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March of the Governors: Arne Carlson

Paul Nelson and Tom Beer

Arne 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:…

Growing Up In Frogtown: Little Women, Little Houses, Lots of Work, (and a Little Play)

Wendy Rossi

Young Wendy Hams’ Gumpa Guy surprised her with a dollhouse on her third birthday. It was designed to replicate the family home at 435 Charles Avenue. Photo courtesy of Wendy Rossi. By Wendy Rossi To see the complete magazine with endnotes and images, please view the PDF version.  …

Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, & Living Connections to the Cosmos

Reviewed by Meredith Cummings

Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, & Living Connections to the Cosmos Photography by Travis Novitsky; Text by Annette S. Lee St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2023 154 pages; paperback, 117 color illustrations, $19.95   “. .

March of the Governors, Governor #36: Rudy Perpich Part II

Paul Nelson and Anne Field

Part 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…

March of the Governors: Al Quie

Paul Nelson and Tom O'Connell

Albert H. Quie (1923-2023) left a safe seat in Congress after twenty years to run for governor in 1978. In that, his timing was good. He rode around the “Minnesota Massacre” and into office as the state’s thirty-fifth governor along with fellow Republicans Dave Durenberger and Rudy Boschwitz, who were…

March of the Governors: Rudy Perpich

Paul Nelson and Anne Field

March of the Governors, Governor #34 Rudy Perpich (Series Podcast #37) Rudy Perpich (1928-1995) served as Minnesota’s thirty-fourth governor in the years 1977 and 1978. He got there by succession when Wendell Anderson resigned. Perpich then appointed Anderson to the US…

March of the Governors: Wendell Anderson

Ken Peterson and Paul Nelson

March of the Governors, Governor #33 Wendell Anderson (Series Podcast #36) Before an ignominious electoral end, Wendell “Wendy” Anderson was one of Minnesota’s most significant and popular governors. Born and raised on St. Paul’s East Side, he had been an Olympic hockey…

March of the Governors: Harold Levander

Paul Nelson, Matt Wright

March of the Governors, Governor #32 Harold Levander (Series Podcast #35) Harold Levander (1910-1982) ran for political office once in his long life, in 1966. He defeated incumbent governor Karl Rolvaag, served four years, and never ran for office again. He had been…

March of the Governors: Karl Fritjof Rolvaag

Tom Beer, Paul Nelson

March of the Governors, Governor #31 Karl Fritjof Rolvaag (Series Podcast #34) Karl Fritjof Rolvaag (1913-1990) grew up in Northfield, the son of acclaimed novelist Ole Rolvaag. Upon his father’s untimely death in 1931, Rolvaag roamed the West for five years, working…