Royal visit highlights connections, contributions of Norwegians in Minnesota

NINA: 200 years ago, the first group of Norwegian immigrants arrived in the US on a ship from Norway, and this week Norway's crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, is in Minnesota to recognize these unique ties the state has had to the country since 1825. Yesterday he made a visit to Norway House in Minneapolis. He was greeted by hundreds of community members waving Norwegian flags and cut the ribbon for a library connecting Minnesotans with Norway.

Sandy Alsaker Weiss is a board chair of Norway House, and she's on the line now to explain the significance of the Crown Prince's visit and the unique ways Norwegians have shaped Minnesota. Thanks so much for joining me this afternoon, Sandy.

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: Thank you, Nina. Glad to join in.

NINA: Such a fun time I bet getting to meet the crown Prince yesterday morning. What was that like? What was the energy like? I've seen some of the photos.

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: It was just exciting and crazy here at Norway House. We had hundreds of people from the community, lots of people of Norwegian descent. People from businesses. Just a big crowd to come and greet the Prince. And we were fortunate to have him come and attend a business forum in Norway that was going on all day yesterday here at Norway House.

NINA: How did you get the word out about this? Was it Norwegian Facebook pages? How did everybody know to come out?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: It was a huge endeavor mainly through media, and emails, and our website accounts and people came out in droves, so it was pretty exciting.

NINA: That is cool. So 200 years of Norwegians here in Minnesota and I understand that it's also a nationwide celebration, why do you think the Norwegian government is doing all this outreach to Norwegian-Americans?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: I think the ties between Minnesota and Norway have never been stronger. We have a troop exchange, we have a lot of relationships with Norway, both in government and in business and in higher education so there's a lot of connections and we just continue to grow those and stay in close contact.

NINA: And so the Minnesota State Demographic Center, just so people, reported that as of 2018, so a while ago, that's their recent numbers more than 800,000 Minnesota residents reported having Norwegian ancestry. So that's the second largest heritage group in Minnesota. How did this region become so popular for Norwegians, Sandy?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: The early Norwegians who came to Minnesota were really coming here because there was a lack of farmland in Norway and it was a poor time in Norway. So a lot of families sent their young people over with the idea that there was land available in Minnesota. And as of 1862, you could get 160 acres of free land if you agreed to farm it. And Minnesota's land and our climate were really close and reminiscent of Norway so it was an easy place for them to come. There were also-- even back then, there were jobs in the Twin Cities in trades. And so for young people who didn't necessarily want to farm, they came to Minnesota to get jobs in Minneapolis and ST. Paul.

NINA: That's so interesting. Jobs attracted people here, like you said, like in a lot of situations, but you mentioned this business leaders conference still talking about job opportunities, and collaboration, and growth. What was that innovation conference all about?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: This innovation conference was focused on medical technology, and medical devices, and sales. And really through Norway House and innovation Norway, we're trying to connect Norwegian businesses with US markets and providing areas for them to sell their products and services, and also to go the opposite way for us to market US products.

NINA: Are there specific products from Norway that you're interested in more?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: There's a wide range of products, everything from food products, to medical devices, to technology products. We have all kinds of businesses working with us, but we're really focused on connecting to Norway in the contemporary times through arts, business, and culture.

NINA: Because there have been so many cultural impacts that Norwegians have had on Minnesota. Can you rattle off a couple of the things that are uniquely Norwegian to this area, just because of all of the people?

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: Yeah. I think Norwegians have made a major contribution in Minnesota. So you look at some of the schools of higher ed, colleges like Augsburg, ST. Olaf, Concordia-Moorhead that were started in the late 1870s. And you look at government officials like Vice President Walter Mondale, Governor Al Quie, Congressman Martin Sabo, and many, many others who have made an impact on our government throughout the years.

And then there's also many Norwegians who have started companies here that have grown and thrived. So for example, Earl Bakken, who is one of the founders of Medtronic, started with four people in a garage and now they have 95,000 employees or Chellberg, who has a travel and Volvo dealership, or the Wenger family out of Owatonna who created-- it was two music teachers who came together and created bleachers and music stands for high schools and elementary schools.

And even where I worked at Data Recognition Corporation, our founder, Russ Hagen, built a company out of his basement kitchen table type startup. So Norwegians have a huge impact on Minnesota and our growth.

NINA: I love that. I love that you rattled all those people off because it makes people go, oh wow, what a truly amazing impact. So when you met the Prince, I just have to before I let you go, what is he thinking about Minnesota? Has he been here before? What did he say about us? I guess is what I'm asking.

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: It was pretty funny because he has been here before, but it's been a couple of years. His mother visited two years ago. The Queen, her Royal Highness, and I was trying to think of what to say to him. Like Say hi to your mom and dad or what do you say to a Crown Prince? But actually, he was very interested in what is happening in Minnesota. He's very interested in our relationship with Minnesota as a state. And it's just a close relationship that I don't think Norway has with other places in the country.

NINA: Super cool. Sandy, thank you so much for stopping by Minnesota now and sharing this with us. You put a smile on all of our faces. Thank you.

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: Thank you. And we invite everyone to come down for gingerbread wonderland which will be a great exhibit opening November 23r where you can come see hundreds of gingerbread houses for this season.

NINA: Oh, that does sound great. Thanks, Sandy.

SANDY ALSAKER WIESE: Thanks so much.

NINA: Thank you. That was Norway House Board Chair, Sandy Alsaker Wiese. Yesterday, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon also stopped at Luther College. Some of the things that she was mentioning there and at the State Capitol to meet with Governor Tim Walz. Today, he's in Northfield visiting ST. Olaf College.