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March of the Governors, Governor #12, Knute Nelson

Paul Nelson and Tyler Taylor

Knute Nelson (1843-1923) spent two years as governor of Minnesota on his way to becoming a representative in the US Senate, where he served for twenty-eight years. Nelson was the first prominent Scandinavian-American politician in Minnesota and in the United States. He immigrated from Voss, Norway, to…

March of the Governors, Governor #11, William Merriam

Tom O'Connell and Paul Nelson

William Merriam (1849-1931) was the first Minnesota governor born into wealth and the first to break an unwritten code of the Minnesota Republican Party when he wrested the party’s nomination from the incumbent governor, Andrew McGill, in 1888. He proved a much better vote-getter than McGill (that…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2022: “Fifty Years of Friendship Connected in Community Service: The Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated”

Marion Jones Kennon

Fifty Years of Friendship Connected in Community Service: The Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated Author: Marion Jones Kennon In 1972, sixteen women joined in friendship and service to charter the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. Today, their chapter is one of 292 across most…

March of the Governors, Governor #10, Andrew McGill

Paul Nelson and Tom OConnell

Andrew McGill (1840-1905), our tenth governor, served one tumultuous term in office after thirteen years as state insurance commissioner. Because of divisions in the Republican Party and the strength of his main opponent, Alonzo Ames, he won by only 2,600 votes in the election of 1886. After…

The March of Governors, Governor #9, Lucius F. Hubbard

Paul Nelson and Fred Johnson

Possessing little more than a drive to be a success, 21-year-old Lucius F. Hubbard reached Red Wing in spring 1857. Unimposing in size and stature, the clean-shaven, boyish New York-born newcomer appeared a long shot to make it on the rugged Minnesota frontier. But by age thirty,…

The March of Governors, Governor #7, Cushman Davis

Paul Nelson and Ken Peterson

Minnesota’s seventh governor, Cushman Davis, served only one term from 1874 to 1876 during which most of the state recovered from the Panic of 1873. Highlights of his time in office include amending the state’s constitution to allow women to vote in school board elections and serve on the…

History Revealed: St. Paul: An Urban Biography

Bill Lindeke

St. Paul: An Urban Biography With Bill Lindeke History Revealed Series Program Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021 Video on YouTube In partnership with the Roseville Library and the East Side Freedom Library Author Bill Lindeke will share stories and research from his new…

The March of the Governors, Special Edition, The US Dakota War of 1862

Paul Nelson, Sydney Beane, Mary Lethert Wingerd, and Rebekah Coffman

The US Dakota War of 1862 was a unique event in Minnesota history. In his book, Massacre in Minnesota, the eminent historian Gary Clayton Anderson calls it “the most violent ethnic conflict in American history.” It was a calamity that we Minnesotans are still trying to deal with…

History Revealed: Upper Post Fort Snelling

Jeremy Nienow

Archaeological Monitoring at Upper Post Fort Snelling With Jeremy Nienow, PhD History Revealed Series Program Date: September 28, 2021 Video on YouTube Archaeologist Jeremy Nienow, Ph.D., RPA of Nienow Cultural Consultants, presented his company’s ongoing archaeological work at Fort Snelling’s Upper Post. Nienow…