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Social Issues

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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Part 3: The incident at Acton

Part 3: The incident at Acton

This was the incident that started the U.S.-Dakota War. A steel plaque was added to the monument in the 1960s, which describes what happened.

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Part 7: The spark that ignites the war

Part 7: The spark that ignites the war

That brings us back to where we began our story, to that farmyard in Acton where the four young Dakota men killed the five settlers.

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Part 9: Sibley chosen to defeat the Dakota

Part 9: Sibley chosen to defeat the Dakota

The man appointed to lead a force to defeat the Dakota was Henry Sibley -- the fur trader who served as Minnesota's first governor from 1858-1860, and who helped orchestrate the treaties of 1851.

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Part 2: Mankato's history largely hidden

Part 2: Mankato's history largely hidden

In setting out to understand what happened in southern Minnesota in 1862, I asked Gwen Westerman to be my guide. I grew up in Mankato, a white kid, knowing next to nothing about the bloody history that happened beneath my feet. Gwen, a Dakota tribal member, got a teaching job and moved to Mankato, also knowing nothing about that history.

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Little War on the Prairie

Little War on the Prairie

It was 150 years ago this month that the U.S.-Dakota war ended with one of the most noteworthy events in Minnesota history -- the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato. We tell the story from the perspective of John Biewen, a Mankato native who heard next to nothing about the war during his childhood there.

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Part 10: Payback for the Dakota - banishment

Part 10: Payback for the Dakota - banishment

The Dakota are banished from Minnesota, as payback for the war. Even those who didn't participate, or who opposed the war outright, were made to suffer.

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Photos: The U.S.-Dakota War, remembered

Photos: The U.S.-Dakota War, remembered

A photographic telling of the story of the Dakota War of 1862, and the repercussions it still triggers today for many people in Minnesota.

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Why good financial decisions require time

Why good financial decisions require time

Have you made poor decisions in your life because you couldn't slow down to think critically about your choices? Do you give yourself enough time to make good decisions, especially with regard to your financial affairs?
by Chris Farrell

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Merck Foundation stops giving to Boy Scouts

Merck's charitable foundation has stopped giving money to the Boy Scouts of America.

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