Minnesota History

Cap Wigington, St. Paul's architect
Of the approximately 100,000 architects in the United States in 2005, only about 1,500 were African-American, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This fact makes the story of Clarence "Cap" Wigington even more remarkable.
Central Corridor: Sons of Rondo on opposite sides
Not everyone whose families lost their Rondo neighborhood houses to the I-94 freeway project in the 1950s and '60s is fighting light rail. Here are three men who have emerged in the Central Corridor debate, and whose own lives have been touched by Rondo.
Minn. veteran recalls his role in revealing Holocaust to the world
Red Wing resident Gordon Fisher enlisted in the Air Force in 1942 to avoid being drafted into the infantry. Toward the end of World War II, he received an assignment that would unveil the atrocities of the Holocaust.
The first hockey 'miracle,' at the 1960 Olympics
Most everybody remembers the famous "Miracle on Ice" gold medal win by the underdog U.S. hockey team at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980. But 50 years ago, there was another overachieving hockey team that came away with gold.
On this rare map, China is the center of the world
A rarely seen 400-year-old map that put China at the center of the world went on display Tuesday at the Library of Congress. It will eventually be housed at the University of Minnesota.
Remembering Pearl Harbor
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, marking the entry of the United States into World War II. American RadioWorks Executive Producer Stephen Smith has listened to some audio recordings from those first days of war. He joins Midday to talk about what Americans heard back in 1941.
Schmidt Brewery to sell pristine spring water
Long before glaciers rolled through Minnesota, a massive pool of water circulated throughout the Twin Cities, and soon, residents will be able to line up at a well in St. Paul, and fill up their jugs with the water that experts say is about 30,000 years old.
Mondale's role in saving 'boat people' recalled, 30 years later
In the years following the end of the Vietnam War, thousands of Vietnamese risked the dangers of the South China Sea instead of facing communism. This year marks 30 years since then-Vice President Walter Mondale convinced world leaders to come to the rescue of more than 1 million "boat people" -- many of whom settled in Minnesota.
Longtime Minn. farmer dies of exposure, brother hospitalized
A 95-year-old man from northwestern Minnesota is hospitalized after he went out looking for his older brother who had wandered off. The brother later died.