Minnesota Unknown

In the early 20th century, people across the country spent Halloween night cowering in terror, not from witches and ghosts and ghouls, but from roving bands of delinquent youth committing ever-more destructive and dangerous pranks. The town of Anoka, Minnesota, was no exception: buildings were burned down, windows shattered, outhouses tipped over, wagons were lifted onto rooftops, and a herd of co...

The Minnesota State Fair draws around 2 million fairgoers each year, more per day than any other fair in the nation. But how did it get started in the first place? In this episode, we'll explore the origins of the Great Minnesota Get-Together and track the fair's growth and evolution over its first fifty years. We'll see how a small territorial agricultural show grew into one of the state's most h...

At long last we come to the epic conclusion of our Prince mini-series! (We recommend listening to the previous two episodes if you haven't already.) Picking up where we left off in the last episode, we follow Prince's quixotic quest to become a movie star, see how Prince was almost replaced in his own movie, track the unlikely success of the film and album Purple Rain, learn how Prince gave us tha...

In 1977, an 18-year-old Prince arrived in New York city with a demo tape and dreams of becoming a star, determined to leave Minnesota behind forever. As fate would have it, Prince would indeed become a star, but only once he returned to his hometown, and the road to fame and fortune would include many bumps and hurdles to overcome. In this second part of our three-part series on the life and caree...

Prince’s legend looms so large that it often feels as if he simply descended from another realm. However, behind the Symbol was a flesh-and-blood human being who was greatly shaped by the city he grew up in. In this episode, we’ll look at Prince’s early life and the start of his career, digging into his family history, his first bands and musical experimentation, and exploring the way his Minneapo...

Over the course of his 57 years on this earth, musical legend and icon Prince Rogers Nelson crossed paths with countless people. We put out a call on social media asking for people's stories about their own encounters with Prince, and listeners, you delivered. Listen on as we share these listener tales. We want to greatly thank each and every one of you who took the time to write in. You can read...

We get a bit looney as we discuss the magnificent Gavia Immer , better known as the Common Loon. How did this unique water fowl beat out its far more popular avian competition—including the Scarlet Tanager, the Robin, the Goldfinch, and Meadowlark—to become the official state bird of Minnesota? And can they really shoot lasers out of their eyes? We'll answer at least one of those questions. To see...

This week we’ll be looking at the fascinating life and incredible legacy of Leeann Chin—chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and inventor of the cream cheese wonton. We’ll follow her story from 1930s China to her arrival in 1950s Minnesota, years during which she received nothing but discouragement from others, to her eventual triumph as a business mogul and culinary star, in part thanks to a fate...

Minnesota has no shortage of quirky monuments, statues, and roadside oddities. But which of these kitschy monuments is truly the best in the state? That’s what we asked YOU, the people, to decide! We’ve recently concluded Monument Madness 2026, a contest to decide which is the best roadside monument in the great state of Minnesota. Starting with a bracket of sixteen monuments, we put these roadsid...

How did Fort Snelling come to be built at Bdóte, a sacred site at the center of the homeland of the Dakota people? Join us for part two of our two-part examination of just how, exactly, the US came to claim this site. After delving deep into the backstory and setting the scene in our last episode, here we'll follow the 1805 mission of Lt. Zebulon Pike and take a close look at the supposed treaty t...

Bdóte, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, has been a site of incalculable spiritual, cultural, and historical significance to the Dakota people for centuries. However, today this sacred landscape is contained within an area officially known as the Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling. So how, exactly, did the area of Bdóte come to be claimed by the US government? It’s a stor...

“Did you know the city of Saint Paul used to be called ‘Pig’s Eye’?” It’s a favorite “fun fact” repeated by local know-it-alls, (note: as “know-it-alls” ourselves, we use that term with respect), confirmed by every book written to date on the history of Saint Paul. It’s a great story. There’s just one problem with it: most of it is not true. Join us as we learn the TRUE story of “Pig’s Eye” Parran...

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there have been zero recorded fatal bear attacks in Minnesota. However, that’s not technically true. Join us for the harrowing tale of the fatal bear attack THEY don’t want you to know about, which occurred in Mankato in 1934. To see images related to this episode, find links to other resources, and see our sources cited, check out our sh...

During WWII, one of the most daunting engineering challenges facing the military was how to design a bomb that could actually hit its intended target. University of Minnesota professor of psychology B. F. Skinner believed that he had the answer: the US could train pigeons to guide missiles. Aiding him in this Quixotic quest would be an unlikely partner: General Mills (yes, the cereal company). Joi...

This week, the Witch of November has come stealin' again as we bring you the truly EPIC tale of a storm that was remembered for decades by residents of Minnesota’s North Shore as the “Storm of the Century.” An inland cyclone blew across Lake Superior on November 27th, 28th, and 29th of 1905, sinking 29 ships and claiming 36 lives. This episode has everything, from the most harrowing shipwreck narr...

"The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy..." -Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Fifty years ago this week, the iron ore freighter S.S, Edmund Fitzgerald sank beneath the icy waters of Lake Superior, claiming the lives of 29 sailors. In this episode, we recount her harrowing final voyage, and examine why, out of the hundreds of shipwre...

Welcome everyone, to part two of a two-part series on what are alleged to be Minnesota’s most haunted houses. If you haven't listened to last week’s episode , we recommend that you do so, as this one picks up pretty much where that one left off. (Content Warning: suicide, death, and a brief allusion to sexual assault) Now, as a refresher, last week we discussed the Forepaugh mansion in St. Paul, w...

The Forepaugh mansion was built in 1870 for dry goods merchant and shoe manufacturer Joseph Forepaugh and his wife Mary. Today, the mansion is famous for two things: fine dining, and being among the most haunted places in the state. (Content Warning: suicide, death, sexual exploitation) Rumors of a haunting started soon after the historic mansion was converted into a restaurant in 1976. Customers...

Welcome to a very special BONUS episode of Minnesota Unknown! This is a companion piece to our first episode , which covered a bugle-playing chimney sweep named Skunky Norton who was a beloved local celebrity in St. Paul at the turn of the 20th century. You don’t necessarily have to have heard our first episode to understand this one, though we do hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already. O...

At the turn of the 20th century, the most beloved celebrity in St. Paul, Minnesota was a bugle-playing chimney sweep named Slunky Norton. For our inaugural episode, hosts Hannah, Alex, and Josie provide an origin story for Minnesota Unknown by bringing listeners along down a research rabbit hole that has been an obsession for these three local history nerds for years. The three used to work togeth...

Coming soon from from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Babe the Blue Ox, and Duck Duck Gray Duck: Minnesota Unknown — a brand-new local history podcast. Join Alex Weston, Josie Bergmann, and Hannah Norton, three local historians and major history nerds with years of experience leading tours and working at historic sites and museums. Each week we'll offer deep dives into Minnesota's storied past, with a s...