Curious Minnesota
How much are electric vehicles affected by Minnesota's extreme cold?
Electric vehicles perform at their peak in temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees. Just how much does cold weather affect them?
Curious Minnesota
How did Nicollet Island become parkland with private housing on it?
The sliver of land in the Mississippi River is home to a secluded enclave of historic homes sitting atop public parkland. But that's just one of the oddities of this place, an often-overlooked landmark of early Minneapolis that looks radically different today than it did half a century ago.
Curious Minnesota
Why are Minnesotans the only ones to play Duck, Duck, Gray Duck?
While 49 other states are stuck playing Duck, Duck, Goose, Minnesota plays something that's "different."
Curious Minnesota
What is Minnesota Nice and where did the expressoin originate?
Tracking the roots of "Minnesota Nice" is difficult, partly because people don't agree on what it actually is.
Curious Minnesota
Why does Isle Royale belong to Michigan and not Minnesota?
The answer to the question can be traced to faulty maps, "copper fever" and a dispute over a strip of land in northern Ohio.
Curious Minnesota
Why does Minnesota tax Social Security benefits?
Minnesota is among a minority of states — just 13 — that impose a state-level tax on Social Security benefits. Why does Minnesota do that? The answer can be traced back to the overall design of our state's income tax system.
Curious Minnesota
Why is Uptown south of downtown in Minneapolis?
These days, Uptown is the common way to describe the district around Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis, but that is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Curious Minnesota
Why is a casserole called hot dish in Minnesota?
Although it started as a staple of church basement potlucks, hot dish has become a hallmark of you-betcha Minnesota culture. But everywhere else it's called casserole.
Curious Minnesota
Why can't Minnesotans figure out how to zipper merge?
Zipper merging is the law in Minnesota. Why can't Minnesotans zipper merge, and why do some motorists get all worked up when people do it? Curious Minnesota investigates.
Curious Minnesota
Were Minneapolis' skyways first created to combat the cold – or something else?
Love them or hate them, the skyways' dual origin stories might surprise you.
Curious Minnesota
What percentage of Minnesotans spend their entire lives here?
We have a relatively high number of Minnesota-born residents living in the state, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau Bureau analysis.
Curious Minnesota
Minnesota has never produced a U.S. president. Here's why.
Minnesota has never had a successful presidential candidate, despite producing two vice presidents, three Supreme Court justices and multiple cabinet members. Curious Minnesota investigates.
Curious Minnesota
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How did Minnesota's indigenous people survive the extreme winters?
American Indians used a variety of approaches to stay warm, including wearing animal skins and heating rocks in fire pits to warm the floors.
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Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota, a Star Tribune community-driven reporting project, puts readers' inquiries at the center of our newsroom's reporting.
