History

From territory to today: Mapping Minnesota’s Black history
In celebration of Black History Month in February, MPR News is highlighting Black history throughout the state. From a fur trader believed to be one of the first African descendants in a territory that is now Minnesota, to streets and parks renamed in 2024 after Black community leaders, these sites span the state and the centuries.
Auschwitz holds observances on the 80th anniversary of the death camp's liberation
Elderly camp survivors, some wearing striped scarves that recall their prison uniforms, walked to the the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed. Across Europe, officials were pausing to remember.
Mapping Prejudice Project granted access to Stearns County property records
Stearns County commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with the University of Minnesota Libraries so they could comb for racial covenants — clauses in property deeds that barred specific ethnic groups from owning homes or land.
On the brink of the inauguration, historians reflect on America's trajectory
As Inauguration Day approaches, we ask historians who’ve written books about America’s past reflect on America’s future. Does this moment have a parallel, or are we truly in unprecedented times?
Curator talks archiving Walz’s bid for VP, preserving political legacies
While brief, Gov. Tim Walz’s bid for vice president will add another chapter to his legacy in politics, and the Minnesota Historical Society has gotten a jumpstart on preserving it.
Ágnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medal winner, dies at age 103
Ágnes Keleti, a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medal winner, has died at age 103. Hungary’s state news agency says Keleti died Thursday morning in Budapest. She was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia on Dec. 25.
Newspaper archives reveal 'morbidity and tenderness' of historic Minneapolis morgue auctions
“The lesson is that there’s just no telling [where] our human curiosity and a kind of fascination with morbidity is going to lead us. But that goes hand in glove with empathy,” longtime CBC host William Richardson said.
Most U.S. shootings are done by men, but the Wisconsin school attack is an exception
Authorities say a 15-year-old girl carried out the shooting that killed two and wounded several at a Wisconsin school. Female shooters are relatively rare, statistically speaking.