their homelands.
Hennepin County officials, bribes and 74 barrels of hidden whiskey: the Winnipeg Liquor Conspiracy
The Hennepin County sheriff provided guards to the smugglers, while the Hennepin County attorney was on hand to head off any prosecution.
Minnesota’s first female member of Congress’ political career was off to a great start — till her husband stepped in
Coya Knutson was first elected in 1952 and won re-election once before a campaign by her political opponents — and backed by her husband — sunk her career.
When Macalester College started up in 1885, it had just five professors and six students
Though founded as a nonsectarian college, Macalester has always held ties to the Presbyterian Church.
Minnesota’s first black sheriff enforced the law in Cook County for twenty years
In spite of limited resources, John quickly made his mark on the county through his reputation for being firm yet fair in his work and genuinely concerned for the well-being of his constituents.
August 20, 1904: The day a cyclone slammed Waconia
The storm damaged much of the town, and five people were killed.
Clara Ueland: Minnesota suffragist, lifelong women’s rights activist
She was president of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association when the nineteenth amendment was passed in 1919.
The Romansh weren’t Minnesota’s largest immigrant group, but they made a big impact
Graubünden, Switzerland-based immigration boards and societies, such as the Wolf Company, helped Romansh families choose Minnesota as a destination.
In 1941, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI targeted Minneapolis union members
Members of the Socialist Workers Party and Teamsters union local 544 were accused of conspiracy to overthrow the government under the Alien Registration Act.
As the nexus between the Pigeon River and Lake Superior, Grand Portage has been an important Minnesota site for centuries
Indigenous people have used the eight-and-a-half-mile pathway that connects the Pigeon River with Lake Superior since at least the beginning of the first millennium CE.
From St. Paul, editor John Quincy Adams built ‘The Western Appeal’ into a national African American newspaper
Adams was an influential writer and a staunch Republican.
Before there was Social Security, Beltrami County had its poor farm
Beltrami County was one of the sixty-three Minnesota counties, out of a total of eighty-seven, that maintained a poor farm at some point in its history.
Built to relieve overcrowding at Minnesota’s mental institutions, Fergus Falls State Hospital quickly became overcrowded itself
When the hospital opened its doors, it received two men from the Judge Probate of Otter Tail County. The next day, it received 80 more patients from the St. Peter hospital.
Remembering a lost Irish enclave in St. Paul
Despite its short and oft-forgotten existence, Connemara Patch was home to several generations of Irish working-class families and later immigrant groups.
Before his aviator son made the Lindbergh name famous, Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr. was a prominent Minnesota politician
When World War I broke out in 1914, Lindbergh vocally opposed United States involvement.
As you’re stuck on I-35W today, consider how far roads have come since the days of the Jefferson Highway
The Jefferson was a north-south counterpart of the well-known Lincoln Memorial Highway, a transcontinental route that extended from Times Square in New York City to San Francisco.
The Lower Sioux Agency near Morton saw the first engagement of the U.S.-Dakota war
The agency was established by the U.S. government to administer obligations under the 1851 treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota.
The Minnesota Opera was born at the Walker Art Center
Interest in opera performance thrived in the Twin Cities in the 1950s due to yearly touring productions performed by the Metropolitan Opera of New York.