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St. Paul’s Indian burial mounds are among the state’s oldest human-made...
The six burial mounds at St. Paul’s Indian Mounds Park are among the oldest human-made structures in Minnesota. Along with mounds in Crow Wing, Itasca, and Beltrami Counties, they are some of the...
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Minnesota and Wisconsin’s own Platteville limestone totally rocks
Platteville limestone is a distinctive building stone of southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin characterized by its gray color, rough texture, and many fossils. It was heavily used in the...
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St. Paul’s first murderer: Edward Phelan (probably)
Paul NelsonThe first murder to reach the courts of what would become Minnesota took place during the early infancy of St. Paul, in the late summer of 1839. Though both victim and main suspect were...
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On 14th anniversary of his death, remembering the career of Sen. Paul Wellstone
Paul NelsonSen. Paul WellstonePaul Wellstone once described himself by saying, “I’m short, I’m Jewish, and I’m a liberal.” He was also a Southerner, a college professor, and a rural community organizer...
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Minnesota’s Morton gneiss is one nice-looking stone
Paul NelsonMorton gneiss (pronounced “nice”), named for the town in Renville County where it has been quarried, is one of the oldest stones on the planet: about 3.5 billion years old. It is known for...
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Duluth’s Glensheen estate is one of the best-preserved mansions of its kind...
Paul NelsonGlensheen, a mansion and grounds completed in 1908 on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, was built by Chester and Clara Congdon. It is famous for its beauty inside and out, and as the...
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Remembering Minnesota’s Freedom Riders
Paul NelsonCourtesy of the Minnesota Historical SocietyThe Minnesota Freedom Riders on July 26, 1961, after their return to Minnesota. Pictured are (left to right) Marvin Davidov, Zev Aelony, David...
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Lawyer, civil rights campaigner and diplomat: the life of William T. Francis
Paul NelsonCourtesy of the Minnesota Historical SocietyWilliam T. Francis, ca. 1904.William T. Francis, Minnesota’s first African American diplomat, served as U.S. Minister and Consul to Liberia, West...
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A disappearing ecosystem: Minnesota’s oak savannas
Paul NelsonOak savannas — open grassland studded by tall, spreading oak trees — once covered 10 percent of Minnesota, mostly in the southeast quarter of the state. They are an attractive ecosystem for...
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All about chemistry: The remarkable career of the University of Minnesota’s...
Paul NelsonUniversity of MinnesotaIzaak Kolthoff, 1952Izaak Maurits Kolthoff was a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Minnesota from 1927 to 1962. He published over a thousand...
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Church of St. Columba: ‘A high point of modern church architecture in the...
Paul NelsonThe Church of St. Columba in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood is the only Minnesota work by the Chicago architect Francis Barry Byrne. Architectural historian and critic Larry Millett...
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