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Curious Minnesota

More from Curious Minnesota

How a 40-ton grain elevator crossed over the Rapidan Dam

The 1949 journey of a grain elevator across fields, a river and up a hill looms large in local memory.
March 21, 2025

Is the IDS Center really Minnesota’s tallest building?

Ranking Minneapolis' skyline gems is more complicated than it may seem.
March 14, 2025

What’s the story behind Minnesota’s ‘UFO car’?

A 1979 strange encounter near Warren mysteriously damaged a deputy’s squad car.
March 7, 2025

75 years ago a plane crashed into a Minneapolis family’s house. What happened?

The crash of Flight 307 took place during a March 1950 snowstorm.
February 28, 2025

What’s the smallest town in Minnesota with a mayor?

In tiny locales, populations are dynamic. One resident leaving can alter rankings.
February 21, 2025

Who decides what’s allowed on a vanity plate in Minnesota?

The state’s Driver and Vehicle Service’s Special Plates Unit carefully considers combinations of letters and numbers.
February 14, 2025

Why is the loon Minnesota’s state bird? It almost didn’t happen.

Lawmakers considered the goldfinch. Kids liked the scarlet tanager best. The whole thing took more than three decades.
February 7, 2025

What happened to Barbara and Melissa? Revisiting the unsolved 1963 murder of two Minneapolis girls.

In 1963, two Minneapolis girls were murdered. Despite national news coverage and a law enforcement manhunt, no one was ever convicted. Six decades later, the Minnesota Star Tribune revisits the case.
January 31, 2025

Why did the Excelsior Amusement Park on Lake Minnetonka close?

With a wooden roller coaster and lakeside setting, the popular park once offered free rides for good grades.
January 24, 2025

What’s the story behind Hermantown’s little brick houses?

The 1930s Jackson Project built dozens, aiming to ease urban crowding and give families a way to grow food and keep animals.
January 17, 2025

This was the first bridge over the Mississippi River — but how did people cross before that?

Minneapolis’ first bridge opened in 1855 with a parade of horse-drawn sleighs and a giant dinner party.
January 10, 2025

How did Minnesota become the birthplace of ski jumping in America?

Red Wing’s ‘Sky Crasher’ found glory flying through the air in the 1880s. Now, just four big jumps are left.
January 3, 2025
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