History

Fire damages one of the oldest buildings in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis Park Board said the damage is “extensive,” though the house — one of the oldest residential structures in the city — remains standing in Minnehaha Regional Park.
How a history teacher and 13 Black students shaped the civil rights movement
One of the first lunch counter sit-ins of the civil rights movement took place in Oklahoma City in 1958. This weekend, the city remembers the protest and its organizer, Clara Luper.
The Cold War to Brittney Griner: a new twist in U.S.-Russia prisoner swaps
The U.S. and Russia are trying to work out a prisoner exchange that involves basketball star Brittney Griner. While they've done deals for decades, the trading usually involves spies for spies.
Tall ships — and crowds — set to arrive in Two Harbors this week
Up to 30,000 people are expected in Two Harbors this week, starting Thursday, for the Festival of Sail. The four-day event features replicas of historic sailing ships of yore.
Holocaust survivor Lucy K. Smith dies at 89
Funeral services were held Friday morning for St. Paul resident and Holocaust survivor Lucy K. Smith. During WWII in Poland she and her mother hid for six years and were never caught.
Preservation group hopes to reignite conversations with DNR about fate of Manfred House
The fate of the Frederick Manfred House in Blue Mounds State Park is still undecided. It’s been closed to the public for years after suffering extensive water damage. A preservation group wants it repaired and reopened, but its current owner, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is proposing another plan which will only save the famed novelist’s writing room.
Canadian couple approaches the end of oxcart trek across Minnesota
A Canadian couple retracing the 1800s oxcart trail from Winnipeg to St. Paul plan to end their journey this week despite a variety of challenges that slowed their progress.
Tom Askjem on outhouse archaeology
Tom Askjem is a citizen historian and archivist who has made a career of digging bottles, dish fragments and other forgotten relics of the past in outhouse pits.
Split Rock Lighthouse historic site back open after lightning strike knocked out utilities
Split Rock Lighthouse historic site on the North Shore is back open, after a lightning bolt struck the grounds, raced through the historic site’s electrical system and knocked out water, power and a variety of other functions on Monday.