Curious Minnesota

In some parts of Minnesota, buying a case of beer or a bottle of wine means visiting a city-owned liquor store -- or "muni." Minnesota's law allowing cities to have a monopoly over liquor sales within their boundaries is unlike most other states. Host Eric Roper talks with Maya Marchel Hoff about the Prohibition-era history behind Minnesota's municipal liquor stores. LINKS: Why does Minnesota have...

Minnesota's largest city, Minneapolis, is much smaller than cities elsewhere in the country that it considers peers -- like Seattle and Denver. This is partly because the city did not annex its surrounding suburbs. (It is also because Minneapolis and St. Paul never merged, a topic for a future episode.) Eric Roper joins host Ash Miller to discuss why the greater Minneapolis area fragmented into a...

Gray squirrels are so plentiful in cities today that it is difficult to imagine urban life without them. But their introduction to Minneapolis parks in the early 1900s was carefully orchestrated by park superintendent Theodore Wirth. Reporter Susan Du joins host Eric Roper to discuss how Wirth supplanted red squirrels with gray ones -- and the pitfalls of attempting to control nature. LINKS: Did a...

The towers now known as Riverside Plaza are among the most recognizable buildings in Minneapolis. Their colorful panels make them easy to spot from the busy freeways that surround the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. But these buildings were supposed to be just the first phase an ambitious, utopian plan to transform this area. What happened? Adelie Bergström joins host Eric Roper to discuss why this...

Many Minnesotans today grew up when the Weatherball was one of the most prominent landmarks of Minneapolis' skyline. The massive sign stood atop the Northwestern National Bank building between 1949 and 1983. John Reinan joins host Eric Roper to discuss where this well-known Twin Cities artifact ended up, and its history in downtown. LINKS: What happened to Minneapolis' famous Weatherball? (Februar...

Billions of bullets flowed from the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills in its heyday during World War II. The campus was home to about 25,000 employees during the war, about half of them women. Today it is one of the largest shovel-ready development sites in the metro area. Shannon Prather joins host Eric Roper to discuss the unique history of the plant. LINKS: How a Twin Cities ammu...

The Mall of America is one of Minnesota's most well-known landmarks, three decades after it was built in Bloomington. But why was the country's largest indoor shopping center constructed in Minnesota? Nadine Manske joins host Eric Roper to discuss the history of this unique place. LINKS: Why was the Mall of America built in Minnesota? (December 2022 Curious Minnesota article)

Let's talk about Minnesota's favorite topic: The weather. Minnesota's bitter winters are part of the state's national identity. But how cold is it, really? Is it really colder than the North Pole? Ash Miller talks to Eric Roper about why the answer isn't as simple as it may seem. Why does Minnesota sometimes get colder than the North Pole? (December 2021 Curious Minnesota story) Read about the col...

Minnesota's largest window companies, Marvin and Andersen Windows & Doors, are well known across the nation. The state actually has the second-highest concentration of window and door manufacturing jobs in the country. So how did Minnesota become a window hub? Reporter Nick Williams joins host Eric Roper to discuss the industry's history in the state. LINKS: SURVEY: Help us improve the Curious Min...

About 45% of single-family homes in Minneapolis have stucco siding, along with nearly a third of the homes in St. Paul. What's behind this trend among older homes in the Twin Cities? Reporter Nancy Ngo joins host Eric Roper to discuss the reasons the region has so many stucco homes. LINKS: SURVEY: Help us improve the Curious Minnesota podcast Why are there so many stucco homes in the Twin Cities?...

Like in flour and lumber milling, Minnesota companies once dominated the field of supercomputing. Firms like Univac, Control Data and Cray Research built some of the fastest computers in the world. But their success didn't last, despite the growth of the computer industry overall. Evan Ramstad joins host Eric Roper to discuss the origins of these companies, and why they faded from the spotlight. L...

Minnesota has more residents of Finnish ancestry than any other state. That's the result of mass immigration from Finland that occurred in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The story of Finns immigrating to Minnesota is distinct from the Swedes and Norwegians. Eric Roper, who wrote a story on this topic, discusses the reasons why with Ash Miller. LINKS: Why did Finnish immigrants come to Minnesota?...

