Curious Minnesota

Latest Episodes:

Why did Minneapolis close Nicollet Avenue for a Kmart? Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

Anyone who has spent time in south Minneapolis over the last 50 years has likely run across the unusual intersection at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue. These are two of the city's most important thoroughfares. But the city decided in the 1970s to close Nicollet at Lake Street so a Kmart store could extend over a portion of two blocks. Adelie Bergström joins host Eric Roper to discuss what led to this controversial decision.

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Why did Minneapolis close Nicollet Avenue for a Kmart?

Why did Minnesota erase much of its German culture? Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

Minnesota is known for its Scandinavian roots, which are apparent in everything from the Vikings football team to the Norwegian bachelor farmers of Lake Wobegon. But more residents report having German ancestry than Scandinavian. So why isn't that German heritage more reflected more in the state's culture?

Reporter Greta Kaul joins host Eric Roper to discuss the effort to erase German culture in the state around World War I.

LINKS:

Why did Minnesota erase much of its German culture?

Is Minnesota actually more German than Scandinavian?

What is the oldest tree in Minnesota? Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

We've talked about some old things on the podcast, including the state's oldest building and one of the world's oldest rocks. Today's episode is about a journey to visit another Minnesota artifact: the state's oldest known tree. Star Tribune cartographer Jake Steinberg and photographer Anthony Soufflé join host Eric Roper to discuss their winter trip to the Boundary Waters to report on this topic.

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This ancient tree is one of the oldest in Minnesota. The warming climate might kill it.

Emptying state institutions was supposed to help fix mental health care. What happened? Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

Like many states, Minnesota shuttered the controversial institutions that once housed mentally ill people. But the plan to replace these facilities with new types of treatment options remains incomplete. Reporter Chris Snowbeck joins host Eric Roper to discuss the important and complex history of mental health care in Minnesota.

LINKS:

Emptying state institutions was supposed to help fix mental health care. What happened?

Chris Snowbeck's 2023 series on mental health care: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

How did gambling develop into a major industry in Minnesota? May 31, 2024

Show notes

Minnesotans wanting to gamble have many options these days. They can visit a Native American casino, buy scratch-off games at a gas station, yank open pull-tabs at a bar or even play bingo at a church fish fry. But this is a fairly recent phenomenon. Reporter Alex Chhith joins host Eric Roper to discuss the history of gambling in Minnesota.

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How did gambling develop into a major industry in Minnesota?

Searching for Snoopy: What happened to all the 'Peanuts' statues in St. Paul? May 17, 2024

Show notes

It was difficult to walk around downtown St. Paul in the early 2000s without running into Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and Charlie Brown. Over five summers, the "Peanuts on Parade" public art campaign peppered the beloved comic strip characters throughout creator Charles Schulz's hometown. Reporter Katie Galioto joins host Eric Roper to discuss the background of this project, and where some of these statues can be found today.

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Searching for Snoopy: What happened to all the 'Peanuts' statues in St. Paul?

What Minnesota inventions have shaped modern life? May 02, 2024

Show notes

Pacemakers, Post-it notes and Spam rank among the state's best-known inventions. But creative Minnesotans devised hundreds of other products we take for granted. Reporter Brooks Johnson dug into this issue for Curious Minnesota and found so many interesting Minnesota inventions that he wrote two stories.

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What Minnesota inventions have shaped modern life?

Skid-steers, Softsoap and Nerf: 8 more Minnesota inventions that changed the world

What roles did Minnesota's Native American chiefs play? And who were some notable ones? Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

The familiar image of a stoic Native American chief wearing a headdress is in many ways a core American cultural stereotype. It has been memorialized in films and statutes, as well as exploited to sell cigarettes and motorcycles. But who are these celebrated figures of the past? Mark Boswell joins host Eric Roper to discuss the roles that Native American chiefs played and introduce some of the state's most prominent chiefs.

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Garbage graphic / River wall graphic

What roles did Minnesota's Native American chiefs play? And who were some notable ones? (February 2024 Curious Minnesota story)

In the Footsteps of Little Crow (eBook)

Why does Maplewood have such an odd shape? Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

Maplewood arguably has the strangest border of any city in the Twin Cities metro area. Its L shape wraps around the northern and eastern edges of St. Paul. The origins of that border reveals an interesting history of development patterns in the east metro. Reporter Greta Kaul joins host Eric Roper to discuss how Maplewood was born out of leftover land -- and became home to a signature Minnesota company.

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Why does Maplewood have such an odd shape?

Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs? (Podcast, May 2023)

Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs? (Story, March 2023)

How did Northfield become home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges? Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

St. Olaf and Carleton colleges have left a big mark on the world. Their alumni have reached the highest levels of entertainment, the arts, politics and the legal system. A reader wanted to know how these two prominent private colleges ended up in Northfield, a small city just south of the Twin Cities metro area.

Reporter Trey Mewes, who wrote a story on this topic for Curious Minnesota, discusses the interesting tale behind these institutions with host Eric Roper.

LINKS:

How did Northfield become home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges? (February 2024 Curious Minnesota article)