Minnesota Unknown

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>“Did you know the city of Saint Paul used to be called ‘Pig’s Eye’?”</p><p>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...

<p>According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there have been zero recorded fatal bear attacks in Minnesota. However, that’s not technically true.</p><p>Join us for the harrowing tale of the fatal bear...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>"The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead</p><p>When the skies of November turn gloomy..."</p><p>-Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald</p><p></p><p>Fifty years ago this week, the iron ore...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>Welcome to a very special BONUS episode of Minnesota Unknown!</p><p>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...

<p>At the turn of the 20th century, the most beloved celebrity in St. Paul, Minnesota was a bugle-playing chimney sweep named Slunky Norton.</p><p>For our inaugural episode, hosts Hannah, Alex, and Josie provide an...

<p>Coming soon from from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Babe the Blue Ox, and Duck Duck Gray Duck:</p><p>Minnesota Unknown — a brand-new local history podcast.</p><p>Join Alex Weston, Josie Bergmann, and Hannah Norton, three...