It has been more than 30 years since one of the most bizarre elections in recent Minnesota history. The Republican-endorsed candidate for governor, Jon Grunseth, withdrew from the race just days before Election Day amid a cloud of allegations. His last-minute replacement on the ballot, Arne Carlson, went on to defeat DFL incumbent Rudy Perpich -- the state's longest-serving governor. Reporter Rand...

Father Louis Hennepin's name is prevalent around the Twin Cities. The state's most populous county is named after this 17th century Catholic priest, as are a prominent Minneapolis avenue and countless public facilities. So who was Father Hennepin? Kevin Duchschere joins Ash Miller to discuss Hennepin's travels in Minnesota, and why his name became so closely affiliated with the area. LINKS: Who wa...

Historical markers peppered around Minnesota help keep the state’s rich history alive. But few are as intriguing — and controversial — as the landmark for Minnesota’s most ancient artifact: the “World’s Oldest Rock.” Eric Roper and Ash Miller discuss the 3.5-billion-year-old history behind this claim on a historical marker in Granite Falls. And they delve into the reasons why Minnesota boasts some...

Minnesota's flour milling prowess is a well-known part of the state's history. But the area's milling legacy began with sawmills that turned the state's white pine trees into lumber. By 1905, Minneapolis was the top lumber market in the world. Transporting these logs to mills was no easy task. The Star Tribune's Christa Lawler joins host Eric Roper to discuss the logistics of how this booming indu...

The John H. Stevens House in Minnehaha Park is arguably the most important structure relating to Minneapolis' origin story. But the exterior of the property is in rough shape after years of deferred maintenance. Eric Roper and Ash Miller discuss the unique history of the house, and why it has been allowed to deteriorate. LINKS: Why has the Park Board allowed the 'birthplace of Minneapolis' to dete...

Minnesota has more residents of Norwegian and Swedish ancestry than any other state, due to a wave of immigration from those countries in the 19th Century. But why did those immigrants choose Minnesota? Eric Roper and Ash Miller discuss the factors that caused people to leave Scandinavian countries in the 1800s, and how Minnesota became a major destination. LINKS: Why did Scandinavian immigrants c...

Any list of the most famous Minnesotans who ever lived should include Charles Lindbergh, who became a worldwide celebrity when he completed the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris in 1927. But Lindbergh's controversial statements and actions in the years preceding Pearl Harbor have become an enduring aspect of his legacy. The Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere joins the show to discuss Lindbe...

Some people believe that the battle of Gettysburg would have ended differently had it not been for the heroism of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry regiment. Their sacrifice in 1863 is a landmark event from Minnesota's early history as a state. Readers wanted to know why it isn't better remembered today. The Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere joins the show to discuss the battle and the First Mi...

While "Fargo" is undoubtedly the most famous movie filmed in Minnesota, it was far from the first. Star Tribune movie critic Chris Hewitt talks with host Ash Miller about the film "Free Air," which shot in Minnesota during the early 1920s. It is a film that -- quite possibly -- no living person has ever actually seen. What was the first movie filmed in Minnesota?  (December 2021 Curious Minnesota...

Nicollet Island is arguably the most unusual park in a city known for its parks. Located beside downtown Minneapolis, it is an oasis of green space in the heart of the urban core. It was once home to some of the city's most prominent industrialists, as well as factories powered by the Mississippi River. But it has undergone a major transformation in roughly the last half century. Chris and Rushika...

What do a medieval French prince and an 1800s Minnesota sawmill owner have in common? They're both key figures in the wild story of how the city of St. Cloud got its name. The Star Tribune's St. Cloud reporter Jenny Berg joins host Ash Miller to share the tale and talk about the series of equally strange events that followed. LINKS: How did St. Cloud get its name? (July 2021 Curious Minnesota arti...

Generating electricity and getting it to houses and businesses across Minnesota is a round-the-clock effort that is easy to take for granted. Star Tribune energy reporter Mike Hughlett joins host Eric Roper to discuss where Minnesota's power comes from, how it's distributed and who oversees our regional power grid. LINKS: Where does Twin Cities electricity come from and how is it delivered to home...

The Minnesota accent is ubiquitous in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But where does it come from? Keely Wolter, a Richfield-based accent and dialogue coach, joins the Star Tribune's Hannah Sayle and Rachel Hutton to discuss the accent's origins and what defines this uniquely Minnesotan way of speaking. LINKS: Why do Minnesotans have accents? (Nov. 2021 Curious Minnesota article)