A few barges are always tied up at the Lower Landing today, making their way down the Mississippi River. A few steamboats operate tours out from a small landing on Harriet Island. Otherwise, looking at the landing today you would never guess that it was once the epicenter of transport into the Northwest Territory.

You’ve heard of Schmidt and Hamm’s, Grain Belt and Schell’s. They’re all great, historic, Minnesota beer brands. But the oldest, the original, the first doesn’t really roll off the tongue the same way - Yoerg’s. 

Many of the buildings around Mears Park in Saint Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood were originally built in the late 1800s to be factories. In the 1960s, the great-granddaughter of one company’s owners would be known as the “Factory Girl”.

If you’ve ever flown over the midwest, you might have looked out the window and noticed the patchwork quilt squares that divide up the land. That’s not a coincidence. 

In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Swede Hollow was know as the Swedish slum and the nearby Connemara Patch was home to the Irish. Unlike the Swedes, the Irish journey to Minnesota included a big detour out of the way. 

We’ve all seen the headlines about homeless encampments in the Twin Cities. It seems like one is being cleared or moved every few months. But did you know that Swede Hollow, now a park in Saint Paul, was effectively a homeless encampment for over 100 years? 

In 1983, “The Outsiders” based on the book by S. E. Hinton and directed by Francis Ford Coppola hit movie theaters and was a huge success. The follow up film based on another Hinton novel, “That was Then, This is Now”, was filmed in Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

So many of the old homes in Saint Paul are dark and foreboding. So it’s fun to discover the family that built this one liked a little more drama.

In the late 1800s the wealthy lived on Summit Avenue and the poor lived in Swede Hollow. Where did the middle class live? 

So, if your mother built you a house - but you had to live next to your siblings - would you take it? 

There’s no denying that 2023 has been a very good year for Taylor Swift. She is everywhere - like it or not - and she has achieved world-wide fame. But if you think Minnesota has gone crazy for Swift, just wait until you see how gaga they were over a mid-nineteenth century Swedish opera singer.

One of the best spots to look over downtown Saint Paul is from the top of Dayton’s Bluff. But long before Lyman Dayton bought land in the area in 1854, it belonged to the Dakota. Indian Mounds Park protects the remaining burial mounds that have survived through centuries.

As ghosts and goblins get ready to amass their Trick or Treat hauls on Halloween, make sure to keep an eye out for Milky Ways, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers. Why? Because they all got their start right here in Minneapolis.

Despite our apple obsession, not a single variety of apple is native to Minnesota. That’s right, only crabapples grew in Minnesota until one man (Peter Gideon) changed all that. 

How did Minnesota become the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”?

Over a dozen rocks in southern Minnesota are considered sacred. Some of these sacred rocks move on their own. Whether by some spiritual/gravitational force or by the effects of the weather on the land - but two of these sacred rocks have moved farther and more often than the others. 

You may have heard that in 2023 “Floyd of Rosedale” returned to Minnesota’s trophy case after the Gophers beat Iowa 12 - 10. But did you know that the origin of the rivalry is actually a reminder of racisms dark influence on collegiate sports?  

Crowds cheering from the stands has been a huge part of collegiate sports from the very get go. But did you know that cheer-LEADING actually started at the University of Minnesota?

Minnesotans like to pride themselves on being from a northern, free or antislavery state. In reality, many Minnesotans were willing to turn a blind eye if it benefited their bottom line. One early business in Saint Anthony was caught in the middle.

The early years of the University of Minnesota were fraught with financial struggles. Unfortunately, desperate to find ways to make ends meet, the Board of Regents made some questionable decisions about who to take money from.