Catalog
March of the Governors: Mark Dayton
Tom Beer and Paul NelsonMark Dayton, Minnesota’s fortieth governor, was the oldest to assume that office for the first time at sixty-three. He stepped into the role with vast political experience. In the 1970s, he served as legislative aide and Minnesota Economic Development commissioner and later worked four years as state auditor and six…
March of the Governors: Jesse Ventura
Paul Nelson, Matt Wright, and Ken PetersonTo call our thirty-eighth governor, Jesse Ventura, unique is to engage in understatement. He was Minnesota’s first third-party governor since Elmer Benson in 1936. Though he ran on the Reform Party ticket, that party elected no one else, so he had no allies in the legislature. His plurality, 37% of…
March of the Governors: Arne Carlson
Paul Nelson and Tom BeerArne Carlson, Minnesota’s thirty-seventh governor, was a Swede and a progressive Republican, like several before him, but unlike them, too. He grew up poor in New York City and had no connection to the dominant Harold Stassen political lineage. Carlson came to Minnesota for graduate school—then won election after election:…
Ramsey County History Spring 2024
Paul Nelson, Drew Ross, Wendy Rossi, Meredith CummingsVolume 59, Number 2: Spring 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2024 Articles in this issue: The Fraud of the Century Author: Paul Nelson According to author Paul Nelson, “The human desire for wealth without risk and the capacity for self-delusion make an…
Decisions, Destiny, and Dreams: Plympton’s Reserve, St. Paul’s Founding, and Desnoyer’s New Bridge Square
Drew M. RossThe Desnoyer Halfway House located on the St. Anthony Falls-St. Paul Road attracted soldiers from Fort Snelling, residents from growing villages along the Mississippi, and tourists traveling to the area to glimpse the cascading St. Anthony Falls. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. By Drew M. Ross To see this…
Stephen Desnoyer’s Halfway House
Drew M. RossBy Drew M. Ross Stephen Desnoyer is said to be the first permanent resident in Rose Township. He built a tavern on the thoroughfare of the St. Anthony/St. Paul Road which ran roughly along the route of today’s Interstate 94. The establishment was situated just west of what would become…
A Litigious Man: Select Court Cases of Stephen Desnoyer
Drew M. RossBy Drew M. Ross Early St. Paulite Stephen Desnoyer slipped through the cracks of history. For years, we knew little about him. Even now, we have yet to find a photograph of him and know of only two descriptions of his appearance: short, rotund, jovial, fat (a total of four…
March of the Governors, Governor #36: Rudy Perpich Part II
Paul Nelson and Anne FieldPart II: Following his gubernatorial defeat in 1978, Rudy Perpich (1928-1995) spent a few years in Vienna, Austria, working as a trade representative for Control Data Corporation, but it wasn’t long before he began planning another run for the state’s highest role. Voters remembered him fondly and ushered him back…
Ramsey County History Winter 2024
Nicole Foss, Linda Kohl, Krista Finstad Hanson, Renoir Gaither, Mary Lethert WingerdVolume 59, Number 1: Winter 2024 Link to download PDF of full issue of RCHS Winter 2024 Magazine Articles in this Issue: Architect of St. Paul’s West Side: H. Emil Strassburger Author: Nicole Foss Link to N. Foss article PDF Additional Resources:…