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Minnesota History

In Duluth, a quest for a home for a historic replica Viking ship

In Duluth, a quest for a home for a historic replica Viking ship

The ship from the 1920s was placed on public display at the Festival of Sail in Duluth this week. For more than 30 years, a group of volunteers has been working to restore the ship, and to build it a permanent home to honor a feat of sailing.
by Dan Kraker

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It's a playful rivalry now, but competition between Mpls. and St. Paul was once fierce

It's a playful rivalry now, but competition between Mpls. and St. Paul was once fierce

As Minneapolis and St. Paul wrangled to gain the upper hand in the late 19th century, the 1890 census got caught in the middle. Non-existent addresses, counting graveyard “residents” — nothing, it seems, was out of bounds as each city sought the prestige of being the larger city.
by Emily Bright

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Photos: Documenting 1967's 'Fiery Unrest' in Minneapolis

Photos: Documenting 1967's 'Fiery Unrest' in Minneapolis

A new audio documentary — “A Fiery Unrest: Why Plymouth Avenue Burned” — digs into the simmering conflicts that boiled over in north Minneapolis in the Long Hot Summer of 1967. The pictures reveal the destruction.
by Nancy Rosenbaum

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LIVE: Teaching the U.S.-Dakota War

LIVE: Teaching the U.S.-Dakota War

Producer John Biewen and other guests participate in a live video conversation following Biewen's "Little War on the Prairie" documentary about the U.S.-Dakota War, and how to teach students about that event.

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Part 12: Minnesota forgets her history

Part 12: Minnesota forgets her history

For a short time after the war, Wingerd says, Minnesotans were triumphant at having beaten back the savage Indians. They relished the story. But then the events fade from memory.

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Part 4: The white government pressured tribes for land

Part 4: The white government pressured tribes for land

To get more of the story, Gwen and I drive to a small museum. From the outside, it looks like one of those wayside rest buildings. It sits on Highway 169 about 15 miles north of Mankato, just outside St. Peter, the town where I went to college.

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Part 6: The buildup to war

Part 6: The buildup to war

Gwen Westerman and I have driven west, out on the prairie, for the next part of the story -- the buildup to the war.

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Part 8: The war spreads across the prairie

Part 8: The war spreads across the prairie

The morning after Little Crow's speech, and after the murders at the Acton farm -- Aug. 18, 1862 -- several hundred Dakota warriors, led by Little Crow, started their assault at the federal outpost that sat on their land: the Lower Sioux Agency.

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Part 11: The condemned end up in Mankato

Part 11: The condemned end up in Mankato

Back in Mankato, we're in an old park, which is a favorite place of mine. This same spot is where the Dakota men ended up -- the ones who turned themselves in after Henry Sibley promised to treat them fairly. And it was where many of them were condemned to death.

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The Dakota War through a Minnesotan's eyes

The Dakota War through a Minnesotan's eyes

It was 150 years ago this month that the U.S.-Dakota war ended with one of the most noteworthy events in Minneosta history -- the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato. We hear the story today from the perspective of a Mankato native -- longtime public radio producer John Biewen. John heard next to nothing about the U.S.-Dakota War during his childhood there. Over the past year, John traveled southern Minnesota to places where key events occurred, so he could explore what happened in all its complexity.

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