Minnesota History

In Elmore, an effort to keep the Mondale legacy alive
Former Vice President and U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale grew up in Elmore, just north of the Iowa border. Now, a few people want to put this tiny town on the map by listing Mondale's childhood home on the National Register of Historic Places.
South St. Paul history teacher mourns demolition of stockyard landmark
The Armour Gates that stood in South St. Paul for over a hundred years are coming down despite efforts to save them. Social studies teacher Mark Westpfahl got his students involved in the push for preservation.
The Edmund Fitzgerald sinking: Remembering the Great Lakes shipwreck 50 years later
50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, killing 29 men. MPR News guest host Dan Kraker talks with a Great Lakes historian about the ship’s final, fateful voyage and what the ore carrier’s shocking sinking means to Minnesotans. 
50 years later, the legacy of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald looms as large as ever
The exact cause of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking is still a mystery, but the lasting legacy is this: There were more than 6,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes in the century prior to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Not one commercial vessel has sunk since.
New documentary follows divers down to wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald
Executive producer Joe Augustine joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition Thursday to talk about making the short film and the divers’ theories behind the Fitzgerald’s fate.
Minnesota's first Black female attorney gets her own street
A Minneapolis street once named after segregationist Edmund Walton has been renamed to honor Lena Olive Smith, Minnesota's first Black female attorney.
Record attendance expected for Edmund Fitzgerald memorial ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse
Organizers of the annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota’s North Shore say next month’s event is now sold out — with record-breaking attendance expected on the 50th anniversary of the wreck.